Journal of animal science最新文献

{"title":"Effects of dietary supplementation with linseed oil, Ascophyllum nodosum or treated A. nodosum on animal performance, gaseous emissions, ruminal fermentation and microbiota, and meat quality in growing dairy beef bulls","authors":"Emily Roskam, David A Kenny, Alan K Kelly, Maria Hayes, Nikola Palevich, Paul H Maclean, Vincent O’Flaherty, Ambarish Biswas, Sinéad M Waters","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf032","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf032","url":null,"abstract":"Oils high in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and seaweeds containing phlorotannins have potential anti-methanogenic effects in ruminants. This study assessed the potential of dietary supplementation with linseed oil, Ascophyllum nodosum or treated A. nodosum in an intensive beef cattle feeding system on animal performance, gaseous emissions, ruminal fermentation and microbiota, and muscle fatty acid profiles. Seventy-two dairy-beef bulls (380 kg; 11 months of age) were randomly allocated to one of four dietary treatments (n = 18) for a 70-d period. The diet consisted of a 60:40 grass silage:concentrate ratio. Silage was offered daily (0900 h) and concentrates were offered twice daily (0800 h and 1500 h). Dietary treatments were incorporated into the concentrate portion of the diet as follows; 1) CON (no supplementation), 2) LSO (linseed oil), 3) SW (A. nodosum) and 4) EX (A. nodosum extract), included to target 0, 4, 2 and 2% of dry matter intake (DMI), respectively. The concentrates were formulated to be isonitrogenous across the four treatment groups. Total DMI (American Calan Inc., Northwood, NH), average daily gain (ADG), gain:feed and enteric emissions (GreenFeed; C-Lock Inc., Rapid City, SD) were measured for the 70-d supplementation period. Total DMI (P = 0.17), ADG (P = 0.28), gain:feed (P = 0.68) and total tract digestibility (P = 0.70) did not differ across treatments. Daily methane production (P < 0.001) for CON, LSO, SW and EX was 210, 170, 202 and 193 g/d, respectively, resulting in reductions of 19 and 8% for LSO and EX, respectively, relative to CON. Ruminal fermentation parameters show that LSO was the only dietary treatment to increase propionate (P = 0.09) and decrease butyrate (P = 0.04) concentrations relative to CON. Microbial analyses showed LSO supplementation increased and decreased relative abundances of fungal genera Buwchfawromyces and Piromyces, respectively, while altering relative abundances of the bacterial genera Muribaculaceae, Bacteroidales RF16 group and Bacterium F082. Additionally, LSO increased linolenic acid (P < 0.001) and n-3 PUFA (P < 0.001) concentration of the longissimus dorsi muscle compared to CON, SW and EX. In conclusion, LSO was the most effective dietary supplementation strategy compared to CON, EX and SW, whereby it reduced methane emissions, modified ruminal fermentation and microbial profiles, and enhanced beneficial muscle PUFA concentration, without impacting animal performance.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143258376","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 Bacillus subtilis ATCC PTA-122264 on Apparent Total Tract Macronutrient Digestibility and Fecal Characteristics, Metabolites, and Microbiota of Healthy Adult Dogs","authors":"Patrícia M Oba, Olivia R Swanson, Yifei Kang, Julio C Mioto, John F Menton, Elena Vinay, Mathieu Millette, Melissa R Kelly, Kelly S Swanson","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf038","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf038","url":null,"abstract":"Gastrointestinal and stool quality issues are common in companion animals. In addition to dietary fibers and prebiotics, the consumption of live microorganisms may be used to support the gastrointestinal health of pets. Spore-forming Bacillus species are gaining interest due to their viability during processing, storage, and within the gastrointestinal tract. The objective of the current study was to determine the effects of B. subtilis ATCC PTA-122264 supplementation on dietary apparent total tract macronutrient digestibility and the fecal characteristics, metabolites, and microbiota of healthy adult dogs. Twelve healthy adult beagle dogs (6 ± 1.14 yr; 8.71 ± 0.91 kg body weight) were used in a replicated 3x3 Latin square design. Dogs were fed to maintain body weight and allotted to one of three treatments each experimental period (n=12/treatment): Control [kibble diet + placebo (1.25 g of maltodextrin)], Low [kibble diet + 1×109 colony-forming units (CFU)/day of B. subtilis], and High (kibble diet + 5×109 CFU/day of B. subtilis). Each experimental period was composed of a 22-day adaptation phase, 5-day fecal collection phase, and one day for blood collection. Fecal microbiota data were evaluated using QIIME2. All other data were analyzed using the Mixed Models procedure of SAS, with P<0.05 being considered significant. B. subtilis supplementation tended to decrease (P<0.10) apparent total tract dry matter, organic matter, and energy digestibilities, but did not influence food or energy intake, fecal output, and apparent total tract protein or fat digestibilities. Most serum metabolites, hematology, fecal characteristics, and fecal bacterial alpha and beta diversity indices were not affected. Fecal dysbiosis index tended to be affected and fecal Streptococcus, Escherichia coli, and Blautia abundances were lower (P<0.05) in dogs allotted to the Low treatment. These data suggest that daily supplementation of up to 5×109 CFU/day of B. subtilis ATCC PTA-122264 is safe and does not affect markers of general health and fecal characteristics of healthy dogs, warranting further exploration.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"41 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143371552","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":"Prolactin and Heat Stress; focus on Domestic Ruminants.","authors":"Iain J Clarke, Frank R Dunshea, Surinder S Chauhan","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf020","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Prolactin has traditionally been associated with milk production, but recent studies identify prolactin as having many other functions. These include a role in pelage growth, sweating, immune function, metabolism and water/electrolyte balance. A signature of HS is a rise in prolactin concentrations so the question arises as to whether this hormone has a particular function in relation to response to or mitigation of HS. Thus, prolactin plays a multifaceted role in the physiological and behavioral responses of livestock to HS, contributing to their ability to cope with warmer temperatures and maintain homeostasis. A major advance in recent years is the identification of the SLICK gene in cattle, being a mutation in the prolactin receptor. It is responsible for a phenotype of short, shiny coat. SLICK confers heat resilience and offers a realistic means of mitigating HS by introgression into cattle without the mutation. The purpose of this article is to ascertain what functions prolactin may have in the response to HS. It appears that prolactin may be involved in many of the physiological processes that are affected by HS, but it is clear that definitive evidence of cause/effect are yet to be discerned.</p>","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143188767","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":"Fecal Microbiota-based Investigations of Nitrogen Utilization Efficiency and related Traits in a Landrace x Piétrain crossbred Population","authors":"Markus Schmid, Valentin P Haas, Naomi Sarpong, Markus Rodehutscord, Jana Seifert, Amélia Camarinha-Silva, Jörn Bennewitz","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf028","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf028","url":null,"abstract":"Improving protein efficiency in pork production is a desired goal regarding resource conservation and climate protection, whereby animal breeding has great potential for sustainable improvements. Nitrogen utilization efficiency (NUE) is an important trait but laborious to measure. As blood urea nitrogen (BUN) can be used to predict NUE, it is often used as indicator trait. Both NUE and BUN were found to be heritable, however, microbial studies have not yet been carried out. The present study aimed to investigate the role of the gastrointestinal microbiota in the context of N efficiency in different fattening phases. The dataset consisted of 450 Landrace x Piétrain pigs fattened in a two-phase feeding regime. All pigs were fecal sampled and phenotyped in two fattening phases, referred to as sampling period (SP) 1 and SP2 in week 13 and week 16 post natum, respectively. Microbial communities in feces were compared across SPs and significant differences were observed. Mixed linear models were applied to quantify the microbial variance and microbiability for NUE, BUN, and related traits within each of the SPs. Except for NUE in SP1, all microbiabilities were significant and ranged from 0.079 to 0.471. Microbiome-wide association studies revealed a polymicrobial trait architecture, characterized by the contribution of many genera, with each genus having a relatively small effect on the traits. In total, four and eleven microbial genera were significantly associated with NUE and BUN, respectively. Microbial correlations were estimated between traits within SPs via bivariate analyses. Blood urea nitrogen was significantly correlated with N intake and retention in SP1 but not in SP2. Fecal microbiota composition differed significantly between SPs and the use of microbiota data across SPs resulted in a remarkable drop in microbiability for nearly all traits. This implies that microbiota data should be representative of the time point of phenotyping to fully capture microbial contribution to trait expression. The results suggest that jointly using genomic and fecal microbial data might be expedient to improve protein efficiency in fattening pigs.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143192315","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":"The effect of dietary camelina, flaxseed, and canola oil supplementation on skin fatty acid profile and immune and inflammatory responses in healthy adult horses","authors":"Samantha Hartwig, Scarlett Burron, Taylor Richards, Alexandra Rankovic, David WL Ma, Wendy Pearson, Jennifer Ellis, Luciano Trevizan, Dave J Seymour, Anna K Shoveller","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf025","url":null,"abstract":"Camelina sativa is an oilseed crop rich in α-linolenic acid (ALA), an n-3 fatty acid (FA), and is resistant to harsh climates and pests. Previously, supplementation with camelina oil (CAM) in horses had no adverse effects on basic health parameters and had comparable skin and coat parameters as both flaxseed oil (FLX) and canola oil (OLA). Further, the plasma FA profile of horses was reflective of their respective treatment oil. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of dietary CAM supplementation on skin FA profile, immune, and inflammatory responses as compared to two commonly used oils in the equine industry, OLA and FLX, in healthy adult horses. Twenty-four adult horses, from two separate herds, were enrolled in this experiment. The horses underwent a gradual 4-week fat acclimation period to sunflower oil (~0.28% ALA), then were supplemented with either CAM (~34.9% ALA), OLA (~12.0% ALA), or FLX (56.0% ALA) at an inclusion rate of 0.37 g/kg body weight (BW) per day for an additional 16 weeks. Immune and inflammatory responses were assessed by measuring antibody concentrations across time after sensitization to keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) at weeks 10 and 12, and a subsequent delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) challenge. Skin biopsy samples were collected at weeks 0, 8 and 16, and FA composition was determined using gas chromatography. All data were analyzed as a repeated measures ANOVA using PROC GLIMMIX in SAS. Antibody and DTH responses to KLH did not differ among groups (P = 0.262 and 0.813, respectively), and no treatment by time effects were observed (P = 0.764 and P = 0.817, respectively). Most FA in the skin changed in composition across time, with the sum of n-3 FA increasing (P &amp;lt; 0.001) and the sum of n-6 FA and skin n-6:n-3 ratio decreasing over time (P &amp;lt; 0.001 and P &amp;lt; 0.001, respectively). Only dihomo-γ-linolenic acid (P = 0.025) and the sum of n-3 FA (P = 0.031) had treatment by week effects. At week 16, the composition of eicosapentaenoic acid in skin was greater in FLX than OLA, but neither differed from CAM (P = 0.049). These results suggest that ALA supplementation may beneficially impact skin FA profile. However, due to the small differences in n-3 FA and n-6:n-3 ratio among CAM, FLX, and OLA, a comparable skin FA profile, immune, and inflammatory response was observed among treatments at a dose of 0.37 g oil/kg BW. Therefore, CAM may be a suitable alternative to FLX in equine diets for the delivery of ALA.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"76 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143083776","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":"Genomics of liver abscesses in feedlot cattle","authors":"Melanie K Hess, Rebecca L McDermott, Galen E Erickson, Matthew L Spangler","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf029","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf029","url":null,"abstract":"The primary reason livers are condemned is due to abscesses, which are visible lesions detected on the liver during routine harvest of the animal. Condemned livers are deemed not fit for human consumption, and result in over $15M in lost income to the U.S. beef industry each year. Liver scoring is a 4-level measurement of abscess severity: 0 (no abscesses), A- (mild: 1-2 small abscesses), A (moderate: 2-4 active abscesses) and A+ (severe: 1 or more large, active abscesses). We quantified the degree to which known sources of variation, including genomic differences among animals, contribute to the incidence of liver abscesses in 1747 feedlot cattle fed a range of diets. Diets were grouped based on corn type (dry-rolled corn (DRC), high-moisture corn (HMC), DRC/HMC or steam-flaked Corn (SFC)) and byproduct (none, modified distillers grains plus solubles (MDGS), and Sweet Bran fed at 20%, 35% or 40%). A common set of SNP (n= 44,666) from the Illumina BovineSNP50 v2 and GGP Bovine 100K were used for genomic analyses. The posterior mean (posterior standard deviation) heritability estimate of liver score was 0.10 (0.05). Within-diet heritability estimates were not significantly different from zero but ranged from 0.02 (0.02) (MDGS) to 0.29 (0.32) (Sweet Bran fed at 35%). A BayesB Genome Wide Association Study with showed that liver score is a very polygenic trait with no large QTL segregating in this population. The genetic and phenotypic correlations of liver score with hot carcass weight, 12th rib fat, longissimus muscle area, or marbling score were not significantly different from zero. Results from the current study show that genomic selection for reduced liver score could be a useful tool to reduce the occurrence of liver abscesses in feedlot cattle, alongside current mitigation strategies; however, more data is needed to gain a better understanding of the genetic basis of liver score, as well as the relationship between liver score and other economically relevant traits, and potential genetic x diet interactions.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"10 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143191735","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":"Prediction of Pellet Durability Index (PDI) in a Commercial Feed Mill Using Multiple Linear Regression with Variable Selection and Dimensionality Reduction","authors":"Jihao You, Dan Tulpan, Cheryl Krziyzek, Jennifer L Ellis","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf021","url":null,"abstract":"Pellet quality, measured as Pellet Durability Index (PDI), is an important key performance indicator (KPI) for commercial feed manufacturing, as it can impact both mill efficiency and downstream performance of animals fed the manufactured diets. However, it is an ongoing challenge for the feed industry to control pellet quality, due to the complexity of feed manufacturing and the large number of variables influencing the process. Previous studies have explored prediction of pellet quality using either simple empirical models with a few variables or machine learning models with many variables. The objective of the current study was to develop statistical regression models to predict PDI, and to describe the relationship between pellet quality and 55 available variables based on a dataset with 2691 observations collected from a commercial feed mill. In the current study, the response variable (PDI) was transformed using the Box-Cox approach into the transformed response variable (tPDI), that was more normally distributed. Three multiple regression models were developed based on subsets of variables processed by variable selection and dimensionality reduction methods: Forward Selection, Principal Component Analysis, and Partial Least Squares. The results indicated that Model 1 (Forward Selection with manual removal of sparse variables), built on 9 variables, performed better than the other two models. It exhibited consistent model prediction performance on the training data and testing data, in terms of MAE (1.93 ± 0.063 versus 1.96), RMSPE (2.45 ± 0.079 versus 2.45), and CCC (0.549 ± 0.0273 versus 0.550), with a better prediction precision based on the fit plot. Expanding Temperature (℃), Fat Content (%), and ADF Content (%), and Indoor Humidity (Pelletizer) (%) were identified as more influential than other variables on the transformed response variable (tPDI) in Model 1, based on a behavior analysis. The models developed in the current study can be helpful to feed mills for predicting and comprehending the effect of a number of commonly measured variables on pellet quality in the commercial setting.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"28 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143125314","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":"Different vitamin D supplementation strategies impact serum vitamin D concentrations and the mRNA expression of genes related to vitamin D metabolism, mitochondria respiration, redox balance, and immune system in weanling piglets","authors":"Danyel Bueno Dalto, Isabelle Audet, Caroline Roy, Geneviève Villeneuve, J Jacques Matte, Jérôme Lapointe","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf024","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf024","url":null,"abstract":"This study compared the effects of different vitamin D supplementation strategies to pre- and post-weaning piglets on vitamin D metabolism and health-related parameters. Sixty Yorkshire-Landrace × Duroc suckling piglets were selected at the first day of age and randomly assigned to one of two vitamin D supplementation strategies (n = 30 pigs per treatment): CTR – oral saline at days 2, 8 and 21 of age and, from weaning (day 21), in-feed supplementation with 2000 IU of vitamin D as cholecalciferol; and VD - oral 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25(OH)D3) solution at days 2, 8 and 21 of age plus 15-minute exposure to UVB light every second day from day 14 until day 21 and, from weaning, in-feed supplementation with 2000 IU of vitamin D as 25(OH)D3. Piglets were slaughtered (n = 10 pigs per treatment/day) at days 21 (before start in-feed experimental diets), 28 and 35 and blood and tissues samples (jejunum, liver and kidney) were collected. Body weight, concentrations of serum 25(OH)D3 and jejunum, liver, and kidney mRNA expression of genes related to vitamin D, antioxidant system, and immune defense were measured. Body weight was not affected by treatments (P ≥ 0.34). Serum 25(OH)D3 concentrations were greater for VD piglets at day 21, 28 and 35 (P &amp;lt; 0.01). No effect of treatment was detected (P ≥ 0.14) for mRNA expression in the jejunum mucosa. In the liver of VD piglets, mRNA expressions of genes related to the antioxidant system were lower at day 21 (NDUFB2) and at day 28 (BNIP3, GPX4, and MSRA) (P ≤ 0.10). The mRNA analysis in kidney during the overall period detected higher expression of genes related to the mitochondria oxidative phosphorylation (COX17, NDUFB2, and NDUFB6) in VD groups compared to CTR (P ≤ 0.09). The expression of CYP27B1 in kidney was higher at day 28 and CYP24A1 was lower at day 21 but higher at day 35 for VD animals. In conclusion, during the pre-weaning period, dietary 25(OH)D3 supplementation combined with UVB exposure was effective in increasing serum 25(OH)D3 concentrations at weaning whereas in the post-weaning period dietary 25(OH)D3 supplementation at 2000 IU/kg was more efficient then dietary cholecalciferol at similar levels. The overall results indicate that 2000 IU of vitamin D/kg of diet, independently of source, may be enough to improve the vitamin D status of post-weaning piglets. However, the use of dietary 25(OH)D3 may promote a better modulation of vitamin D metabolism and redox balance.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"40 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143083775","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":"In vitro fermentation characteristics of dietary fibers using fecal inoculum from dogs consuming commercial or grain kefir","authors":"Breanna N Metras, Patricia M Oba, Dalton A Holt, Laura L Bauer, Michael J Miller, Ryan N Dilger, Kelly S Swanson","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf022","url":null,"abstract":"Traditional grain kefir is produced from the fermentation of milk with yeast- and bacteria-containing cultures. To maintain consistency and adhere to food safety guidelines, commercial kefir products are based on starter bacterial cultures. Bacterial profiles of starter vs. grain kefirs differ, and their influence on health effects is unknown. Our objectives were to determine the in vitro fermentation characteristics of common dietary fibers using fecal inoculum from dogs supplemented with kefir or kefir bacterial culture as inoculum. Healthy adult dogs were allotted to one of 3 treatments and supplemented for 14 d (n=4/treatment): 1) 2% reduced-fat milk treated with lactase (CNTL), 2) starter kefir (S-Kefir), or 3) grain kefir (G-Kefir). After 14 d, fresh fecal samples were collected and frozen in a 20% glycerol solution. For the in vitro experiment, fecal samples were thawed, diluted in an anaerobic diluting solution, and used to inoculate tubes containing semi-defined medium and either cellulose (CEL), pectin (PC), beet pulp (BP), or chicory pulp (CP). Tubes were incubated for 0, 6, 12, or 18 h, with short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), pH, and microbiota measured at each time point. A second in vitro experiment was conducted using similar methods and measurements, but with S-Kefir and G-Kefir as inoculum sources. Effects of treatment (inoculum), time, and treatment*time interactions within fiber source were analyzed statistically using Mixed Models and repeated measures, with P&amp;lt;0.05 being significant. Using fecal inoculum, BP and PC were rapidly fermented, leading to large pH reductions, SCFA increases, and microbiota shifts. pH change was of greater (P&amp;lt;0.05) magnitude (PC) and higher (P&amp;lt;0.05) kinetic rate (CP) when using feces from dogs fed S-Kefir or G-Kefir than controls. Butyrate increases were greater (P&amp;lt;0.05) in tubes inoculated with G-Kefir feces than in S-Kefir or control feces. When PC and BP were fermented, tubes with S-Kefir feces had greater (P&amp;lt;0.05) acetate, propionate, and total SCFA increases than G-Kefir or control feces. Fermentations were slower when using kefir cultures as inoculum, but some differences were noted. Bacterial beta diversity and relative abundances shifted over time within each substrate and were unique to inoculum source. Our data suggest that the activity of kefir bacterial populations differs, and that kefir consumption changes the abundance and activity of the fecal microbiota of dogs, justifying in vivo investigation.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"7 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143084155","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 multienzyme supplementation on energy and nutrient digestibility in various feed ingredients for pregnant gilts","authors":"Garrin L Shipman, Jorge Y Perez-Palencia, Jinsu Hong, Yanxing Niu, Anna Rogiewicz, Rob Patterson, Crystal L Levesque","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf017","url":null,"abstract":"The utilization of exogenous fiber-degrading enzymes in commercial swine diets is a strategy to increase the nutrient and energy density of poorly digestible ingredients. In a prior set of studies, dietary multienzyme blend (MEblend) supplementation increased the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of nutrients, non-starch polysaccharides, and energy in complete high-fibrous gestation diets by 6% when fed to gestating sows. The current study aimed to determine the effects of MEblend (containing xylanase, β-glucanase, cellulase, amylase, protease, pectinase, and invertase activities) supplementation on ATTD of energy and nutrients of individual feedstuffs commonly used in gestating sow diets across major pork-producing regions worldwide, which differ in their fibrous components. Twenty-seven gilts (initial body weight 176 ± 6.6 kg), in a crossover design with four periods (periods 1, 2, 3, and 4 from d 41 to 55, 56 to 70, 71 to 85, and 86 to 100 of gestation, respectively), were allocated to one of 7 diets (with or without MEblend supplementation at 0.1% inclusion; 7-8 observations per treatment) to determine the ATTD of energy and neutral detergent fiber (NDF). Three diets contained corn, wheat, and sorghum as the sole source of energy. In the other diets, soybean meal (SBM), field peas (FP), canola meal (CM), and sugar beet pulp (SBP) each replaced 25% of the corn in the corn diet to determine the energy value of individual feedstuffs. Data were analyzed using a Student’s t-test to evaluate the effect of enzyme supplementation on these feedstuffs. The MEblend increased the metabolizable and net energy of corn (P = 0.10) and wheat (P &amp;lt; 0.01) by 2% and 3%, respectively. The energy content of sorghum was not impacted by MEblend. Furthermore, a 6%, 4%, and 25% increase was observed in metabolizable and net energy of SBM, FP, and CM, respectively (P ≤ 0.05). The energy value in SBP was not affected by MEblend supplementation. In conclusion, supplementing diets with a multienzyme blend increased the energy content of corn, wheat, soybean meal, field peas, and canola meal fed to gestating sows by approximately 2% to 25%, depending on the feedstuffs. The energy value of sorghum and sugar beet pulp was not affected by the multienzyme blend. This should be considered when formulating fibrous diets for gestating sows to increase nutrient utilization of feedstuffs.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"7 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-01-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143056569","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}