Effects of 4-Hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furanone supplementation on growth performance, serum antioxidant capacity, rumen fermentation characteristics, rumen bacterial quorum sensing, and microbial community in Hu sheep.

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effects of 4-Hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furanone on growth performance, serum antioxidant capacity, rumen fermentation characteristics, rumen microbial LuxS/AI-2 quorum sensing, and community composition in Hu sheep.

Methods: Twenty-two male Hu sheep with similar body weights and ages were evenly divided into two groups: the control group, which was fed a basal diet (n=11, CON), and the treatment group, which was fed the basal diet supplemented with an additional 1.0 g/d of HDMF (n=11, HDMF).

Results: The results showed no significant differences in average daily gain, average dry matter intake, and feed conversion ratio between the HDMF and CON groups (p>0.05), but improvements of 11.12%, 4.55%, and 7.56% were observed, respectively. Compared to the CON group, the HDMF group exhibited increased levels of sglutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase, and decreased levels of malondialdehyde and reactive oxygen species, as well as a reduced oxidative stress index (p<0.05). Dietary HDMF supplementation did not affect rumen fermentation characteristics, except for the proportion of valerate (p<0.05). HDMF supplementation increased the AI-2 signaling molecules concentration and biofilm formation in the rumen fluid (p<0.05). There were no significant differences in the richness and evenness of rumen microbes between the HDMF and CON groups. Principal coordinates analysis and nonmetric multidimensional scaling analyses revealed an obvious overlap between the two groups, and ANOSIM also found no significant differences (R=0.0116, p =0.303). Further species annotation and biomarker analysis revealed that the HDMF group reduced the abundances of Shuttleworthia, Eubacterium eligens group, and Erysipelotrichaceae UCG 002, and increased the abundances of Riknellaceae RC9 gut group, Prevotellaceae UCG 003, Desulfobulbus, Methanobrevibacter, and Selenomonas ruminantium.

Conclusion: This study suggests that HDMF supplementation enhances the body's antioxidant capacity and increases the abundances of certain disease-resistant bacteria by promoting AI-2 signaling molecules and biofilm formation, thereby ultimately improving the growth performance.