Food sources,digestive efficiency and resource allocation in the sea cucumber Holothuria forskali (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea): Insights from pigments and fatty acids

Various research projects in Europe and North Africa have recently intended to breed temperate holothurians to alleviate fishing pressure on natural populations. However, to date little is known about the nutritional requirements of East Atlantic and Mediterranean species. In this study, we propose a “natural population”‐oriented approach to characterize food sources, digestive efficiency and resources allocation based on the composition of pigments and fatty acids (FA) in gut contents and tissues (muscles, gonads and digestive tract walls) of wild individuals of the species Holothuria (Panningothuria) forskali (Delle Chiaje, 1823) sampled in Brittany (France). Our study reveals that neither green nor red algae enter the diet of H. forskali in spring and that the only fresh vegetal material found in gut contents is brown algae (very likely diatoms). The high nutritional quality of gut contents however contrasts with the detrital nature of the ingested food sources, suggesting that a trophic upgrading of organic matter occurs before digestion. In addition, unusual FA (i.e. only present in a few groups of living species) such as long‐chain monounsaturated FA (especially the FA 23:1ω9) were found in large proportions in muscles and gonad and their effect on sea cucumber fitness needs further investigation.     

Dynamics of yolk sac content absorption and intestine development in ducklings fed mixtures with increasing dietary methionine level

The experiment was carried out with ducklings fed-control feed mixture (Met level 0.3%) and mixtures supplemented with dl-methionine at the dose of 0.03 (II); 0.07 (III) 0.12 (IV) and 0.18% (V). In 5 h post-hatch (12 birds) and on days 3, 4, 6 always 18 birds were taken out from each treatment and killed, then the yolk sac (YS) and intestine were removed. The weight and chemical composition of YS residues (in them also amino acids) were analysed. Moreover on days 1, 3, 4 and 6, the amino acid pattern of YS residual protein was elaborated as well as length and weight of intestine were recorded. Increased doses of supplemental Met improved body weight gain after 4 days of ducklings life. All determined parameters were not affected by treatment. Development of intestines, yolk sac weight and yolk sac composition (DM, fat, protein, amino acid composition) changed with age; however, without any clear effect from dietary methionine level. No differences between sex and analysed parameters were stated.     

A Simple Apparatus for Frequent Measurement of Gastrointestinal Intraluminal PCO2

The accuracy and precision of an end-tidal infrared CO₂ monitor and customized capnography tubing system designed to measure gastrointestinal intraluminal CO₂ partial pressure (P_iCO₂) were tested in vitro. Samples were taken from the customized capnography tubing placed in either 5% or 10% CO₂ gas at discrete intervals ranging from one minute to twelve minutes. For a given time interval, the tubing PCO₂ measurement was a constant fraction of the actual PCO₂ (all standard errors < 0.02). For increasing time intervals, the ratio of the tubing PCO₂ to actual PCO₂ increased logarithmically. In the 5% and 10% CO₂, the regression coefficients were 0.89 and 0.85 for 8 French tubing and 0.99 and 0.91 for 6 French tubing. Beacuase of its accuracy and precision, this system may provide automated gastrointestinal CO₂ partial pressure monitoring at short intervals (e.g. 5 minutes), facilitating testing of the role of gastrointestinal P_iCO₂ information in treatment algorithms. (Vet Emerg & Crit Care, 1998; 8: 109–116)     

蜜蜂肠道菌群的调节作用及影响因素

近年来, 蜜蜂数量的大量减少导致全球养蜂业面临重要的经济损失,并对农业各个方面造成了严重后果。最新的研究表明肠道菌群与宿主的健康息息相关。综述了肠道菌群的种类和特性,阐述了肠道菌群在蜜蜂等昆虫健康中的调节作用及影响肠道菌群的因素,并对今后的研究方向进行了展望。     

胰高血糖素样肽-2的研究进展

胰高血糖素样肽-2(glucagon-like peptide-2,GLP-2)是由肠道内分泌L细胞合成分泌的、胰高血糖素原经转录、翻译后加工处理的33个氨基酸多肽。文章介绍了GLP-2的合成、代谢与生理功能,GLP-2在动物肠道内可促进肠道营养吸收、抗炎、促进肠道损伤修复,在肠道外可以通过脑-肠轴调节食物摄取、血压、胰高血糖素的分泌和骨的重吸收;对GLP-2发挥生物活性的可能作用途径cAMP/蛋白激酶途径、PI-3K/Akt途径、激活ERK1和ERK2途径、刺激生长因子的释放等途径进行阐述;并对GLP-2和GLP-2类似物在人的疾病治疗和动物生产中的应用进行概述。     

微生物菌群培养组学在动物医学中的应用

实验室条件下可培养的微生物约占自然界中微生物总数的1%,这限制了人们对99%未知微生物的认识和利用,而研究表明,那些“不可培养的微生物”是可以被开发和利用的,未能被纯培养的微生物才是未知微生物的主体。微生物培养组学探索利用多种培养条件和长时间的培养,结合基质辅助激光解吸电离飞行时间质谱法（MALDI-TOF-MS）和16S核糖体RNA（rRNA）测序可以大规模鉴定各种微生物,同时利用全基因组测序和宏基因组测序手段对未知微生物进行深入分析。本文综述了国内外近年来微生物菌群培养组学在反刍动物胃肠道、禽类盲肠及家畜鼻腔微生物菌群研究中的最新进展,探讨将动物体内菌群培养组学方法应用于动物疾病防治领域的可行性。作为一个新兴的研究方法,尽管该培养组学还存在一些不够成熟的方面,但它的发展前景十分广阔,微生物菌群培养组学方法和其他研究方法的互补已经逐渐成为发展兽医微生物学新的突破口。     

不同能量水平对雏鹅卵黄囊吸收利用的影响

试验以雏鹅为对象,研究了不同能量水平对雏鹅卵黄囊吸收利用的影响。结果表明,在59时龄以内80%以上的卵黄囊营养被吸收利用,说明这一时期是卵黄囊吸收利用的主要时期。能量水平对卵黄囊营养的吸收与利用有一定的影响,低能日粮有加速卵黄囊吸收与利用的趋势,但各采食组之间差异不显著(P>0.05)。     

不同纤维源对成年鹅肠道组织形态变化的影响

本试验旨在研究不同纤维源对成年扬州鹅肠道组织形态变化的影响。选用18只健康、体重相近的25周龄扬州鹅公鹅,随机分为3组,即:稻壳粉组、苜蓿草粉组、羊草粉组,每组6只。试验期28 d,试验期末将试验鹅处死并留取各肠段组织,称重并观察肠道组织形态。结果表明:①不同纤维源对十二指肠和空肠长度影响差异不显著(P>0.05),稻壳草粉组回肠长度显著高于苜蓿草粉组与羊草粉组(P<0.05),苜蓿草粉组与羊草粉组差异不显著(P>0.05)。②稻壳粉组十二指肠绒毛高度、绒毛宽度、隐窝深度、肌层厚度均显著高于苜蓿草粉组与羊草粉组(P<0.05),其中苜蓿草粉组隐窝深度、V/C与羊草粉组差异显著(P<0.05);稻壳粉组与羊草粉组空肠绒毛高度显著高于苜蓿草粉组(P<0.05),隐窝深度显著低于苜蓿草粉组(P<0.05),稻壳粉组与羊草粉组间均差异不显著(P>0.05),稻壳粉组肌层厚度显著高于苜蓿草粉组(P<0.05);羊草粉组回肠绒毛高度显著高于苜蓿草粉组与稻壳粉组(P<0.05),3组间绒毛宽度差异显著(P<0.05),且以稻壳粉组最大,羊草粉组V/C显著高于苜蓿草粉组和稻壳粉组(P<0.05),羊草粉组肌层厚度显著低于苜蓿草粉组与稻壳草粉组(P<0.05)。由此可知,不同纤维源可显著影响25周龄扬州鹅肠道组织形态。     

肠道噬菌体与细菌和宿主互作及其对动物机体健康影响的研究进展

近年来肠道病毒组功能研究日益受到关注,其中肠道噬菌体作为肠道病毒组的主要组成,更是成为了研究热点。大量研究表明,肠道噬菌体种类和数量不仅直接影响肠道微生物菌群区系,还与动物机体存在着密切联系,因此对动物机体健康发挥着重要作用。本文就肠道噬菌体研究进展进行总结,从肠道噬菌体、噬菌体与细菌互作、噬菌体与动物宿主互作以及肠道噬菌体与肠道炎症性疾病、代谢性疾病等疾病的联系等方面进行综述,为深入研究肠道噬菌体对机体健康的影响及其机制提供理论参考和新的思路。     

犬慢性肾衰竭进程中肠道菌群代谢物短链脂肪酸水平的变化及其对肾功能的影响

本研究旨在评估短链脂肪酸在慢性肾衰竭患犬和健康犬中的水平,探究短链脂肪酸变化的原因及其对肾功能的影响.选取22例轻度慢性肾衰患犬(M-CRF组)、29例重度慢性肾衰患犬(S-CRF组)和26例健康对照犬(HC组),用16S rDNA测序技术分析肠道菌群多样性,气相色谱法检测粪中短链脂肪酸浓度.通过粪菌移植和补充丁酸钠给...