Project description:A healthy rumen is crucial for normal growth and improved production performance of ruminant animals. Rumen microbes participate in and regulate rumen epithelial function, and the diverse metabolites produced by rumen microbes are important participants in rumen microbe-host interactions. SCFAs, as metabolites of rumen microbes, have been widely studied, and propionate and butyrate have been proven to promote rumen epithelial cell proliferation. Succinate, as an intermediate metabolite in the citric acid cycle, is a final product in the metabolism of certain rumen microbes, and is also an intermediate product in the microbial synthesis pathway of propionate. However, its effect on rumen microbes and rumen epithelial function has not been studied. It is unclear whether succinate can stimulate rumen epithelial development. Therefore, in this experiment, Chinese Tan sheep were used as experimental animals to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the rumen microbiota community structure and rumen epithelial transcriptome, to explore the role of adding succinate to the diet in the interaction between the rumen microbiota and host.
Project description:Lycium barbarum residue contains abundant bioactive nutrients which can be used as feed supplement. This study investigated the effects of fermented and non-fermented Lycium barbarum residues (RFW and RW) on the meat quality and immunity of sheep (Ovis aries). Fifty-four Tan sheep were randomly divided into control, RFW or RW treatments. Data showed that RFW and RW increased the carcass weight, fat content, ash content and reduced the cooking loss of lamb. RFW performed more significant effects on activating immune-related genes than those of RW. The expression of chemokines and immune-related pathways, such as signaling pathways of interleukin-17 signaling pathway and NOD-like receptor signaling pathway, were elevated in sheep fed RFW. RW increased the diversity in rumen metabolites, especially compositions of lipids, organic acids and organ heterocyclic compounds. RFW affected numerous compounds which are closely correlated with the activation of immune genes. In conclusion, RFW could represent a valuable strategy to improve growth performance and immunity of sheep
Project description:To investigate the impact of adding succinate to the diet on the production performance, meat quality, muscle fiber characteristics, and transcriptome of the longissimus dorsi muscle in Tan sheep, 36 Tan sheep were selected and fed with different levels of succinate (0%, 0.5%, 1.0%, 2.0%) for a 60-day trial period. Overall, compared to the control group, the addition of succinate to the diet improved the production performance, slaughter performance, and meat quality of Tan sheep. It significantly increased dry matter intake, carcass weight, eye muscle area, and the GR value while significantly reducing the shear force and cooking loss of the longissimus dorsi muscle (p<0.05). Furthermore, the addition of succinate to the diet altered the muscle fiber characteristics of the longissimus dorsi muscle in Tan sheep, significantly increasing the fiber diameter and cross-sectional area of type I and type IIa muscle fibers (p<0.05). The addition of 1.0% succinate to the diet altered the transcriptome of the longissimus dorsi muscle in Tan sheep, with 741 differentially expressed genes identified compared to the control group. These differentially expressed genes were involved in various pathways related to lipid metabolism, energy metabolism, and muscle development, such as insulin secretion, insulin resistance, cAMP signaling pathway, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, and FoxO signaling, among others. In summary, succinate plays a crucial role in regulating energy metabolism, protein deposition, and glucose and lipid metabolism homeostasis in Tan sheep through insulin signaling pathways and the interaction of muscle cell factors. By modulating the expression of relevant genes, succinate improves the muscle fiber characteristics of Tan sheep, thereby enhancing production performance and meat quality.
Project description:Microbiome DNA from the adhering fraction of a sheep rumen. The RSTs were generated using an improved version of SARST (referred to as iSARST) from the microbiome DNA extracted from the adhering fraction of the rumen content taken from a sheep. The iSARST method is going to be submitted to Nature Biotechnology for publication. Keywords: other
Project description:Ruminant livestock are one of the major contributors to carbon emission contributing the global warming issue. Methane (CH4) produced from enteric microbial fermentation of feed in the reticulo-rumen are known to differ between sheep with different digestive function and fermentation products such as metabolites. However, the molecular mechanism underpinning differences in methane emission remains to be fully elucidated. We extracted a membrane and cytosolic protein fraction of rumen epithelium proteins from both high (H) and low (L) CH4 emitting sheep. Protein abundance differences between the phenotypes were quantified using SWATH-mass spectrometry. We identified 92 proteins annotated as cell surface transporters, of which only solute carrier family (SLC) 40A1 had a greater fold change of protein expression in the high methane emission phenotype. The main difference in protein abundance we found were related to the metabolism of glucose, lactate and processes of cell defence against microbes in the epithelium of sheep in each group. To best of our knowledge, this represents one of the most comprehensive proteomes of ovine rumen epithelium to date.