Project description:In this study, we studied the fibrolytic potential of the rumen microbiota in the rumen of 6 lambs separated from their dams from 12h of age and artificially fed with milk replacer (MR) and starter feed from d8, in absence (3 lambs) or presence (3 lambs) of a combination of the live yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae CNCM I-1077 and selected yeast metabolites. The fibrolytic potential of the rumen microbiota of the lambs at 56 days of age was analyzed with a DNA microarray (FibroChip) targeting genes coding for 8 glycoside hydrolase (GH) families.
Project description:<p>Antibiotics were once used in animal production to improve productivity and resistance to pathogenic microbiota. However, due to its negative effects, the search for a new class of substances that can replace its efficacy has become one of the urgent problems to be solved. Plant essential oils (EOs) as a natural feed additive can maintain microbiota homeostasis and improve animal performance. However, its specific mechanism of action needs to be further investigated. Therefore, we added different doses of essential oil of Zanthoxylum bungeanum (EOZB) to the diets of Small Tail Han Sheep hybrid male lambs (STH lambs) to evaluate the effect of EOZB on rumen enzyme activity, rumen microbiology and its metabolites in STH lambs. Twenty STH lambs were randomly divided into four groups (n = 5/group) and provided with the same diet. The dietary treatments were as follows: basal diet (BD) group; BD+EOZB 5 mL/kg group; BD+EOZB 10 mL/kg group; BD+EOZB 15 mL/kg group. We found that EOZB 10 ml/kg helped to increase rumen pectinase (P<0.05) and lipase (P<0.05) activities. Microbial 16S rRNA gene analysis showed that EOZB significantly altered the abundance of rumen microbiota (P<0.05). LC/GC-MS metabolomic analysis showed that the addition of EOZB produced a total of 1073 differential metabolites, with 58 differential metabolites remaining after raising the screening criteria. These differential metabolites were mainly enriched in glycerophospholipid metabolism, choline metabolism in cancer, retrograde endocannabinoid signaling, benzoxazinoid biosynthesis, and protein digestion and absorption. Correlation analysis showed that some rumen microbiota were significantly correlated with differential metabolite and enzyme activities.</p>
Project description:Transcriptomics was performed on batch cultivations of A. niger grown on three monosaccharides and three complex carbohydrates with defined compositions as to allow the detection of cross-induction if present, and for demonstration of how enzyme interaction graphics can be used to visualize the global transcription response. Batch cultivations of A. niger were grown in shake-flasks on one of three monosaccharides (arabinose, glucose, xylose) or one of three complex carbohydrates (arabinan, starch, xylan). Three replicates were performed for each monosaccharide and complex carbohydrate, except for starch, where two replicates were performed.
Project description:Samples of perirenal fat tissue from 8 Assaf breed suckling lambs. These animals were selected from a larger group of 17 Assaf suckling lambs for which carcass traits were measured. The 8 selected lambs were those showing the highest and the lowest values, from the larger group, for the percentage of perirenal and cavitary fat relative to the half carcass weight. Hence, considering the values for this trait, we defined the High-PF group (n = 4; average: 3.23 ± 0,.47) and the Low-PF group (n = 4; 1.65 ± 0,.16), respectively.
Project description:Water soluble carbohydrates (WSC, composed of mainly fructans, sucrose, glucose and fructose) deposited in wheat stems are important carbon sources for grain filling. Variation in stem WSC concentrations among wheat genotypes is one of the genetic factors influencing grain weight and yield under water-limited environments. Here, we describe the molecular dissection of carbohydrate metabolism in stems, at the WSC accumulation phase, of recombinant inbred SB (Seri/Babax) lines of Triticum aestivum differing in stem WSC concentrations. Affymetrix GeneChip analysis of carbohydrate metabolic enzymes revealed that the mRNA levels of two fructan synthetic enzyme families (sucrose:sucrose 1-fructosyltransferase and sucrose:fructan 6-fructosyltransferase) in the stem were positively correlated with stem WSC and fructan concentrations, while the mRNA levels of enzyme families involved in sucrose hydrolysis (sucrose synthase and soluble acid invertase) were inversely correlated with WSC concentrations. Differential regulation of the mRNA levels of these sucrose hydrolytic enzymes in SB lines resulted in genotypic differences in these enzyme activities. Down-regulation of sucrose synthase and soluble acid invertase in high WSC lines was accompanied by significant decreases in the mRNA levels of enzyme families related to sugar catabolic pathways (fructokinase and mitochondrion pyruvate dehydrogenase complex) and enzyme families involved in diverting UDP-glucose to cell wall synthesis (UDP-glucose 6-dehydrogenase, UDP-glucuronate decarboxylase and cellulose synthase), resulting in a reduction in cell wall polysaccharide contents (mainly hemicellulose) in the stem of high WSC lines. These data suggest that differential carbon partitioning in the wheat stem is one mechanism that contributes to genotypic variation in WSC accumulation. We used Affymetrix GeneChip to dissect genotypic variation in carbohydrate metabolism related to water soluble carbohydrate accumulation in stems of wheat. Keywords: Genotypic differences in water soluble carbohydrate metabolism in stem
Project description:The callipyge mutation causes postnatal muscle hypertrophy in heterozygous lambs that inherit a paternal callipyge allele (+/CLPG). Our hypothesis was that the up-regulation of one or both of the affected paternally expressed genes (DLK1 or PEG11) initiates changes in biochemical and physiological pathways in skeletal muscle to induce hypertrophy. The goal of this study was to identify changes in gene expression during the onset of muscle hypertrophy in order to identify the pathways that are involved in the expression of the callipyge phenotype. Gene expression was analyzed in longissimus dorsi total RNA from lambs at 10, 20, and 30 days of age using the Affymetrix Bovine Expression Array. Experiment Overall Design: Longissimus dorsi were collected from 10, 20, and 30 day old callipyge and normal lambs with 2 biological replicates for each group. Total RNA was isolated and hybridized to Affymetrix Bovine Expression arrays. Data were analyzed in SAS and all genotype effects were followed up by qPCR in 42 lambs ranging from 10 to 200 days of age.
Project description:Fifiteen male Hu-lambs were randomly assigned to three groups (n = 5 for each group). Lambs in the control (CON), HG, and HP groups received low-grain nonpelleted diet (30% concentrate), HG diet (70% concentrate), and HP diet containing the same ingredients and nutritions with HG group, respectivley. After 60-day treatment, all the lambs were slaughtered to collect ruminal epihelium samples for transcriptome analysis.