Project description:Deciphering the dietary immunomodulatory effects of a medicinal plant leaf extract (MPLE) obateined from sage (Salvia officinalis, Lamiaceae) and lemon verbena (Lippia citriodora, Verbenaceae) upon the gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) of gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata).
Project description:Despite the existence of a number of studies investigating the effect of insect meal on the growth performance of broilers, knowledge about the metabolic effects of insect meal in broilers is still scarce. Thus, the present study investigated the effect of partial replacement of soybean meal with Hermetia illucens (HI) larvae meal on the liver transcriptome, the plasma metabolome and the cecal microbiome in broilers. For the study, 72 male one-day-old Cobb 500 broilers were divided into three groups (n = 12) and fed three different diets with either 0% (HI0), 7.5% (HI7.5) or 15% (HI15) defatted HI meal for 35 d. While body weight (BW) gain, feed intake, and feed:gain ratio did not differ between groups, breast muscle weight, carcass yield and apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of 12 amino acids were higher in group HI15 than in group HI0 (P > 0.05). Indicators of α-diversity (Chao1 and Observed) in the cecal digesta were higher in groups HI15 and HI7.5 than in group HI0 (P < 0.05). The abundance of 5 families and 18 genera, all of which belonged to the Firmicutes phylum, in the cecal digesta differed among groups (P < 0.05). Concentrations of butyric acid, valeric acid and isobutyric acid in the cecal digesta were lower in group HI15 than in the other two groups (P > 0.05), whereas those of total and other short-chain fatty acids were not different between groups. Liver transcriptomics revealed a total of 70 and 61 differentially expressed transcripts between groups HI15 vs. HI0 and between groups HI7.5 vs HI0, respectively, (P > 0.05). Targeted metabolomics identified 138 metabolites, most of which were triglyceride species, being different between the three groups (FDR < 0.05). According to this study, dietary inclusion of HI larvae meal has no detrimental impact but increases breast muscle weight and carcass weight in broilers suggesting that HI larvae meal can be recommended as a sustainable alternative protein source for broilers.
Project description:Fish in aquaculture farms frequently face unfavarouble husbandry conditions and other unpredictable situations, which are sometimes part of routine procedures. However, managing stress originated from these situations is crucial to ensure the sustainability of the production. When fish is exposed to prolonged stress, and overload of the physiological systems can occur and the fish may no longer be able to adapt and restore homeostasis, and this can impair the animal performance, such as growth and immunity, and consequently fish welfare. In this study the genes and gene families responsible for the molecular stress response to different challenges in gilthead seabream was assessed. Gilthead seabream adults were exposed to overcrowding, net-handling and hypoxia, in separate trials, each against a control group. Overcrowding and net-handling trials lasted for a month and half (chronic stress) and hypoxia for 48h (acute stress). The liver was the chosen organ for this transcriptomics analysis as this plays a crucial role in stress adaptation. The characterization of stress adaptation mechanisms provides valuable knowledge for the future selective breeding of more resilient commercial species that can thrive under changing conditions and adapt well to life in captivity, while ensuring high welfare standards.
Project description:The hypothesis was tested that insect meal (IM) as protein source influences intermediary metabolism of growing pigs. To test this, 5-week-old crossbreed pigs were randomly assigned to 3 groups of 10 pigs each with similar body weights (BW) and fed isonitrogenous diets either without (CON) or with 5 % IM (IM5) or 10 % IM (IM10) from Tenebrio molitor L. for 4 weeks and liver was analyzed using transcriptomics. Transcriptomics of the liver revealed a total of 166 transcripts differentially expressed between IM10 and CON.
Project description:The hypothesis was tested that insect meal (IM) as protein source influences intermediary metabolism of growing pigs. To test this, 5-week-old crossbreed pigs were randomly assigned to 3 groups of 10 pigs each with similar body weights (BW) and fed isonitrogenous diets either without (CON) or with 5 % IM (IM5) or 10 % IM (IM10) from Tenebrio molitor L. for 4 weeks and skeletal muscle was analyzed using transcriptomics. Transcriptomics of skeletal muscle revealed a total of 198 transcripts differentially expressed between IM10 and CON.
Project description:In this study, we analyzed both together the epithelial tissue and the secreted mucus response using a holistic interactome-based multi-omics approach. The effect of the gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) skin mucosa to a dietary inclusion of spray-dried porcine plasma (SDPP) was evaluated.