Journal of animal science最新文献

{"title":"The association of lung consolidation in beef × dairy cattle at weaning with feedlot growth performance, carcass characteristics, liver health, and liver microbiome diversity.","authors":"Ingrid L B Fernandes,Melissa C Cantor,Ana Fonseca,Erika Ganda,Tara L Felix","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf358","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf358","url":null,"abstract":"Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is the costliest disease in the cattle industry and often compromises the immune system. The objective of this observational cohort study was to evaluate the impact of lung consolidation (LC) diagnosed at weaning (8 ± 2 wk of age) on feedlot growth performance, carcass characteristics, and liver health and microbiome in beef × dairy cattle. At 4 d post-weaning, LC was assessed by thoracic ultrasonography. The cattle (n = 139) either had ≥ 1 cm2 LC in at least one lung lobe and were BRD positive (35 calves; BRD) or did not (< 1 cm2) and were negative (104 calves; CONTROL). Cattle were moved to the feedlot at 353 ± 53 d of age where individual feed intake and body weights (BW) were recorded. Cattle were sent to slaughter when they reached a target final BW (steers = 680 kg and heifers = 635 kg). Liver scores and carcass data were collected. A subset (n = 29; 18 BRD cattle vs. 11 CONTROL cattle) had healthy liver tissue analyzed to investigate the association of LC at weaning with the liver microbiome diversity at slaughter. Only cattle with edible livers and no lung lesions were included in the microbiome analysis subset. Liver tissue samples were collected at slaughter and subsequently sequenced for microbiome analysis using an Illumina platform through targeted sequencing of the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene. Mixed linear models were used to assess the effects of LC on growth performance and carcass characteristics with calf ranch, sex, and breed as fixed effects in the model. Generalized linear mixed models were used to assess the distributions of lung scores, liver scores, and quality grade at slaughter between LC and CONTROL cattle. To assess the effect of LC at weaning on the liver microbial communities at slaughter, the beta diversity (ADONIS) test was run, and the relative abundance of taxa is presented. There were no differences between BRD and CONTROL cattle for growth performance or most carcass traits (P > 0.05). However, the marbling score was greater (P = 0.05) in carcasses from CONTROL cattle (495 ± 7.82; LSM ± SEM) when compared with carcasses from BRD cattle (462 ± 13.84at 8 ± 2 wk of age. The beta diversity in the liver did not differ (P > 0.05) between BRD and CONTROL cattle. Staphylococcus was the most abundant genus among the liver samples, regardless of health status at weaning. A diagnosis of BRD by LC in beef × dairy cattle at weaning (57 ± 14 d of age) reduced marbling and impacted quality grade.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"70 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145305657","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fiber deprivation and insoluble corn-based fibrous co-products modulate gastrointestinal mucosa-associated microbiota, extracellular matrix remodeling, and intestinal morphology in growing pigs.","authors":"Hannah E Miller,Cassidy N Sasser,M Sebastian Hernandez,Jerrad F Legako,Chiron J Anderson,Stephan Schmitz-Esser,Aaron C Ericsson,Paul R Broadway,Nicole C Burdick Sanchez,Jeffery A Carroll,Michael J Cruz Penn,Amy L Petry","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf360","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf360","url":null,"abstract":"This study examined how insoluble corn-based fibrous coproducts (ICBF) affect gastrointestinal (GI) mucosal microbiota, gene expression, and intestinal morphology in growing pigs compared to fiber deprivation. Fifty-six gilts (26.7±2.5 kg BW), were randomly assigned to one of 7 semi-synthetic diets. Treatments included a fiber-deprived control [CTL;<1% insoluble dietary fiber (IDF)], and 6 diets where an ICBF replaced 30% of corn starch: dehulled degermed corn (DHDG; IDF=1.7%), ground corn (COR; IDF=4.7%), corn gluten meal (CGM; IDF=5.2%), dried distillers grains (DDGS; IDF=8.6%), high protein dried distillers grains (HP; IDF=13.5%), and corn bran (BRN; IDF=17.5%). Pigs were individually housed and limit-fed 2.4 times maintenance. On day 31, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, and colon tissues were collected. Microbial 16S rRNA sequencing of mucosal material, tissue transcriptomics, and histological analyses were conducted in various intestinal regions. Data were analyzed using mixed models with diet as a fixed effect and linear and quadratic contrasts to assess response IDF. A negative binomial model with FDR correction were used for operational taxonomic unit (OTU) analysis, and transcriptomics were evaluated with DESeq2 comparing ICBF sources to CTL (Q ≤ 0.05, |log2FC| ≥ 2). In the ileal mucosa, Shannon and Simpson diversity indices linearly increased with IDF%, while in the colon mucosa Chao1 and Shannon diversity responded quadratically (P<0.05). Among the top 100 most abundant OTUs, 60 and 86 differed in ileal and colonic mucosa, respectively (Q<0.05). In the ileum and colon pigs fed low-ICBF diets (CTL, DHDG) had increased abundance of OTUs containing opportunistic or potentially pathogenic species (e.g., Enterobacteriaceae, Campylobacter, Streptococcus). However, moderate-to-high ICBF diets, CGM, DDGS, and BRN, enriched mucosal-associated Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, and Akkermansia. In the duodenum and ileum, villous height had a positive quadratic relationship to increasing IDF, while the jejunum villous height linearly decreased (P<0.05). Gene expression profiles revealed that moderate-to-high ICBF (DDGS, HP, and BRN) upregulated genes associated with cell structure and extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling (TPPP3, MUC5AC, SERPINA1). Fiber-deprivation upregulated genes associated with ECM degradation (MMP9, MMP12), and collagen formation (COL26A1). Thus, both fiber deprivation and excessive ICBF can disrupt mucosal microbial and host homeostasis.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"34 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145305659","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Daily Feed Intake Patterns of Purebred Nucleus Boars as Genetic Indicators for Disease Resilience of Crossbred Barrows Under a Natural Polymicrobial Disease Challenge","authors":"Mostafa Madad, John C S Harding, Michael K Dyck, Frederic Fortin, Graham S Plastow, PigGen Canada, Jack C M Dekkers","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf357","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf357","url":null,"abstract":"Resilience is an important selection target in pig production to reduce the impact of stressors on performance and welfare, in particular disease stressors. Disease resilience is, however, difficult to select for because purebred selection candidates must be raised under high biosecurity. Previous research showed that patterns of feed intake and feeding behavior of pigs under a disease challenge are genetically correlated with disease resilience. Given the wealth of individual feed intake data that is collected on purebred selection candidates, the objective of this study was to determine whether patterns of feed intake derived from such data can be used as genetic indicators to select for disease resilience of crossbred pigs. Daily feed intake on 27,880 boars from 5 Landrace and Large White breeding populations were used to derive three potential disease resilience indicators: the square root of the standard deviation (RSD), the lag-one autocorrelation (AC), and the skewness (SK) or residuals of linear regression of feed intake on age. Heritability estimates were 0.13 for RSD, 0.08 for AC, and 0.06 for SK. Estimates of genetic correlations with growth rate and feed intake of these same purebreds were high positive for RSD, close to zero for AC, and moderate negative for SK. Estimates of genetic correlations of the purebred traits with traits of their crossbred barrows (n = 1818) that were exposed to a natural polymicrobial disease challenge indicated that resilience measures derived from purebred nucleus data are different genetic traits than similar measures (ie RSD) on their crossbreds under disease, as are corresponding performance traits such as growth and feed intake. Estimates of genetic correlations of the three indicator traits of purebreds with resilience traits of crossbreds under the disease challenge, including growth rate, mortality, and veterinary treatment rates, were highly variable and on average close to zero. We conclude that the purebred feed intake pattern traits evaluated here are not ready to be used to select for disease resilience because of inconsistent results and large standard errors of genetic correlation estimates. However, results do suggest that resilience measures derived from feed intake and behavior traits (e.g. based on duration) of purebreds in high-health nucleus herds may contain information that is genetically correlated to disease resilience in the field. Additional research is needed to identify such measures.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"102 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145295618","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comprehensive transcriptomic profiling of dynamic endometrial alterations during different implantation stages in goats (Capra hircus)","authors":"Junyin Zhao, Shengnan Zhao, Yangshen Zhang, Jikang Zheng, Yuhao Liao, Mingming Wang, Xingqiang Fang, Zhipeng Sun, Yongju Zhao","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf347","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf347","url":null,"abstract":"The establishment of endometrial receptivity constitutes a multifaceted biological process orchestrated by intricate regulatory networks, representing a critical determinant for successful embryo implantation and pregnancy outcomes. This study systematically characterized the dynamic landscapes of non-coding RNA (ncRNA) and mRNA in the goat endometrium across distinct implantation stages. Endometrial tissues from goats at gestational days 10 (D10, n = 4), 17 (D17, n = 4), and pregnancy failure at gestational day 17 (PF, n = 3) were collected; in addition, three samples from each group (n = 3) were selected for transcriptomic sequencing of mRNA, lncRNA, circRNA, and miRNA. The receptive endometrium (D17) exhibited enhanced glandular development, mature pinopodes, elevated estrogen and progesterone levels, and a reduced estrogen/progesterone ratio, along with upregulated markers (VEGF, OPN, IGF1R). Transcriptome profiling identified 6,104 differentially expressed mRNAs (DEmRNAs), 485 lncRNAs (DElncRNAs), 1,694 circRNAs (DEcircRNAs), and 203 miRNAs (DEmiRNAs) across stages. Functional enrichment analysis highlighted the pivotal roles of MAPK, TNF, and RAS signaling pathways in establishing endometrial receptivity, with hub genes including ISG15, CXCL10, IFI6, and RSAD2 contributing significantly to the development of uterine receptivity in goats. Furthermore, ncRNAs such as MSTRG774.1, novel_circ_000145, novel_circ_000257, and chi-miR-348-3p exhibited specific or elevated expression patterns during the receptive phase, suggesting their potential regulatory functions in maintaining the endometrial receptivity microenvironment. Moreover, an integrated competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network was constructed to elucidate potential interactions between ncRNAs and mRNAs, offering novel insights into the molecular regulatory mechanisms underlying endometrial receptivity in ruminants.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145295619","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Technical note: Efficient enrichment of plasma-derived extracellular vesicles from small volumes of bovine blood","authors":"Vincent Prieur, Cassar-Malek Isabelle, Delavaud Arnaud, Barry-Carroll Liam, Delpech Jean-Christophe, Morel Isabelle, Lerch Sylvain, Viala Didier, Chennell Philip, Boby Céline, Bonnet Muriel","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf354","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf354","url":null,"abstract":"Lay Summary This study presents a reliable method to extract small Extracellular Vesicles (sEVs) from 3-4 mL of bovine blood plasma. The sEVs are tiny particles (30-150 nm of diameter) released by cells, involved in their communication, body development, health and maintenance of homeostasis. Moreover, sEVs are known to carry different biomolecules that may serve as biomarkers of metabolic or health status, and may be related to different phenotypic expressions. However, isolating sEVs in plasma is difficult due to the presence of particles similar in size and density, such as lipoproteins. Moreover, the bovine species exhibit a specific lipoprotein profile, which results in necessary methodological adjustments to purify sEVs. To isolates sEVs, 3 steps were combined: ultra-centrifugation, size-exclusion chromatography and ultra-filtration. The sEVs size and shape were assessed combining imaging and EV-dedicated measurement techniques. A sufficient quantity of proteins was collected to enable investigation of sEVs proteome. This resulted in the identification of 417 proteins, 93% of which being known to be associated with sEVs in Vesiclepedia database. Overall, this method enables the isolation of purified plasma-derived sEVs, the investigation of their proteome, opens the possibility to study their biological functions, and finally opens new perspectives for biomarker discovery in livestock.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"130 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145295622","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Integrated GWAS, Meta-Analysis, and Bayesian Fine Mapping Reveal Novel QTLs and Functional Candidate Genes for Vulva Traits in Large White Pigs.","authors":"Jin Zhou,Xiaowen Qian,Zijian Qiu,Liming Xu,Qian Liu,Yanzhen Yin,Jinfeng Ma,Jianghui Yu,David S Casey,Lijing Zhong,Qingbo Zhao,Ruihua Huang,Pinghua Li","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf286","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf286","url":null,"abstract":"The size and angle of the vulva are economically important traits in pig production. Gilts with small or upward-tilted vulva are typically culled directly. Selective breeding aimed at improving vulva traits can enhance the retention rate of replacement gilts. This study aimed to systematically explore the key quantitative trait loci (QTL) and genes influencing vulva traits in Large White pigs using genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and meta-analysis techniques. Data on vulva length (VL), vulva width (VW), and vulva angle scores (VAS) were collected from 2,197 Large White gilts across three distinct populations (313 from PIC, 1,169 from Topigs, and 715 from Canada), with genotyping performed using a 50K single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array. The SNP-chip data were imputed to the whole-genome sequencing (iWGS) level. This study used iWGS data to conduct GWAS, identifying a genomic region (SSC5: 103.04-103.34 Mb) significantly associated with VAS in both the Topigs and Canadian Large White pig populations. The significance of this region was further strengthened through multi-population meta-analysis. The most significant SNP (rs3470833446), identified on chromosome 14 and associated with VW in PIC Large White pigs, explained 16.98% of the phenotypic variation (PVE). Multi-population meta-analysis identified novel significant SNPs associated with VL on SSC4, VW on SSC1, SSC4, and SSC6, and VAS on SSC2 and SSC5. Furthermore, a significant potential pleiotropic QTL (SSC4: 36.42-41.24 Mb) regulating both VL and VW was identified. Bayes fine mapping was employed to determine the confidence intervals for these novel QTLs, with the most refined confidence interval narrowed down to 30 kb (SSC4: 38.73-38.76 Mb for VW, and SSC5: 103.20-103.23 Mb for VAS). Based on the biological functions of the genes, the following were identified as novel regulatory candidate genes for vulva traits: VIP, NAV3, and ESR1. These findings reveal potential key genes and genetic mechanisms influencing vulva traits in pigs, providing a crucial molecular genetic basis for improving pig breeding and reproductive performance.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"25 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145296137","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of perfluorooctanoic acid exposure and heat stress on performance and liver health biomarkers in post-pubertal gilts","authors":"B M Buol, C Antwi-Boasiako, E J Mayorga, M E Gonzalez-Alvarez, L H Baumgard, A F Keating","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf348","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf348","url":null,"abstract":"Objectives were to evaluate how dietary perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and heat stress (HS) affect growth performance and liver health biomarkers in pigs. Crossbred post-pubertal gilts (n = 48; 164.0 ± 11.6 kg body weight [BW]) were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatments in a 2 × 2 factorial design: 1) thermoneutral (TN) control (n = 12; TN-CON), 2) TN and PFOA (n = 12; TN-PFOA), 3) HS control (n = 12; HS-CON), or 4) HS and PFOA (n = 12; HS-PFOA), and enrolled in 3 experimental periods (P). During P1 (3 d), pigs were housed in TN conditions (20.3 ± 0.1 °C) and baseline data were collected. During P2 (15 d), HS-CON and HS-PFOA pigs were exposed to cyclical HS (29.3 ± 0.1 to 31.9 ± 0.8 °C), while TN-CON and TN-PFOA remained in TN conditions. Altrenogest was administered once daily (0800 h) during P2 to synchronize estrus. In P3 (4 d), Altrenogest was withdrawn to induce estrus, while experimental treatments remained the same. PFOA (70 ng/kg BW) was orally administered once daily (0800 h) during P2 and P3, and all pigs were euthanized at the end of P3. HS increased rectal temperature, skin temperature, and respiration rate compared to TN counterparts during P2 (0.34 °C, 5.67 °C, and 22 bpm, respectively; P &amp;lt; 0.01) and P3 (0.26 °C, 6.96 °C, and 22 bpm, respectively; P &amp;lt; 0.01), and these were only marginally influenced by PFOA. During P2 and P3, HS markedly decreased feed intake (FI) and average daily gain (ADG), and PFOA tended to decrease FI and ADG; an effect most pronounced in TN conditions (410 g/d; P ≤ 0.08 and 320 g/d; P ≤ 0.09, respectively) during P2 and P3. HS decreased circulating alkaline phosphatase and alanine aminotransferase in P2 and P3 (P ≤ 0.01), and increased gamma-glutamyl transferase in P2 (P &amp;lt; 0.01), but these enzymes were unaffected by PFOA. There was little to no dietary treatment or environmental effects on other liver health biomarkers. HS decreased absolute and relative liver, lung, and kidney weights, and PFOA decreased absolute lung weight (11%; P &amp;lt; 0.05) and relative lung weight (0.06%; P = 0.09). In summary, PFOA and HS independently compromised appetite and growth, but the effects of PFOA and HS do not appear to be additive.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"51 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145260786","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals Impaired Tight Junction and Upregulated IL-17 Signaling in Induced Abnormal Keratinization Area of Rumen","authors":"Tianxi Zhang, Zhiyuan Ma, Fei Li, Fenja Klevenhusen, Long Guo, Li Wang, Zhian Zhang, Shuai Jiao, Fang Luo, Tao Guo, Xinji Wang, Kaidong Li, Baocang Liu","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf352","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf352","url":null,"abstract":"High-grain diets can reduce rumen pH, which may damage the process of keratinization of the ruminal stratified squamous epithelium, leading to areas of abnormal keratinization (AK). However, the comprehension of molecular biological processes leading to the development of an AK area in the rumen is limited. A total of 48 wethers (2-month-old) were fed a diet containing 48% barley and 24% starch (DM basis) to induce AK development. Rumen fluid samples were collected via an oral stomach tube at 0, 2.5, and 6 h post-morning feeding on three consecutive days (d 58, 59, and 60) to measure pH. Following a 63-day feeding period, all lambs were slaughtered, and based on macroscopic pathological observation of the rumen, they were retrospectively classified into two categories of individuals: individuals with normal rumen (INR; n = 38) and individuals with abnormal keratinization rumen (IAKR; n = 10). Tissue samples from the AK and adjacent morphologically normal (MN) areas of IAKR were analyzed histologically and via RNA sequencing and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Statistical analysis used Shapiro-Wilk tests for histological and qRT-PCR data and linear mixed models for pH comparisons. Key genes and pathways were identified through Differential Expression Analysis (DEA), Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA), and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA). Compared to the INR, the IAKR had a lower rumen pH at 2.5 h post-morning feeding (5.352 vs 6.035, P &amp;lt; 0.01). Histological examination showed significant reductions in papillae length, width, and stratum corneum thickness in the AK area compared to the MN area (P &amp;lt; 0.01). Transcriptomic analysis revealed the gene expression downregulation of ACTR2, which play a role in tight junctions; Downregulation of SLC38A2, a gene involved in the protein digestion and absorption pathway, was also observed; The upregulation of MMP9 was observed in the IL-17 signaling pathway, contributing to tissue damage; The expression of ITGB7 was also upregulated, which intensified the local immune response. The expression patterns of these genes were further confirmed by qRT-PCR analysis. In conclusion, the current study revealed molecular processes involved in the disruption of intercellular connections and structural support in tissue cells and impaired ability of cells to absorb nutrients and capture signaling molecules within these AK areas caused by high grain feeding.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"123 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145295621","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Feeding intact protein from soybean meal instead of corn and synthetic amino acids does not affect growth performance, carcass composition, blood cytokines, or mRNA abundance of intestinal amino acid transporters in growing pigs, but net energy tends to be greater in diets with soybean meal","authors":"Minoy Cristobal, Su A Lee, Carl M Parsons, Hans H Stein","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf349","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf349","url":null,"abstract":"Lay Summary The hypothesis that reducing dietary crude protein in corn-soybean meal-based diets will not increase net energy in diets and will not affect growth performance, carcass composition, nutrient deposition, intestinal morphology, or immune status of pigs was tested. Four diets were formulated with decreasing soybean meal inclusion and increasing corn and synthetic amino acids, resulting in protein levels of 20.0, 16.4, 15.4, and 13.4%, respectively. Pigs (initial weight: 32.2 ± 4.2 kg) were fed these diets for 28 days with samples collected to assess body composition, intestinal morphology, blood markers, and mRNA abundance of amino acid transporters. Results indicated that reducing dietary protein levels did not impact any of the analyzed pig characteristics, but net energy tended to decrease as soybean meal in the diet was reduced. In conclusion, growth performance can be maintained on low-protein diets with synthetic amino acid supplementation, but reducing dietary protein levels may decrease net energy values in diets.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145260619","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Variability in cognitive strategies in a numerical discrimination task: individual and comparative insights from day-old domestic chicks (Gallus gallus)","authors":"Kimberly Brosche, Lucia Regolin, Agnese Zazio, Rosa Rugani","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf351","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf351","url":null,"abstract":"Sensitivity to numbers is a crucial cognitive ability. Numerical discrimination, defined as the ability to distinguish between different numerosities, allows animals to reduce predation risk, increase foraging efficiency, and maximize food intake, and has been documented in primates, amphibians, fish, birds, and insects. Evidence from day-old chicks suggests that basic numerical competencies are part of a precociously available cognitive toolkit that guides animals in their interaction with the environment. To discriminate between two numerosities, animals could employ either an absolute or a relative strategy. Absolute discrimination requires identifying a specific numerosity (e.g., 10) against others. Relative discrimination consists in selecting the higher (or the lower) numerosity in any pair. Which strategy is preferred differs across species: Humans and fish preferentially adopt a relative strategy, while honeybees apply an absolute strategy. This posed the question how strategy preferences evolve phylogenetically and develop ontogenetically. This study explores whether 3-day-old chicks (Gallus gallus) spontaneously adopt an absolute or relative strategy. During rearing, 124 chicks were exposed to a numerical comparison (5 vs. 10; Exp. 1) and learned that one numerosity (10) was associated with food. During testing, which consisted of a 6-minute unrewarded observation, each chick was presented with the numerosity associated with food (10, the choice of which would indicate an absolute strategy) alongside an unfamiliar numerosity consistent with the relative strategy (20, which is larger than 10). Based on previous evidence, we hypothesized that chicks would spend more time near the numerosity corresponding to their preferred strategy. Chicks did not show a significant preference on a group level, regardless of whether the higher (Exps. 1 and 2) or the lower numerosity (Exp. 3) had been associated with food during rearing. Interestingly, chicks exhibited significant individual preferences for one or the other strategy that cannot be explained by the novelty of the stimuli (Exp. 4) or by the use of physical variables (Exp. 2). These findings suggest either that diversity of numerical discrimination strategies was evolutionary favorable in domestic chickens’ natural environments, or that, at this early stage of ontogeny, young chicks’ strategies are still highly variable and flexible.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145260825","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}