-
Veterinary Sciences Mar 2023This study aims to describe the clinical signs and ultrasonographic and necropsy findings of the first cases of proximal (Buffalo 1) and distal (Buffalo 2) vagal...
This study aims to describe the clinical signs and ultrasonographic and necropsy findings of the first cases of proximal (Buffalo 1) and distal (Buffalo 2) vagal indigestion in two in the Brazilian Amazon biome. The clinical histories of the buffaloes were characterized by progressive weight loss, recurrent tympany, abdominal distention (apple and pear shapes), anorexia, and scant feces. Buffalo 1 was submitted to orogastric intubation, and due to the recurrent tympany, an exploratory laparotomy. Buffalo 2 was submitted to ultrasound examination, and a segment of the pylorus was shown to be adhered to the eventration by ultrasonography. Both animals produced positive results for the atropine test. In the necropsy evaluation, Buffalo 1 was shown to have dilation of the esophagus, rumen, and reticulum; the ruminal contents of animal 1 were olive green and foamy with bubbles within the ingesta. On the other hand, Buffalo 2 was shown to have distention of the forestomach and abomasum; the complex rumen-reticulum and omasum contents were semi-liquid and had a yellowish color. In animal 2, in the eventration region, there was adherence to the pyloric region. The diagnosis of vagal indigestion was based on the history, clinical signs, and ultrasound and necropsy findings, in addition to the results of the atropine test.
PubMed: 37104409
DOI: 10.3390/vetsci10040254 -
Research (Washington, D.C.) 2023Newborn ruminants are considered functionally monogastric animals. The poor understanding of cellular differences between newborn and mature ruminants prevents the...
Newborn ruminants are considered functionally monogastric animals. The poor understanding of cellular differences between newborn and mature ruminants prevents the improvement of health and performance of domestic ruminants. Here, we performed the single-cell RNA sequencing on the rumen, reticulum, omasum, abomasum, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, cecum, colon, rectum, liver, salivary gland, and mammary gland from newborn and adult cattle. A comprehensive single-cell transcriptomic atlas covering 235,941 high-quality single cells and 78 cell types was deciphered. A Cattle Cell Landscape database (http://cattlecelllandscape.zju.edu.cn) was established to elaborately display the data and facilitate effective annotation of cattle cell types and subtypes for the broad research community. By measuring stemness states of epithelial cells in each tissue type, we revealed that the epithelial cells from newborn forestomach (rumen, reticulum, and omasum) were more transcriptionally indistinct and stochastic compared with the adult stage, which was in contrast to those of abomasum and intestinal tissues. The rapid forestomach development during the early life of calves was driven by epithelial progenitor-like cells with high DNA repair activities and methylation. Moreover, in the forestomach tissues of newborn calves, the genus was involved in regulating the transcriptional plasticity of the epithelial progenitor-like cells by DNA methylation regulation. A novel cell type, the cell, was found to be newborn-specific. It apparently plays a crucial role in stemness maintenance of its own and cholangiocytes in the hepatic microenvironment. Our results reveal that the age- and microbiota-dependent cell stemness plasticity drives the postnatal functional maturity of ruminants.
PubMed: 37040481
DOI: 10.34133/research.0025 -
Animals : An Open Access Journal From... Mar 2023Efficient nutritional assimilation and energy metabolism in the stomachs of yaks contribute to their adaption to harsh environments. Accurate gene expression profile...
Efficient nutritional assimilation and energy metabolism in the stomachs of yaks contribute to their adaption to harsh environments. Accurate gene expression profile analysis will help further reveal the molecular mechanism of nutrient and energy metabolism in the yak stomach. RT-qPCR is regarded as an accurate and dependable method for analyzing gene expression. The selection of reference genes is essential to obtain meaningful RT-qPCR results, especially in longitudinal gene expression studies of tissues and organs. Our objective was to select and validate optimal reference genes from across the transcriptome as internal controls for longitudinal gene expression studies in the yak stomach. In this study, 15 candidate reference genes (CRGs) were determined according to transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) results and the previous literature. The expression levels of these 15 CRGs were quantified using RT-qPCR in the yak stomach, including the rumen, reticulum, omasum and abomasum at five stages: 0 days, 20 days, 60 days, 15 months and three years old (adult). Subsequently, the expression stabilities of these 15 CRGs were evaluated via four algorithms: geNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper and the comparative C method. Furthermore, RefFinder was employed to obtain a comprehensive ranking of the stability of CRGs. The analysis results indicate that , and are the most stable genes in the yak stomach throughout the growth cycle. In addition, to verify the reliability of the selected CRGs, the relative expression levels of were quantified via RT-qPCR using the three most stable or the three least stable CRGs. Overall, we recommend combining , and as reference genes for the normalization of RT-qPCR data in the yak stomach throughout the growth cycle.
PubMed: 36899781
DOI: 10.3390/ani13050925 -
International Journal of Biological... Apr 2023Double network hydrogels (DNs) with excellent strength and toughness have been preliminarily applied in the preparation of artificial foods. To evaluate the effect of...
Double network hydrogels (DNs) with excellent strength and toughness have been preliminarily applied in the preparation of artificial foods. To evaluate the effect of conformation transition of ductile polymers on the physicochemical properties of DNs, we firstly prepared agarose (AR)/high acyl gellan (HAG) DNs and investigated their mechanical properties, and then calcium ion (Ca) was introduced into optimized AR/HAG DNs to regulate the conformation of ductile chains (HAG) for further increasing their mechanical properties. The mechanical strength of the optimized AR/HAG gel is 5 times and 2 times that of AR and HAG gel, respectively. Compared with adding Ca method, immersing Ca solution endowed optimized DNs with 5-fold increase in mechanical strength, outstanding textural properties and lower swelling ratio, which was attributed to the extended conformation of ductile chains. Furthermore, the obtained DNs were reminiscent of beef omasum based on their physicochemical properties. Optimized AR/HAG DNs after immersing in 2 wt% CaCl solution exhibited comparable texture properties with beef omasum by three correlation analysis methods and sensory evaluation, providing a new strategy to fabricate biomimetic food with high chewiness by regulating the conformation of ductile polymers in DNs.
PubMed: 36758759
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.123583 -
Archives of Animal Nutrition 2022This study aimed to investigate ruminal and post-ruminal degradation of phytic acid (InsP) in diets containing either rapeseed meal (RSM) or soybean meal (SBM). In...
This study aimed to investigate ruminal and post-ruminal degradation of phytic acid (InsP) in diets containing either rapeseed meal (RSM) or soybean meal (SBM). In Experiment 1, the effective degradability of crude protein (CPED) and InsP (InsPED) was evaluated by incubating RSM and SBM in three rumen-fistulated lactating Jersey cows for 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 24, 48 and 72 h, and calculating effective degradability at rumen passage rates of 2% and 5%/h. In Experiment 2, eight wethers were assigned for 8 weeks to two dietary treatments (Diet RSM and Diet SBM) containing 150 g of either meal and 100 g of maize silage per feeding time and had free access to hay and water. Titanium dioxide (TiO) was added to the diets for the last 5 days of the study. The wethers were then stunned, exsanguinated and digesta from the reticulo-rumen, omasum, abomasum, jejunum, colon, and rectum were sampled. In Experiment 1, the InsPED of RSM (InsPED: 83%; InsPED: 64%) decreased almost identically to that of CPED with increasing passage rate (CPED: 78%; CPED: 63%) and was significantly lower than that of SBM (InsPED: 93%; InsPED: 85%). In Experiment 2, ruminal InsP disappearance was significantly higher in wethers fed Diet SBM (89%) than in those fed Diet RSM (76%). Total post-ruminal InsP degradation was 6% for Diet RSM and 4% for Diet SBM ( = 0.186). The total tract InsP disappearance was higher in Diet SBM (93%) than in Diet RSM (82%). Considering higher InsP contents in RSM, Diet RSM resulted in significantly higher amounts of ruminally (Diet RSM: 4.5 g/d; Diet SBM: 3.4 g/d) and total tract (Diet RSM: 4.9 g/d; Diet SBM: 3.5 g/d) degraded InsP. InsP was quantified in most of the digesta samples after feeding Diet RSM but was not detectable in the majority of digesta samples for Diet SBM. Concentrations of -inositol (MI) tended to be higher ( = 0.060) in the blood plasma of wethers fed Diet RSM. The consistency between ruminal InsP disappearance in wethers and calculated InsPED, along with the very low extent of post-ruminal InsP degradation, suggests that at a low rumen passage rate, InsP-P from the feed becoming available to ruminants is almost entirely from InsP degradation in the rumen.
Topics: Cattle; Female; Animals; Male; Diet; Brassica napus; Phytic Acid; Lactation; Flour; Animal Feed; Digestion; Brassica rapa; Rumen; Glycine max; Dietary Proteins
PubMed: 36647767
DOI: 10.1080/1745039X.2022.2164158 -
Journal of Animal Science Jan 2023An experiment was conducted to evaluate the impact of feeding bio-fuel co-products on ruminal fermentation characteristics and composition of omasal digesta flow. Four...
An experiment was conducted to evaluate the impact of feeding bio-fuel co-products on ruminal fermentation characteristics and composition of omasal digesta flow. Four ruminally cannulated Holstein steers (371 ± 5 kg) were used in a 4 × 4 Latin Square design. Omasal sample collection and triple marker technique was used to quantify fatty acid omasal flow. Treatments were applied as a 2 × 2 factorial where a steam flaked corn (SFC) basal diet (DGS-N CG-N) was replaced with 40% of diet DM as corn distillers grains (DGS; DGS-Y CG-N) or 10% of diet DM as crude glycerin (DGS-N CG-Y) or 40% of diet DM distillers grains and 10% of diet DM as crude glycerin (DGS-Y CG-Y). No effects were observed for the interaction of DGS and glycerin on measured rumen characteristics. Dietary inclusion of glycerin decreased (P = 0.05) ruminal content 4-h post feeding on a DM basis but did not influence DMI (P = 0.64). Feeding DGS had no effect (P = 0.34) on particulate passage to the omasum (kg/d) in spite of greater (P = 0.04) DMI. Feeding DGS reduced flow rate (% of rumen volume/h) (P = 0.05) but did not affect total VFA concentration (P = 0.46) or average ruminal pH (P = 0.72). No differences (P > 0.05) were observed in ruminal parameters when feeding glycerin, besides ruminal particulate content (kg) on DM basis (P = 0.05). An interaction of DGS and glycerin affected intake of stearic (P < 0.01), linoleic (P < 0.01), and linolenic acid (P < 0.01). An interaction of DGS and glycerin did not affect individual fatty acid flow with respect to intake for stearic (P = 0.17), linoleic (P = 0.18), or linolenic acid (P = 0.66). Dietary inclusion of glycerin had no impact on g of linolenic (P = 0.16) or linoleic (P = 0.32) acid transformed. A trend was identified for cattle fed diets with glycerin to have increased (P = 0.07) grams of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA; C18:2 cis-9, trans-11) per gram of linoleic acid intake, with no impact on the percent of saturated fat (P = 0.44) or unsaturated fat (P = 0.43) in omasal flow. For cattle fed diets with DGS, fewer grams of linoleic (P < 0.01) and linolenic (P < 0.01) were present in digesta flow per gram of intake. Inclusion of DGS in the treatment diets also increased (P < 0.01) stearic acid flow (g) and CLA flow (g) per gram of stearic and linoleic acid intake, respectively. Observed differences in CLA proportion post fermentation may indicate interrupted biohydrogenation when glycerin is fed.
Topics: Cattle; Animals; Fatty Acids; Glycerol; Linoleic Acid; Fermentation; alpha-Linolenic Acid; Diet; Rumen; Zea mays; Animal Feed; Digestion
PubMed: 36592756
DOI: 10.1093/jas/skac347 -
JDS Communications Jul 2022A previously developed abomasal infusion device was modified for easy and successful placement of infusion lines into the abomasum of dairy cows. Similar to the original...
A previously developed abomasal infusion device was modified for easy and successful placement of infusion lines into the abomasum of dairy cows. Similar to the original device, the modified device consists of 2 pieces: an insertion tool and a delivery tool. Updates include streamlining both the insertion and delivery tools by slightly altering dimensions and design, then smoothing all rough edges. The primary changes include a parallel cut along the entire length of the insertion and delivery tools and encasement of the infusion line inside both tools, allowing for smoother insertion through the reticulum-omasum orifice and into the omasum and abomasum. Additionally, increasing the outside diameter of the delivery tool to reduce the gap between the delivery tool and insertion tool, increasing the length of the tools, and making a loop of cord attached to the insertion tool facilitate insertion and easy ejection of the flange into the abomasum. By using this modified device, placement of abomasal infusion lines (including flange) was more successful.
PubMed: 36338021
DOI: 10.3168/jdsc.2021-0201 -
PloS One 2022Despite the growing interest in the ruminants' gastrointestinal tract (GIT) microbiomes' ability to degrade plant materials by animal husbandry and industrial sectors,...
Despite the growing interest in the ruminants' gastrointestinal tract (GIT) microbiomes' ability to degrade plant materials by animal husbandry and industrial sectors, only a few studies addressed browsing ruminants. The present work describes the taxonomic and functional profile of the bacterial and archaeal communities from five different gastrointestinal sections (rumen, omasum-abomasum, jejunum, cecum and colon) of browsing Capra hircus, by metabarcoding using 16S rRNA genes hypervariable regions. The bacterial communities across the GITs are mainly composed of Bacillota and Bacteroidota. Prevotella was the leading bacterial group found in the stomachs, Romboutsia in the jejuna, and Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group, Bacteroides, UCG-010_ge, UCG-005, and Alistipes in large intestines. The archaeal communities in the stomachs and jejuna revealed to be mainly composed of Methanobrevibacter, while in the large intestines its dominance is shared with Methanocorpusculum. Across the GITs, the main metabolic functions were related to carbohydrate, amino acid, and energy metabolisms. Significant differences in the composition and potential biological functions of the bacterial communities were observed among stomachs, jejuna and large intestines. In contrast, significant differences were observed among stomachs and jejuna verse large intestines for archaeal communities. Overall different regions of the GIT are occupied by different microbial communities performing distinct biological functions. A high variety of glycoside hydrolases (GHs) indispensable for degrading plant cell wall materials were predicted to be present in all the GIT sections.
Topics: Amino Acids; Animals; Archaea; Bacteria; Bacteroidetes; Carbohydrates; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Glycoside Hydrolases; Goats; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; Rumen
PubMed: 36251671
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0276262 -
Applied and Environmental Microbiology Sep 2022The gut microbiota of sika deer has been widely investigated, but the spatial distribution of symbiotic microbes among physical niches in the gastrointestinal tract...
The gut microbiota of sika deer has been widely investigated, but the spatial distribution of symbiotic microbes among physical niches in the gastrointestinal tract remains to be established. While feces are the most commonly used biological samples in these studies, the accuracy of fecal matter as a proxy of the microbiome at other gastrointestinal sites is as yet unknown. In the present study, luminal contents obtained along the longitudinal axis of deer gastrointestinal tract (rumen, reticulum, omasum, abomasum, small intestine, cecum, colon, and rectum) were subjected to 16S rRNA gene sequencing for profiling of the microbial composition, and samples from the rumen, small intestine, and cecum were subjected to metabolomic analysis to evaluate short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) profiles. bacteria were the dominant gastric core microbes, while was predominantly observed in the intestine. While the eight gastrointestinal sites displayed variations in microbial diversity, abundance, and function, they could be clustered into stomach, small intestine, and large intestine segments, and the results further highlighted a specific microbial niche of the small intestine. SCFA levels in the rumen, small intestine, and cecum were significantly different, with and were shown to play a critical role in SCFA production. Finally, the rectal microbial composition was significantly correlated with colonic and cecum communities but not those of the small intestine and four gastric sites. Quantification of the compositions and biogeographic relationships between gut microbes and SCFAs in sika deer should provide valuable insights into the interactions contributing to microbial functions and metabolites. Feces or specific segments of the gastrointestinal tract (in particular, the rumen) were sampled to explore the gut microbiome. The gastrointestinal biogeography of the luminal microbiota in ruminants, which is critical to guide accurate sampling for different purposes, is poorly understood at present. The microbial community of the rectal sample (as a proxy of fecal sample) showed higher correlation with those of other large intestinal sites relative to the small intestine or stomach, suggesting that the microbial composition is specifically shaped by the unique physiological characteristics of different gastrointestinal niches. In addition, significant differences in microbiomes and SCFAs were observed among the different gastrointestinal sites.
Topics: Animals; Bacteria; Deer; Fatty Acids, Volatile; Feces; Gastrointestinal Tract; Microbiota; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; Ruminants
PubMed: 35950850
DOI: 10.1128/aem.00499-22 -
Journal of Advanced Research Mar 2022Dairy cattle are a vitally important ruminant in meeting the demands for high-quality animal protein production worldwide. The complicated biological process of...
INTRODUCTION
Dairy cattle are a vitally important ruminant in meeting the demands for high-quality animal protein production worldwide. The complicated biological process of converting human indigestible biomass into highly digestible and nutritious milk is orchestrated by various tissues. However, poorly understanding of the cellular composition and function of the key metabolic tissues hinders the improvement of health and performance of domestic ruminants.
OBJECTIVES
The cellular heterogeneity, metabolic features, interactions across ten tissue types of lactating dairy cattle were studied at single-cell resolution in the current study.
METHODS
Unbiased single-cell RNA-sequencing and analysis were performed on the rumen, reticulum, omasum, abomasum, ileum, rectum, liver, salivary gland, mammary gland, and peripheral blood of lactating dairy cattle. Immunofluorescences and fluorescence in situ hybridization were performed to verify cell identity.
RESULTS
In this study, we constructed a single-cell landscape covering 88,013 high-quality (500 < genes < 4,000, UMI < 50, 000, and mitochondrial gene ratio < 40% or 15%) single cells and identified 55 major cell types in lactating dairy cattle. Our systematic survey of the gene expression profiles and metabolic features of epithelial cells related to nutrient transport revealed cell subtypes that have preferential absorption of different nutrients. Importantly, we found that T helper type 17 (Th17) cells (highly expressing and ) were specifically enriched in the forestomach tissues and predominantly interacted with the epithelial cell subtypes with high potential uptake capacities of short-chain fatty acids through IL-17 signaling. Furthermore, the comparison between cells (epithelial cells with and expression levels both greater than 0.25) and other cells explained the importance of Th17 cells in regulating the epithelial cellular transcriptional response to nutrient transport in the forestomach.
CONCLUSION
The findings enhance our understanding of the cellular biology of ruminants and open new avenues for improved animal production of dairy cattle.
Topics: Animals; Cattle; Female; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; Lactation; Nutrients; Rumen; Transcriptome
PubMed: 35499046
DOI: 10.1016/j.jare.2021.11.009