Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology最新文献

{"title":"Synergistic bacterial‒fungal interactions modulate the fermentation quality and in vitro degradation rate of triticale silage.","authors":"Maoya Li, Yao Lei, Yulian Chen, Jiachuhan Wang, Yuanyuan Zhao, Xiangjiang He, Xiaoqing Zhang, Qiming Cheng, Chao Chen","doi":"10.1186/s40104-026-01478-9","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40104-026-01478-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The humid climate and frequent rainfall during the harvest season substantially hinder the utilization of triticale as feed. Although ensiling technology can effectively preserve nutrients, its fermentation quality depends on complex microbial interactions, the core mechanisms of which remain unclear. This study proposes and validates the hypothesis that \"bacterial-fungal synergy\" can enhance silage fermentation. By inoculating triticale silage with Aspergillus niger (AN), Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (LP) or their combination (ANLP) and performing multi-omics analyses, the mechanism underlying this synergistic effect was systematically elucidated in this study.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Compared with the control treatment, triticale silage inoculated with ANLP presented significant decreases in the neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), and ammonia nitrogen (NH₃-N) contents and significant increases in the water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC), crude protein (CP), and lactic acid (LA) contents (P < 0.05). More crucially, ANLP treatment specifically enriched Delftia, indicating a special functional role for this bacterium in triticale silage. Further metabolomic and correlation analyses revealed that the synergy between A. niger and L. plantarum not only promoted the proliferation of Delftia but also activated the phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan biosynthesis pathways. This activation drove the synthesis of phenolic acid compounds with antimicrobial and antioxidant activities, such as coumaric acid and indole derivatives. These bioactive metabolites effectively inhibited the growth of harmful microorganisms. In vitro digestibility trials confirmed that the ANLP-treated group achieved the highest dry matter and protein degradation rates, thereby validating the pathway from the microbial mechanism to end-use feed value.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Overall, the synergistic effects of bacteria (L. plantarum) and fungi (A. niger) can improve the fermentation quality and nutritional content of triticale by promoting amino acid metabolism and increasing the production of bioactive substances, providing a new strategy for increasing its utilization as a feed resource for ruminants.</p>","PeriodicalId":64067,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2026-08-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13430836/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148665152","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Age- and sex-related differences in early-life gut microbiota and intestinal physiology in broiler chickens.","authors":"Matthias Corion, Muhammad Zeeshan Akram, Ester Arévalo Sureda, Luke Comer, Jeroen Maertens, Natasja Smeets, Nadia Everaert","doi":"10.1186/s40104-026-01467-y","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40104-026-01467-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Early-life sex identification technologies are making sex-specific management increasingly feasible in broiler production, yet limited information exists on how males and females differ in the development of their gut ecosystem. While sex-related variation in growth rate and endocrine physiology is well established, much less is known about potential differences in gut morphology, barrier function, microbiota assembly, and intestinal gene expression during the starter period, where early performance divergence between males and females begins to emerge. A clearer understanding of these early-life processes is essential to refine sex-specific nutrition and management strategies. Therefore, this study investigated sex-related differences in gut morphology, intestinal permeability, microbiota composition and predicted functionality, as well as ileal gene expression related to nutrient transport, barrier function, immune response, and metabolic signaling in broilers at 7, 14, and 21 days of age.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Body weight followed a typical early-life pattern and differed between sexes only at d 21, when males were heavier. Gut morphology matured similarly in both sexes, whereas gut permeability declined with age and was lower in males at d 20, suggesting a slightly tighter intestinal barrier. Microbiota structure was predominantly shaped by age, but sex-related divergence emerged with maturation from d 14 onward, especially in the cecum: males were enriched in strict anaerobic fermenters and carbohydrate-degradation/short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-related pathways, while females showed higher abundance of Romboutsia, Flavonifractor, and other taxa linked to proteolytic metabolism and the degradation of aromatic amino acid-derived compounds. Gene expression was mainly driven by age, yet consistent sex-specific transcriptional signatures were revealed. Males were more associated with nutrient transport (e.g., SLC15A1, SLC30A1, SLC5A1) and epithelial functional maturation profiles (e.g., CDX) over time, whereas females were more associated with tight-junction integrity (e.g., OCLN) and amino-acid sensing/transport markers (e.g., T1R1, SLC3A1). Cecal SCFA concentrations were measured at d 21, yet no differences were found.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Overall, gut development was largely age-driven, but sex-specific differences in barrier function, microbiota composition and function, and epithelial gene expression emerged with maturation, without differences in gut morphology or luminal SCFA concentrations.</p>","PeriodicalId":64067,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2026-08-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13429021/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148654839","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Transcriptomic and regulatory landscape of liver tissue associated with meat and carcass quality traits in cattle.","authors":"Thais Ribeiro da Silva, Juliana Afonso, Bárbara Silva-Vignato, Ingrid Soares Garcia, Beatriz Delcarme Lima, Heidge Fukumasu, Saulo Luz Silva, Juliana Petrini, Carolina Purcell Goes, Bruna Petry, Wellison J S Diniz, Aline Silva Mello Cesar, Gerson Barreto Mourão, James E Koltes, Luciana Correia de Almeida Regitano, Luiz Lehmann Coutinho","doi":"10.1186/s40104-026-01465-0","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40104-026-01465-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The integration of multiple omics strategies represents a transformative paradigm in farm animal genetics and breeding. By capturing molecular complexity across biological layers, integrative omics offers new opportunities to reveal the regulatory mechanisms underlying economically important traits. Here, we characterize the hepatic transcriptomic landscape of Nelore cattle and its relationship with meat and carcass quality phenotypes. For that, we integrated gene expression data, co-expression networks, expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) mapping, single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-phenotype associations, chromatin accessibility, and transcription factor motif analyses using hepatic RNA-seq data from 90 animals and assay for transposase‑accessible chromatin using sequencing (ATAC-seq) data from two animals.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) identified 10 gene modules associated with our phenotypes of interest, particularly the blue module (r = -0.4), which is linked to meat color and enriched in insulin and mTOR signaling pathways. eQTL mapping revealed 1,198 cis- and 39,227 trans-eQTLs (false discovery rate [FDR] < 0.05), including hotspots on chromosome 25. Notably, rs449155362 was found to regulate 848 genes, within them MLXIPL, a transcription factor involved in glucose and lipid metabolism. Phenotype-eQTL associations revealed 54 SNPs (FDR < 0.05) related to meat and carcass traits, among which rs110069409, within an open chromatin region, modulates PLA2G2D1 expression and was associated with meat color (yellowness 24 h after the slaughter-b*₀), representing a convergence point across regulatory layers.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>These findings provide novel insights into the multilayered genetic architecture of the liver that controls meat quality traits in beef cattle, supporting the use of integrative omics to guide functional genomic selection.</p>","PeriodicalId":64067,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13428424/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148649828","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Integrating bulk and single-cell RNA sequencing with GWAS reveals regulatory networks underpinning complex traits in beef cattle.","authors":"Boyu Zhang, Shiyuan Qiu, Zhenwei Du, Hao Xiao, Yingxiao Su, Anyi Tang, Binwu Bao, Bo Zhu, Yan Chen, Xue Gao, Lingyang Xu, Zezhao Wang, Lupei Zhang, Huijiang Gao, Junya Li, Caihong Zheng","doi":"10.1186/s40104-026-01471-2","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40104-026-01471-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The genetic dissection of complex traits in livestock continues to pose a significant challenge in the field of animal genetics and breeding. Although traditional genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are capable of localizing genetic variants associated with specific traits, they are insufficient to elucidate the underlying physiological mechanisms. An integrated analysis of multi-trait GWAS and multi-transcriptomic data systematically identifies key tissues and cell types influencing complex traits in beef cattle and elucidates their genetic regulatory basis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We systematically mapped tissue- and cell-type-specific regulatory architectures underlying 20 economically important traits in beef cattle. Tissue-level analyses revealed distinct trait-tissue associations: fatty acid traits, including C16:0 and C20:4, were enriched in liver; carcass traits, including marbling score and carcass weight, in renal cortex/medulla and longissimus dorsi muscle; meat-quality traits such as pH in cartilaginous tissues; and total fat content in bone marrow. At cellular resolution, analysis of eight trait-associated tissues identified 38 discrete cell types. Myofibers were significantly associated with most carcass traits, including rib-eye area and backfat thickness, whereas hepatocytes emerged as key regulators of fatty acid and meat-quality traits, such as C16:0 and crude protein content. Transcription factor analysis identified cell-type-specific regulators: TBX15, SOX6, and TCF12 in myofibers; FOXA2 and NR1H4 in hepatocytes; and IRF8 and IKZF1 in microglia. Notably, hepatocytes and microglia showed complementary, trait-specific association patterns: hepatocytes were enriched for C16:0 associated saturated fatty-acid metabolic pathways, while microglia were enriched for C16:1 and unsaturated fatty-acid-related pathways, suggesting potential cross-tissue coordination in lipid regulation.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our study links specific tissues and cell types to phenotypic variation in beef cattle and identifies core transcriptional regulators and pathways driving trait variation. These cell-resolved maps provide mechanistic insight into how genetic variation shapes economically important traits, offering a valuable resource for functional studies, cell-informed precision breeding strategies, and the design of large-scale molecular phenotyping.</p>","PeriodicalId":64067,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2026-07-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13411826/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148610768","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Residual feed intake in laying hens during the late laying period: associations with nutrient utilization, antioxidant capacity, and gut barrier function.","authors":"Zhouyang Gao, Zhiqiong Mao, Qiujuan Sun, Chuanwei Zheng, Guoming Ma, Jingjie Zhuang, Yan Wu, Yuhui Qin, Tong Xu, Guiyun Xu","doi":"10.1186/s40104-026-01426-7","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40104-026-01426-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Residual feed intake is defined as the difference between the actual feed intake of poultry and the predicted feed intake based on their growth and maintenance requirements. It reflects the metabolic differences that are genetically determined within the poultry and can effectively indicate the energy levels needed for growth and maintenance. Residual feed intake is a crucial indicator for evaluating the feed utilization efficiency of poultry. Additionally, residual feed intake is a trait with moderate to high heritability, making it a valuable selection criterion for feed efficiency in poultry breeding programs, and it is widely utilized in egg production. However, research on residual feed intake during the latter stages of egg production in hens remains quite limited.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In this study, we selected laying hens with similar body weight and egg production number, and divided the experiment into low residual feed intake and high residual feed intake groups based on the magnitude of residual feed intake values. Through physicochemical analysis, compared to the high residual feed intake group, the low residual feed intake group exhibited higher nutrient utilization (crude protein, apparent digestibility of dry matter) and stronger antioxidant enzyme activity (T-AOC), as well as more stable gut immune barriers (IL-6) and mechanical barriers (Occludin, ZO-1). LC-MS revealed that the differentially abundant metabolites in the serum and excreta of the two groups were primarily enriched in amino acid metabolism, lipid metabolism, and energy metabolism pathways (L-lysine, L-glutamine, citrate, fumarate, propanoic acid, glycine, pyruvate.). These key differentially abundant metabolites provide new metabolic targets for a deeper understanding and improvement of feed efficiency in laying hens.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study utilized traditional nutritional methods and modern molecular biology techniques to target the excreta, serum, and intestinal segments of hens with different RFI levels, providing an in-depth exploration of the metabolic differences between high- and low-RFI hens. The findings offer valuable insights for selecting high-efficiency, high-quality healthy laying hens through RFI. Furthermore, they support the extension of the laying period in hens and efficient breeding practices.</p>","PeriodicalId":64067,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2026-07-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13410610/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148610718","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Contamination of fumonisin in feeds from different regions of China.","authors":"Hua Sun, Dessalegn Lamesgen, Junjie Li, Juan Wang, Xuewu Li, Zhijie Yuan, Lijia Guo, Meng Liu, Fang Liu, Liwei Wang, Jianghong An, Jiangfeng He, Lvhui Sun","doi":"10.1186/s40104-026-01470-3","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40104-026-01470-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Fumonisin (FUM) is a group of mycotoxins commonly found on corn, wheat, and their by-products, and has been linked to multiple animal and human health concerns. This study was conducted to investigate the contamination of FUM in feeds from different regions of China in 2025. A total of 1,128 feed samples, including 836 corn samples, 204 corn by-product samples, and 88 complete feed samples, were collected from different provinces of China for FUM analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The analysis revealed a relatively high incidence of FUM contamination in the feed samples. Detection rates were 80.1%, 59.4%-100%, and 94.7%-100% in corn, corn by-products, and complete feeds, respectively, with median concentrations of 949 μg/kg, 2,825-74,040 μg/kg, and 1,050-1,396 μg/kg. Furthermore, corn samples collected from Henan, Jiangsu, and Shandong provinces exhibited relatively higher FUM concentration compared to other regions. Notably, 0.1% corn, 41.8% DDGS, 11.1% corn germ meal, 15.8% sprayed corn husk, 80.0% corn steep liquor, and 5.3% complete pig feed exceeded China's safety standards for FUM. Moreover, the co-occurrence of FUM, AFB₁, DON, and ZEN was quite common in both corn (39.5%-92.1%) and DDGS (73.1%-100%), with more than 90.0% of analyzed feed samples contaminated with two or more mycotoxins. Among them, the rates of over China's safety standards for AFB₁, DON and ZEN in corn were 7.9%, 1.3% and 2.6%, respectively, while did not in DDGS.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study reveals that the FUM was commonly present in feedstuffs and complete feeds of China in 2025. The results emphasize the significance of monitoring FUM levels in feeds and paying attention on co-contamination of mycotoxins, as well as implementing feed management and remedial strategies to reduce FUM exposure.</p>","PeriodicalId":64067,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2026-07-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13397784/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148586141","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Feed restriction affects follicular development by regulating cell cycle progression in porcine mural granulosa cells.","authors":"Qi Yu, Anna F Bekebrede, Natasja N G Costermans, Nicoline M Soede, Katja J Teerds, Jaap Keijer","doi":"10.1186/s40104-026-01464-1","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40104-026-01464-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Mammalian reproductive outcomes are influenced by whole-body energy status, especially in high-prolific sows. During lactation, high energy demands often lead to a severe negative energy balance (NEB), which compromises subsequent reproductive performance. The molecular processes underlying the sustained impact of lactational energy insufficiency on post-weaning follicular development are not well understood. We hypothesize that this energy shortage disrupts the development of mural granulosa cells (GCs), ultimately compromising oocyte developmental competence. We aimed to delineate the molecular processes by which energy status regulates mural GC development employing a nutritional intervention.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Over the 14 days of feed restriction, sows receiving a restricted diet (RES; 3.25 kg/d) lost double the amount of body weight and loin muscle depth compared to full-fed sows (FF; diet 6.5 kg/d). Both ovarian weight and average size of the largest healthy follicle were significantly reduced. RNA-seq analysis identified 2,282 differentially expressed genes in RES GCs, of which 1,531 were upregulated and 751 were downregulated. The most enriched pathway was the cell cycle, corroborated by CDK1 immunostaining. RES GCs showed upregulation of key positive cell cycle regulators (e.g., CCNA1/2, CCNB1-3, CCNE2), while cell cycle inhibitor CDKN1A (P21) was downregulated. In contrast to FF GCs, in RES GCs several members of the IGFBP family, especially IGFBP7, strongly correlated with most cell cycle-related genes including FOXO1, CDKN1A, and follicle size exclusively in RES GCs, but not in FF sows. Proliferation markers (PCNA and MKI67) were also upregulated, while differentiation marker CYP19A1 was downregulated.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Our data suggest that a severe lactational NEB has a lasting impact on mural GCs after weaning, delaying their transition from proliferation to the terminal differentiation. We propose a potential regulatory axis in which IGFBPs, especially IGFBP7, may link energy metabolism and follicular development through the AKT-FOXO1-CDKN1A-cell cycle regulatory axis. These molecular alterations likely contribute to the compromised oocyte competence observed following energy restriction. Furthermore, our findings identified IGFBP7 as a candidate biomarker linking metabolic status to follicular development.</p>","PeriodicalId":64067,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2026-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13386861/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148551526","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Single-nucleus RNA sequencing reveals cell type-specific responses to heat stress in bovine mammary gland.","authors":"Xingtan Yu, Shambhvi, Diego A Ceballos, Marina M Ferreira, Alejandra Zapata, Nirosh Seneviratne, Sabina Pokharel, Yifei Fang, Guangsheng Li, Francisco A Leal Yepes, Joseph W McFadden, Jingyue Ellie Duan","doi":"10.1186/s40104-026-01468-x","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40104-026-01468-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Heat stress (HS) poses a major challenge to the dairy industry by reducing milk production, yet its cell type-specific effects in the bovine mammary gland remain incompletely defined. In this study, we recorded production traits and collected mammary biopsies from cows under thermoneutral (TN), HS, and pair-fed (PF) conditions.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Clinical measurements confirmed HS-induced physiological alterations. Compared with TN cows, HS cows exhibited reduced dry matter intake (DMI), milk yield, and yields of fat, protein, and lactose, along with increased water intake and milk urea nitrogen. The use of PF controls indicated that decreased DMI accounted for 45% of the milk-yield reduction, whereas direct HS effects accounted for the remaining reduction. We applied single-nucleus RNA-seq (snRNA-seq) on mammary biopsies to generate cell-resolved HS responses. We identified 14 distinct cell clusters, including epithelial, immune, and stromal populations. Under the TN condition, casein genes (e.g., CSN1S1, CSN2) were broadly expressed across luminal cells but were attenuated under HS, whereas luminal alveolar cells showed relative upregulation. Heat shock protein genes were strongly induced by HS, primarily in epithelial clusters. Gene-set enrichment analyses revealed increased ribosomal activities across HS-responsive clusters and enrichment of protein folding and metabolic pathways in luminal alveolar cells, suggesting elevated proteostasis demands under stress. Pseudotime analysis positioned luminal cells along a progenitor-to-secretory trajectory under TN, accompanied by increased casein gene expression, whereas under HS, mature luminal cells shifted toward a homeostasis regulatory state. Cell-cell communication analysis demonstrated HS-induced remodeling of interepithelial signaling, including altered ERBB4-mediated signaling from luminal hormone-sensing to alveolar lineages. Finally, transcription factor activity profiling highlighted cell type-specific HS-activated regulators and their downstream target genes.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Together, this cell type-resolved atlas delineates how HS alters bovine mammary epithelial function, developmental state, and intercellular crosstalk. These findings point to proteostasis pressure, disrupted signaling pathways, and rewired regulatory networks as mechanistic contributors to reduced lactational performance under HS, offering insights for improving heat resilience in dairy cattle.</p>","PeriodicalId":64067,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2026-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13374132/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148474523","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A transcriptomic map of ligand-receptor interactions within bovine antral follicles predicts intrafollicular factors for improving oocyte quality.","authors":"Zhaochen Wang, Zhenni Zhang, Yawen Tang, Jian Cui, Meiqiang Chu, Jianhui Tian, Yinjuan Wang, Lei An","doi":"10.1186/s40104-026-01469-w","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40104-026-01469-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The ovarian follicle is an enclosed microenvironment that ensures oocyte growth and maturation, making it essential for female fertility. Normal folliculogenesis development and oocyte maturation strictly rely on orchestrated intercellular interactions among the mural granulosa cells (MGCs), cumulus cells (CCs), and the oocyte within antral follicles. Despite the importance, how these cell populations communicate remains largely unknown. Due to this knowledge gap, current oocyte in vitro maturation (IVM) systems fail to fully replicate the physiological follicular microenvironment due to the lack of MGC regulation, leading to poor oocyte quality and lower success rates of assisted reproductive technologies.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>RNA-seq was performed on MGCs, CCs, and oocytes isolated from single bovine antral follicles at different developmental stages (3-5 mm, 6-8 mm and 9-12 mm). Using a ligand-receptor interaction scoring strategy, we constructed a dynamic intrafollicular interaction map. We revealed that MGCs are the most active cell type, acting as either secretors or receivers, based on the number of ligands and receptors it expresses, as well as the number of interaction pairs it establishes with other cell types. Intriguingly, intrafollicular crosstalk exhibits spatiotemporal commonality, characterized by shared ligand-receptor usage and potential functional redundancy across cell types and stages. Notably, the intrafollicular communication map enables the prediction of MGC-secreted factors that can improve the oocyte quality after IVM. Based on the predicted candidate factors, we have confirmed that supplementation with pleiotrophin (PTN) significantly improved in vitro matured oocyte quality and subsequent embryonic development. In addition, we also revealed significant heterogeneity at single-follicle resolution, unhealthy follicles showed aberrant activation or loss of partial core interaction signaling, supporting the hypothesis that these interactions play a critical role in determining follicular fate.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>By reconstructing a map of intrafollicular interactions, our study provides novel insights and important clues for understanding cellular and molecular mechanisms that fine-tune antral folliculogenesis. We also offer a roadmap for predicting candidate factors that can be used for optimizing mammalian in vitro embryo production systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":64067,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2026-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13366956/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148450788","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Functional additives in fishmeal-replaced aquafeeds: precision strategies for sustainable aquaculture.","authors":"Weidan Jiang, Pei Wu, Hongyun Zhang, Yaobin Ma, Yang Liu, Xiaoqiu Zhou, Lin Feng","doi":"10.1186/s40104-026-01463-2","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40104-026-01463-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Aquaculture serves as a critical pillar of global food security and human nutrition by providing high-quality protein, essential fatty acids, and efficient feed conversion while minimizing land use. However, its rapid expansion depends heavily on stable supplies of high-quality protein sources, particularly fishmeal (FM), which faces growing instability due to climate change and overfishing. While sustainable alternative protein sources like plant and insect proteins have been explored, high inclusion levels often impair growth and health in aquatic animals, partly due to poor palatability, amino acid (AA) imbalances, low digestibility, and antinutritional factors (ANFs). Precision strategies, especially functional additives, offer a promising solution by targeting these challenges: attractants enhance palatability, crystalline AAs correct AA imbalances, exogenous enzymes improve digestibility, and functional compounds mitigate health impairments. Although research on functional additives for FM replacement lags behind studies on alternative protein sources, theoretical and experimental evidence confirms their potential. Precisely formulated functional additives not only counteract the drawbacks of alternative protein sources or enable higher substitution ratios, underscoring their innovative role in sustainable aquafeed development. This review highlights the targeted use of functional additives to address appetite suppression, AA imbalances, digestive inefficiencies, and health risks, offering actionable insights for researchers, aquaculture nutritionists, and the feed industry to advance both scientific knowledge and practical FM replacement solutions.</p>","PeriodicalId":64067,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2026-07-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13360246/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148439199","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}