AMB Express最新文献

{"title":"Rumen bacteria, carcass traits, and meat quality of growing goat fed diets with different levels of Azolla Pinnata.","authors":"Alaa Emara Rabee, Ahmed M Sallam, Adel M Abdel-Wahed, Mohamed A Zayed, Eman A Elwakeel, Osama Raef","doi":"10.1186/s13568-026-02019-3","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13568-026-02019-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Low availability and high prices of concentrate feeds drive the use of sustainable animal feeds, such as Azolla. Azolla is rich in nutrients and bioactive compounds that improve rumen microbial fermentation and animal performance. This study investigated the effect of replacing concentrate feed mixture (CFM) with Azolla pinnata on the rumen bacteria and fermentation, growth performance, and meat quality of growing Damascus (Shami) goats. Twenty-seven growing male goats were used for 153 days to receive three treatments (n = 9): a control group received a non-supplemented diet composed of Berseem hay and CFM (CC); a group received the control diet with 10% Azolla from the CFM (AZ10); and a group received the control diet with 20% Azolla from the CFM (AZ20). Replacing CFM with Azolla increased the diversity of the rumen bacteria, with the enrichment of phyla Bacteroidota and Firmicutes. Azolla enhanced the prevalence of fibrolytic bacteria, Ruminococcus, Butyrivibrio, and Christensenellaceae R-7 group. Total volatile fatty acids (VFA) increased in AZ10 by 39% and 25% compared to groups CC and AZ20, respectively. Growth rate was higher in AZ10 by 35% and 18% compared to CC and AZ20, respectively. Azolla supplementation reduced the fat content of meat and reduced saturated fatty acids of meat by 52% in AZ10 and 21.5% in AZ20 compared to group CC, while it improved the antioxidant capacity and unsaturated fatty acids in meat. Azolla can substitute the conventional feed mixture of growing goats at 10%.</p>","PeriodicalId":7537,"journal":{"name":"AMB Express","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12932752/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146257040","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sustainable valorization of fish viscera into omega-3 rich lipids and their functional validation.","authors":"K Bhargav Reddy, Anjani Devi Chintagunta, Ravi Kumar Gutti, N S Sampath Kumar","doi":"10.1186/s13568-026-02029-1","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13568-026-02029-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Fish-processing generates substantial viscera waste that is often discarded or sold at negligible prices, representing both an environmental burden and a missed economic opportunity. This study demonstrates the sustainable valorization of Catla catla viscera through green solvent extraction and urea complexation to obtain polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)-rich fractions. Among extraction methods, the autoclave-assisted approach gave the highest lipid yield (16 ± 0.7%), while the classical Bligh & Dyer method preserved the most balanced PUFA profile (20.16%, with EPA 9.47% and DHA 6.82%). Green-solvent modifications (2-MeTHF and ethanol) maintained yields (~ 9.9%) while enhancing ω-3 PUFA recovery to 19.80%. Subsequent urea complexation increased total PUFA from 28.44% to 56.03% and ω-3 fractions to 49.86% at a 6:1 molar ratio. The PUFA-enriched fraction demonstrated measurable in vitro bioactivities, including antioxidant capacity (IC₅₀ < 0.2 mg mL⁻¹), enhanced wound closure of 78.79 ± 3%, and significant immunomodulation (TNF-α reduced to 112.68 pg/mL; TGF-β1 increased to 571.52 pg/mL) at 50% concentration. A preliminary economic estimation suggests that valorization of viscera into PUFA-rich lipids may substantially enhance value compared with raw disposal, although detailed techno-economic analysis and pilot-scale validation are required to confirm feasibility. This dual demonstration of bioactivity and valorization potential highlights viscera-derived lipids as promising nutraceutical and biomedical resources.</p>","PeriodicalId":7537,"journal":{"name":"AMB Express","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13031517/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146257165","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Transcriptomic insights into the role of CmLec4 in infection and development of Cordyceps militaris.","authors":"Jili Zhang, Rina Matsuda, Asuka Kimura, Keisuke Mitsukuni, Tamaki Okada, Hitoshi Miyakawa, Akiko Ono, Tomohiro Suzuki","doi":"10.1186/s13568-026-02026-4","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13568-026-02026-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Entomopathogenic fungi are a diverse group of ascomycetes that infect insects and form fruiting bodies, with over 1,000 species reported globally. Among them, Cordyceps militaris has long been valued in East Asia as a traditional medicinal resource, reflecting its recognized pharmacological potential. However, the molecular basis of host recognition and infection in this species remains poorly understood. Our previous work identified a novel chitin-binding lectin, CmLec4, in C. militaris, and functional studies revealed that this protein delays host pupal emergence and that disruption of the cmlec4 gene reduces fruiting body formation, suggesting a crucial role of CmLec4 in infection and development. To clarify the molecular functions of cmlec4 throughout its life cycle, we performed transcriptomic analyses using cmlec4 knockout strains. Phenotypic evaluation showed that the mutants exhibited lower infection efficiency than the wild-type. RNA-Seq profiling revealed significant transcriptional changes during both early infection and fruiting body formation stages, including altered expression of genes encoding LysM domain-containing proteins, chitinases, and glucosidases-key factors in fungal adhesion, host cell wall degradation, and nutrient acquisition. Additionally, downregulation of tyrosine metabolism-related enzymes implied that CmLec4 may also influence secondary metabolism associated with virulence. Collectively, these findings indicate that CmLec4 functions as a multifunctional lectin, coordinating host recognition, metabolic regulation, and pathogenic development in C. militaris. While the biological functions of lectins have long been overlooked, this study provides a deeper understanding of how they contribute to infection and development in entomopathogenic fungi.</p>","PeriodicalId":7537,"journal":{"name":"AMB Express","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13022114/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146218282","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Huangqi Baihe Granules alleviate chemotherapy-induced intestinal mucositis in Drosophila and mice.","authors":"Qian Kang, Minghui Xiu, Xiaoqian Wang, Jinhan Wu, Yixuan Wang, Yongqi Liu, Wangjie Cao, Hongxia Gong, Congyi Li, Jinghong Shi, Jianzheng He, Yun Su","doi":"10.1186/s13568-026-02021-9","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13568-026-02021-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Chemotherapy-induced intestinal mucositis (CIM) is a significant dose-limiting adverse effect of cancer treatment. Huangqi Baihe Granules (HQBHG) derived from Dunhuang’s ancient medical texts could alleviate radiation brain injury and hypobaric hypoxia-induced acute lung injury. Here, the protective effect and mechanism of HQBHG against irinotecan (CPT-11)-induced intestinal mucositis were detected by using Drosophila melanogaster and mouse models. Oral administration of HQBHG could significantly ameliorate body injury caused by CPT-11, including increased survival rate, rescued locomotion, altered metabolic capacity, restoration of ovarian morphology in flies, and also alleviated body weight loss and diarrhea in mice. Meanwhile, HQBHG supplementation resumed intestinal length and gastrointestinal acid-based homeostasis, reduced epithelial cell death in CPT-11 treated flies. In CPT-11 treated mice, HQBHG increased the gut length, recovered the architecture of the mucosa, and increased the expressions of tight junction proteins (ZO-1 and occludin ). Mechanism study showed that HQBHG remarkably down-regulated the expression levels of NF-κB signaling, the levels of cytokines IL-1β and TNF-α, and intestinal ROS accumulation; whereas it significantly up-regulated the levels of IL-10, and the expression of the Keap1/Nrf2 signaling in the guts. In addition, integrated analysis of 16S rDNA gene sequencing and untargeted metabolomics revealed that HQBHG reversed CPT-11-induced disordered amino acid metabolism of phenylalanine, tyrosine, tryptophan and glycine, which was closely related to the diversity and abundance of gut microbiota such as Escherichia-Shigella and Clostridium_sensu_stricto. Therefore, HQBHG has the potential to be an effective agent for the treatment of CIM by inhibiting the NF-κB pathway, activating the Nrf2/Keap1 pathway and regulating the amino acid metabolism balance in the gut.</p>","PeriodicalId":7537,"journal":{"name":"AMB Express","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13013884/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146206694","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enhancing bacterial detection via laser-induced fluorescence: a comparison of methods and detection limits.","authors":"Dina S Arabi, Zienab Abdel-Salam, Mohamed Abdel-Harith","doi":"10.1186/s13568-026-02011-x","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13568-026-02011-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Rapid bacterial detection is essential in clinical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, and food industry quality control, where sensitivity and speed are critical. This study evaluates four Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF) techniques, Conventional LIF, Reflection-Enhanced LIF (RELIF), Wavefront-Enhanced LIF (WELIF), and a combined approach (WERELIF), to improve sensitivity and lower detection limits for bacterial quantification. Using Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a model organism, fluorescence was excited at 405 nm, with a peak at approximately 500 nm. Calibration curves were constructed to determine the limit of detection (LOD) of each method and assess its performance in trace bacterial analysis. WERELIF demonstrated the highest fluorescence intensity and the lowest limit of detection (LOD) among the tested techniques, making it the most effective method for detecting low bacterial concentrations. RELIF exhibited significant signal enhancement due to reflective optimization. In contrast, WELIF provided moderate improvements, which were affected by sample inhomogeneity. The enhanced LIF techniques were superior to the conventional approach, particularly in terms of higher fluorescence intensity. This advantage is significant for applications such as early pathogen detection in clinical samples or monitoring bacterial contamination in water and food supplies. These findings provide a foundation for improving fluorescence-based bacterial quantification, with potential applications in point-of-care diagnostics, environmental surveillance, and industrial biosensing.</p>","PeriodicalId":7537,"journal":{"name":"AMB Express","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12932757/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146155446","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cornus officinalis extract modulates rumen microbiome and growth of lambs fed a high-concentrate diet.","authors":"Yunan Weng, Yu Han, Lihong Wang, Muhammad Hammad Zafar, Qihui Wu, Wenze Zhang, Hongrong Wang","doi":"10.1186/s13568-026-02017-5","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13568-026-02017-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study evaluated the effects of Cornus officinalis extract (1.5% DM) on growth performance, blood serum biochemical parameters, rumen fermentation and microbial composition in Hu lambs fed diets with different concentrate:forage ratio. Thirty-two lambs were assigned to a 2 × 2 factorial design receiving either a common basal diet or a high-concentrate diet with (CPC, HPC groups) or without (CBD, HCD groups) Cornus officinalis extract supplementation respectively. The results showed that lambs in CPC group had shown enhanced average daily gain and feed efficiency (P < 0.05). Blood serum biological parameters remained similar across all the treatments (P > 0.05), except for blood urea nitrogen (BUN) showing significant group differences (P < 0.05). Concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP), lipopolysaccharide (LPS), serum amyloid A (SAA), and Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) (P < 0.10) were significantly reduced in HPC, while TLR4 was notably decreased in CBD group (P < 0.05). Cornus officinalis extract significantly increased (P < 0.05) pH, total volatile fatty acids (TVFAs) and lactic acid levels under high concentrate diet. Furthermore, high-concentrate diets decreased the relative abundance of Bacteroidota and increased those of Firmicutes compared with the basal diet. While, HPC diet slightly decreased Firmicutes abundance and reduced α-diversity indices (P < 0.10). Correlation analysis between genus-level biomarkers and PICRUSt2-predicted enzymes revealed that enzymes related to lactate synthesis and the Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas (EMP) pathway were slightly increased in HPC group while antioxidation-related enzymes were more enriched in CPC group. Enzymes associated with volatile fatty acid synthesis were higher in HCD while carbohydrate hydrolysis–related enzymes were relatively higher in CBD group. Key genera, including Succinivibrio and Prevotella, remained stable across all treatments, whereas the abundance of Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group decreased under high-concentrate diet but was not affected by Cornus officinalis extract supplementation. Overall, supplementation with 1.5% Cornus officinalis extract promoted growth performance and positively altered composition and functional potential of ruminal microbiota ultimately contributing to improved metabolic balance in Hu lambs.</p>","PeriodicalId":7537,"journal":{"name":"AMB Express","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12988095/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146148777","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Optimization of a fatty acid methyl ester protocol for quantification of odd- and even-chain fatty acids in yeast.","authors":"Veronica Bonzanini, Otto Savolainen, Sergio Morales Palomo, Majid Haddad Momeni, Lisbeth Olsson, Cecilia Geijer","doi":"10.1186/s13568-026-02022-8","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13568-026-02022-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME) analysis is widely applied in fields ranging from food and biofuel research to fatty acid profiling in microorganisms. Given the challenges associated with accurately quantifying both even- and odd-chain fatty acids, this study presents a tailored FAME protocol employing a fully deuterated internal standard (dIS) for their simultaneous analysis. Two oleaginous yeast species, Yarrowia lipolytica and Blastobotrys adeninivorans, were chosen for their distinct fatty acid profiles and served as models to evaluate protocol sensitivity and extraction efficiency. Here, we compared two simultaneous extraction and transesterification methods, a microwave-assisted and a shaker-assisted protocol, and found that the microwave-assisted approach not only successfully recovered the dIS but also extracted yeast fatty acids more efficiently than the shaker-assisted method. Incorporating a bead-beating pre-extraction step further improved lipid recovery and reduced variability. Our results suggest that the non-methylated dIS, when added as a free fatty acid, methylates more slowly than yeast-derived fatty acids that are mainly found as triacylglycerols. This can complicate normalization and supports the use of a pre-methylated dIS. While FAME yields varied depending on the extraction method and applied normalization strategies, the FAME profiles remained consistent across protocols, highlighting strong reproducibility in qualitative analyses. The optimized FAME protocol provides a precise and reliable analysis of fatty acids in diverse oleaginous yeast species. Our results underscore the need for species-specific optimization of FAME protocols and warn against relying on a deuterated single fatty acid standard without protocol adjustment.</p>","PeriodicalId":7537,"journal":{"name":"AMB Express","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12932751/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146140844","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Growth optimization and dual cellulolytic degradation pathways in Serpula lacrymans.","authors":"Katsiaryna Kakhanouskaya, Aliaksandr Kakhanouski","doi":"10.1186/s13568-026-02009-5","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13568-026-02009-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Serpula lacrymans is the most destructive brown-rot fungus affecting timber in temperate regions, causing severe economic losses in construction and cultural heritage. Conventional chemical treatments are largely ineffective, as they act only on wood surfaces and fail to eradicate fungal growth within deeper layers. Previous studies have described the cellulolytic activity of S. lacrymans as weak and strictly substrate-inducible, despite genomic evidence for GH12-type endoglucanases. Moreover, cultivation in traditional malt- or CMC-based media often yields insufficient biomass, limiting reproducibility of biochemical assays and obscuring the true enzymatic spectrum. Here, we report that cultivation in Murashige-Skoog salt medium supplemented with sucrose markedly improves biomass yield and metabolite accumulation, enabling reliable physiological and enzymatic analyses. Our findings reveal basal endoglucanase activity and demonstrate that S. lacrymans employs both hydrolytic and Fenton-like oxidative mechanisms in cellulose degradation. These insights advance the understanding of its decay system and provide a foundation for developing biological control strategies against this highly destructive fungus.</p>","PeriodicalId":7537,"journal":{"name":"AMB Express","volume":" ","pages":"18"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12920829/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146140731","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Feeding different proportion of oat silage in feedlot diets: effects on rumen function and meat quality of Tibetan sheep.","authors":"Xianhua Zhang, Rengeerli Sa, Wei Gao, Yu Zhang, Lijuan Han, Shengzhen Hou, Zenghai Luo, Linsheng Gui","doi":"10.1186/s13568-026-02015-7","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13568-026-02015-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Tibetan sheep is a primitive Chinese breed valued for its excellent edible quality and high nutritional value. Despite this, limited research has explore dlimited research has explored the relationship between oat silage supplementation level and its impact on the rumen microbiota, muscle metabolism, and subsequent meat quality. This experiment therefore investigated how varying levels of dietary oat silage affect the Tibetan sheep’s rumen: specifically, its morphological development, enzyme activity, fermentation parameters, microbial flora, and muscle metabolites.The study also examined the relationship between these factors and the meat’s edible quality and conventional nutritional traits. The results showed that compared to lower oat silage ratios a hay/oat silage ratio of 5:5 (OS3) significantly enhanced meat tenderness, color, and protein content. A hay/oat silage ratio of 2.5:7.5 (OS4) significantly increased rumen papillae length and butyrate concentration, thereby improving rumen antioxidant capacity and promoting overall rumen growth and development. Further analyses of rumen microbial communities, metabolomics, and correlation demonstrated that the level of oat silage primarily altered muscle glycolysis process, which subsequently affected conventional nutritional components, color, and tenderness. Additionally, the OS3 group increased the abundance of FD2005, UCG-002, Eubacterium_ruminantium_group, and Succinivibrionaceae_UCG-001. Overall, a hay-to-oat silage ratio of 5:5 was optimal, improving both the rumen microbiota composition and muscle metabolic pathways in Tibetan sheep, which consequently enhanced both rumen metabolism and the meat’s edible and conventional nutritional quality.</p>","PeriodicalId":7537,"journal":{"name":"AMB Express","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12961037/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146117510","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Rumen-protected betaine supplementation improves ileal function by affecting microbe and metabolite in Tibetan sheep.","authors":"Wei Gao, Zhenling Wu, Jiacheng Gan, Xianhua Zhang, Chengdi Shi, Zhenglu Yang, Quyangangmao Su, Shengzhen Hou, Lijuan Han, Linsheng Gui","doi":"10.1186/s13568-026-02024-6","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13568-026-02024-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The research explored the effect of dietary rumen-protected betaine (RPB) supplementation on development and function of ileum in Tibetan sheep. Sixty male lambs (17.72 ± 0.19 kg, aged 2 months) were randomly divided into control group (Ctrl) and RPB group (0.08% Bet). The adaptation feeding period was 10 days, and the experimental period was 90 days. Results suggested that dietary RPB significantly increased villus height, villus height-to-crypt depth (VH/CD) ratio, total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) (P < 0.05), and decreased malondialdehyde (MDA), lipopolysaccharide (LPS), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) (P < 0.05), as well as altered the composition of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Importantly, expression of ileal barrier-related gene (Claudin-1) was elevated (P < 0.05). Microbial analyses showed RPB supplementation increased the relative abundances of Aeriscardovia and Bifidobacterium. Several differential metabolites, including Cer 18:1;2O/18:0, Cer 18:1;2O/24:2 and (±)13-HpODE, were significantly increased in the RPB group (P < 0.05). The VH/CD was positively correlated with Bifidobacterium, Cer 18:1;2O/18:0, Cer 18:1;2O/24:2 and (±)13-HpODE (r > 0.5). To sum up, our results suggest that the dietary RPB supplementation could affect the ileal SCFA concentration by modulating the microbial community and regulating metabolism, thereby contributing to ileal development and barrier function. This study offers new evidence supporting the use of RPB as a potential application for Tibetan sheep.</p>","PeriodicalId":7537,"journal":{"name":"AMB Express","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12965943/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146117629","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}