Development of ruminating behavior in Holstein calves between birth and 30 days of age.

Ruminating behavior accompanies the development of the rumen and the intake of solid feed in calves. However, few studies have reported on the emergence and development of rumination. In this study, we observed ruminating behavior changes of 56 Holstein calves (body weight at birth = 40.1 ± 3.96 kg; mean ± standard deviation) from birth to 30 d of age under the feeding management of suckling calves that were only fed pelleted concentrate feed and milk. All calves were housed in individual pens equipped with infrared cameras. We explored feed intake within 30 d of age, body weight on 61 d of age, and other apparent indicators, including the age of first eating the bedding, duration of non-nutritive oral behavior at 25 and 30 d of age, total starter feed intake within 30 d of age, average daily starter feed intake within 30 d of age, and duration of ruminating behavior at 25 and 30 d of age for all calves, to further explore the effects of the age of first ruminating behavior (AFR). The AFR fitted the normal distribution and ranged from 15 to 20 d of age for 50% of the experimental population. The AFR was positively correlated with the age of first eating the bedding and duration of non-nutritive oral behavior at 30 d of age. Total starter feed intake within 30 d of age, average daily starter feed intake within 30 d of age, duration of ruminating behavior at 25 and 30 d of age, and duration of eating the bedding at 25 and 30 d of age were negatively correlated with AFR. Overall, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that has analyzed the correlation between AFR and other indicators. We found that earlier AFR was associated with shorter duration of non-nutritive oral behavior, longer durations of rumination and eating the bedding, and higher feed intake by 30 d of age.

Effects of dietary protein restriction followed by realimentation on growth performance and liver transcriptome alterations of lamb.

The present study aimed to investigate the compensatory effect of early protein restriction followed by a realimentation on growth performance of lamb and to explore the transcriptomic changes in liver. Thirty-two lambs with an initial birth weight of 2.3 ± 0.20 kg that were weaned on day 15 were randomly divided into two groups. The lambs were fed a basal diet with normal protein level (NPL, protein level in the milk replacer and starter, 25 and 21%, respectively) or low protein level (LPL, protein level in the milk replacer and starter, 19 and 15%, respectively) from 15 to 60 d, after which all lambs consumed the same diet with a normal protein level from 61 to 90 d. Protein restriction led to a significant decrease in average daily gain (ADG), body weight and liver weight (P < 0.05). Transcriptome analysis showed that 302 or 12 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified during the restriction or recovery periods, respectively (P < 0.05). The Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis indicated that DEGs enriched in nutrient metabolism and antioxidant capacity were down-regulated, while vessel development and immunity response-related genes up-regulated. The genes involved in metabolism of tyrosine were still down-regulated in the realimentation phase. Studies in this area indicated the accelerated growth effect of early protein restriction followed by a realimentation on growth performance of lambs and explored the transcriptomics change of liver which can help to develop feeding strategies to optimize the use of feedstuffs and in providing a new perspective for the study of early nutrition and epigenetics in later life.

The influence of mulberry leaf flavonoids and Candida tropicalis on antioxidant function and gastrointestinal development of preweaning calves challenged with Escherichia coli O141:K99.

This study investigated the effects of mulberry (Morus alba L.) leaf flavonoids and Candida tropicalis on the growth, gastrointestinal development, enzyme activity of gastrointestinal digesta, and blood antioxidant function of dairy calves challenged with Escherichia coli O141:K99. A total of 15 Holstein preweaning bull calves (age = 28 d; body weight = 51 ± 3.9 kg, mean ± standard deviation) were randomly divided into 3 homogeneous groups with no supplementation (control, CON), Candida tropicalis added at 1 g/calf per day (CT), and mulberry leaf flavonoids added at 3 g/calf per day (MLF). The feed efficiency was greater in calves fed MLF than in CON either before or after the E. coli challenge test. The fecal score increased after E. coli challenge, but it was greater in the CON group than in the CT treatment and in the MLF group at d 1, 2, and 3 after the E. coli challenge. Calves fed the CT diet showed decreased blood ß-hydroxybutyrate concentrations compared with those on the CON and MLF diets before the E. coli challenge. Dietary supplementation with CT resulted in lower blood superoxide dismutase activity than the CON after E. coli challenge. The calves fed CT and MLF showed much lower blood glutathione peroxidase activity than the CON group after being challenged with E. coli. The tunica mucosa of the duodenum was lower in CT and MLF than in CON. The lactase activity of the jejunal digesta was greater in MLF than in CON and CT. In summary, MLF and CT supplementation might effectively improve antioxidant function and reduce the incidence of oxidative stress after challenge with E. coli in 28-d-old preweaning calves, and this effect may be partially explained by the relative decreases in blood superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase as well as fecal score.

Functional characterization of carboxylesterase gene mutations involved in Aphis gossypii resistance to organophosphate insecticides.

Carboxylesterases (CarEs) play an important role in detoxifying insecticides in insects. Over-expression and structural modification of CarEs have been implicated in the development of organophosphate (OP) insecticide resistance in insects. A previous study identified four nonsynonymous mutations (resulting in four amino acid residue substitutions) in the open reading frame of the carboxylesterase gene of resistant cotton aphids compared to the omethoate susceptible strain, which has possibly influenced the development of resistance to omethoate (a systemic OP insecticide). The current study further characterized the function of these mutations, both alone and in combination, in the hydrolysis of OP insecticides. The metabolism results suggest that the combination of four mutations, mainly existing in the laboratory-selected OP-resistant cotton aphid population, increased the OP hydrolase activity (approximately twofold) at the cost of detectable carboxylesterase activity. The functional studies of single or multiple mutations suggest the positive effect of H104R, A128V and T333P on the acquisition of OP hydrolase activity, especially the combination of H104R with A128V or T333P. K484R substitution decreased both the OP hydrolase activity and the CarE activity, indicating that this mutation primarily drives the negative effect on the acquisition of OP hydrolase activity amongst these four mutations in the resistant strain. The modelling and docking results are basically consistent with the metabolic results, which strongly suggest that the structural gene modification is the molecular basis for the OP resistance in this laboratory-selected cotton aphid strain.

Decreasing the pH of milk replacer containing soy flour affects nutrient digestibility, digesta pH, and gastrointestinal development of preweaned calves.

We evaluated the effect of feeding soy flour-containing milk replacer (MR) with a lower than normal pH on growth, nutrient digestibility, digesta pH, and gastrointestinal development of preweaned calves. The study consisted of 48 neonatal calves, allocated to 8 treatments in a 2-factor 4×2 randomized design. The calves received 2 types of MR containing soy flour. The proportion of soy crude protein (CP) to total CP (SP/CP) in MR was 50% (MR50 treatment) or 80% (MR80 treatment), respectively. The pH of the reconstituted MR was decreased by 1 N HCl from to 6.2 to 5.5, 5.0, or 4.5. We measured body weight and dry matter intake and calculated feed conversion rate in the MR50 treatment. We monitored urinary and fecal pH consecutively for 5h when calves were 25d old. We also conducted a digestion trial to determine nutrient digestibility from 49 to 55d of age. At 63d old, calves were slaughtered, and gastrointestinal pH, mass index, and morphology were evaluated. Reducing the pH of MR containing soy flour improved average daily gain and feed conversion rate, increased Ca digestibility, and reduced urinary, fecal, and digesta pH in the rumen, reticulum, and omasum. Although treatments had no effect on gastrointestinal mass index, the pH 5.0 treatment led to favorable ruminal epithelium growth, and the pH 5.5 treatment led to better intestinal epithelium growth. Increasing SP/CP from 50 to 80% decreased P digestibility and fecal and digesta pH in rumen, reticulum, and omasum. Moreover, the MR80 treatment reduced the mass index of the abomasums and jejunum. In conclusion, decreasing the pH of MR containing soy flour to a pH of 5.0 to 5.5 improved the digestive tract of preweaned calves. A pH reduction to 4.5 had adverse effects on intestinal epithelium growth.

Feeding different dietary protein to energy ratios to Holstein heifers: effects on growth performance, blood metabolites and rumen fermentation parameters.

Eighteen Chinese Holstein heifers average age 230 ± 14 days were allocated to 1 of 3 dietary crude protein (CP) to metabolizable energy (ME) ratios to examine the effects on growth performance, blood metabolites and rumen fermentation parameters with 90-days experiment. Three different dietary CP:ME ratios were targeted based on the formulation of dietary CP contents of 10.85%, 12.78% and 14.63% on dry matter (DM) basis with similar ME contents (10.42 MJ/kg DM), which were categorized as low, medium and high dietary CP:ME ratios. The actual CP:ME ratios obtained in this study significantly increased from low to high CP:ME ratio groups with a value of 10.59, 11.83 and 13.38 g/MJ respectively. Elevated CP:ME ratios significantly increased CP intake (kg/day) and feed efficiency (FE) which was defined as dry matter intake as a proportion of average daily gain (ADG), whereas little difference was observed in body weight (kg), ADG (kg/day), DM intake (kg/day) and ME intake (MJ/day) among the three different CP:ME ratio groups. Increasing dietary CP to ME ratios significantly increased CP digestibility, whereas digestibility of DM and gross energy remained constant in the current experiment. Blood urea nitrogen and insulin-like growth factor-1 linearly increased with increasing dietary CP:ME ratios. There was significantly dietary treatment effect on rumen fermentation parameters including acetate, propionate, butyrate and total volatile fatty acids. Therefore, this study indicated that increasing dietary CP levels with similar energy content contributed to increased protein intake and its digestibility, as well as FE. Holstein heifers between 200 and 341 kg subjected to 13.38 dietary CP:ME ratio showed improved feed efficiency, nutrient digestibility, some blood metabolites and rumen fermentation characteristics for 0.90 kg/day rate of gain.

Influence of dietary slow-release urea on growth performance, organ development and serum biochemical parameters of mutton sheep.

Eighty Dorper × thin-tailed Han cross-bred non-castrated male lambs [mean body weight (BW), 25.87 ± 1.06 kg] were randomly allocated to one of five different concentrations of slow-release urea (urea phosphate, UP). The feed consisted of an equal amount of concentrate diet and roughage; the concentrate feed was formulated to be isoenergetic and isonitrogenic and contained 0%, 1%, 2%, 4% and 8% UP (UP0.0, UP1.0, UP2.0, UP4.0 and UP8.0, respectively) as a replacement for soya bean meal. Feed intake, BW, average daily gain (ADG), feed utilisation efficiency (FUE), absolute and relative organ weights and biochemical and histopathological parameters were measured. Feed intake, BW, ADG and FUE significantly decreased in the group receiving UP8.0 (p < 0.05), but no difference was found among the other groups (p > 0.05). Quadratic equations were developed between the UP dosage in the concentrate feed and ADG or FUE (r2  = 0.973 for ADG and r2  = 0.761 for FUE) to determine the appropriate dosage of UP given the desire to maximise either ADG or FUE, the appropriate dosage (feed concentration) was calculated as 2.01% UP to achieve the greatest ADG or 2.13% UP to achieve the best FUE. The relative weight of the liver (% BW) in the UP2.0 groups was significantly greater than that of UP0.0 (p < 0.05), and the relative weight of the intestine in the UP8.0 was significantly greater than that of UP0.0 (p < 0.05); the relative weight of the carcass, heart, spleen, lung, kidney, rumen, reticulum, omasum and abomasum did not differ among treatments (p > 0.05). The UP8.0 treatment significantly increased serum phosphorus levels (p < 0.05) and decreased the levels of alkaline phosphatase, glucose and calcium (Ca) compared with the lower UP dosage (p < 0.05). No histopathological differences were found in either hepatic tissues or renal tissues among treatments. Dietary UP as a replacement for soya bean in concentrate feeds for mutton sheep should not exceed 4%, as higher dosing may cause malnutrition and mineral disorders.

Effects of Varroa destructor on temperature and humidity conditions and expression of energy metabolism genes in infested honeybee colonies.

Varroa destructor mites pose an increasing global threat to the apicultural industry and agricultural ecology; however, the issue of whether certain environmental factors reflect the level of mite infection is far from resolved. Here, a wireless sensor network (WSN) system was used to examine how V. destructor, which has vital impacts on honeybee (Apis mellifera) health and survival, affects the temperature and humidity of honeybee hives in a field experiment. This approach may facilitate early identification of V. destructor in hives, and thus enable timely remedial action. Using quantitative PCR, we also evaluated the expression of two genes, adipokinetic hormone (AKH) and adipokinetic hormone receptor (AKHR).The results showed that temperature in highly infested broods was higher than that in broods with low infestation. Moreover, mite infection in honeybee colonies was positively correlated with temperature but negatively correlated with humidity (P < 0.05). Similar to previous observations, quantitative analysis suggested that the expression levels of AKH and AKHR from honeybees with low infection were significantly higher than those from bees with high infection (P < 0.01). These results showed that the expression levels of these genes in colonies with high mite infestation were closely associated with changes in hive temperature and humidity. This study demonstrates that Varroa infection not only causes changes in temperature inside honeybee colonies, but also affects the expression of honeybee energy metabolism genes.

Effect of urea supplementation on performance and safety in diets of Dorper crossbred sheep.

This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of dietary urea in sheep rations having a 50:50 concentrate:roughage ratio. Sixty-four Dorper × thin-tailed Han crossbred ram lambs with an average body weight of 30.8 (±0.02) kg were randomly divided into four groups of 16 sheep each, and each group was fed one of the following diets: a basal diet (CON), or CON supplemented with 0.5% (0.5UTM), 1.5% (1.5UTM) or 2.5% (2.5UTM) urea. Growth performance, carcass characteristics, non-carcass offals, meat quality and peptic tissue lesions were assayed. The average daily weight gains for CON, 0.5UTM, 1.5UTM and 2.5UTM were 216, 218, 200 and 170 g, respectively, with the CON and 0.5UTM groups higher than 2.5UTM group (p < 0.05). Sheep from the 2.5UTM treatment had a significantly lower dry matter intake (1.29 kg/day) than those from the CON and 0.5UTM treatments (1.42 and 1.43 kg/day, p < 0.05), and the feed conversion ratio in the 2.5UTM group was the highest (p < 0.05). Carcass characteristics, including shrunk body weight, empty body weight, hot carcass weight, dress percentage, and the absolute or relative weight (% body weight) of heart, liver, spleen, lung and kidney, were not altered by the treatments (p > 0.05). The muscular pH of 2.5UTM was higher than that of CON (5.68 vs. 5.52, p < 0.05), and shear force in 0.5UTM was lower compared with CON and 2.5UTM (p < 0.05). The anatomical structure lesions in kidneys became more serious with the increasing dietary urea concentrations, with the 2.5UTM animals showing the most severe lesions compared with CON animals. Therefore, supplementary urea as a non-protein nitrogen source for sheep should not exceed 1.5% of ration having a 50:50 concentrate:roughage ratio to ensure efficacy and safety.

Energy requirements of early-weaned Dorper cross-bred female lambs.

The net and metabolizable energy (NE and ME) requirements of Dorper cross-bred female lambs with BWs of 20-35 kg were assessed in a comparative slaughter trial. Thirty-five Dorper × thin-tailed Han cross-bred female lambs weaned at ~50 days of age (20.3 ± 2.15 kg BW) were used. Seven randomly selected lambs were slaughtered at the start of the trial (baseline group). An intermediate group consisting of seven randomly selected lambs fed ad libitum was slaughtered when the lambs reached an average BW of 28.5 kg. The remaining 21 lambs were allotted randomly to three levels of dry matter intake: ad libitum or restricted to 70% or 40% of the ad libitum intake. All the lambs were slaughtered when the sheep fed ad libitum reached a BW of 35 kg. Total body energy, nitrogen, fat, ash and moisture content were determined. In a digestibility trial, an additional 15 Dorper × thin-tailed Han cross-bred female lambs (28.7 ± 1.75 kg BW) were housed in metabolism cages and used in a completely randomized design experiment to evaluate the ME value of the diet at the three feed intake levels. The maintenance requirements for NE and ME were 245.5 and 380.3 kJ/kg metabolic shrunk body weight (SBW0.75 ) respectively. The partial efficiency of energy use for maintenance was 0.645. The NE requirements for growth ranged from 1.18 to 5.18 MJ/d for the lambs gaining 100-350 g/d from 20 to 35 kg BW. Partial efficiency of ME for growth was 0.44. In conclusion, the current study suggests that the NE requirement for maintenance and growth of Dorper early-weaned cross-bred female lambs is lower than the current AFRC and NRC recommendations.

Effect of oral administration of probiotics on growth performance, apparent nutrient digestibility and stress-related indicators in Holstein calves.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation with Lactobacillus plantarum and Bacillus subtilis on growth performance, apparent nutrient digestibility and stress-related indicators in dairy calves. Twenty-four neonatal Holstein calves were randomly allocated to three treatments: a basal diet with no supplementation (control), the basal diet supplemented with 1.7 × 10(10) CFU per head per day (CFU/h.d) of L. plantarum GF103 (LB group) or the basal diet supplemented with a mixture of L. plantarum GF103 (1.7 × 10(10) CFU/h.d) and B. subtilis B27 (1.7 × 10(8) CFU/h.d) (LBS group). Dry matter intake (DMI), average daily gain (ADG), feed conversation ratio (FCR), apparent digestibility of nutrients and stress-related indicators were measured in this trail. The result indicated that no significant differences were observed in DMI or ADG (p > 0.05), but the FCR was improved in the LB group over the first 12 weeks (p > 0.05). The apparent digestibility of nutrients was not altered by probiotics in week 6 (p > 0.05), but the apparent digestibility of total phosphorus was significantly greater in the LB and LBS groups in week 8 (p > 0.05); additionally, an increase in the apparent digestibility of crude protein was detected in the LBS group (p > 0.05). Oral administration of L. plantarum alone improved the T-lymphocyte transformation rate on days 58 and 62 (p > 0.05), while adding the mixture of L. plantarum and B. subtilis increased the T-lymphocyte transformation rate (p > 0.05) but decreased the content of cortisol on day 58 (p > 0.05). No significant differences were detected between the LB and LBS groups in growth performance, apparent digestibility of nutrients and stress-related indicators (p > 0.05). The results suggested that oral administration of L. plantarum improved growth performance, nutrient digestibility and relieved weaning stress in calves, but no additional effect was obtained by supplementation with B. subtilis.

Effect of the Ratio of Non-fibrous Carbohydrates to Neutral Detergent Fiber and Protein Structure on Intake, Digestibility, Rumen Fermentation, and Nitrogen Metabolism in Lambs.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of the ratio of non-fibrous carbohydrates to neutral detergent fibre (NFC/NDF) and undegraded dietary protein (UDP) on rumen fermentation and nitrogen metabolism in lambs. Four Dorper×thin-tailed Han crossbred lambs, averaging 62.3±1.9 kg of body weight and 10 mo of age, were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments of combinations of two levels of NFC/NDF (1.0 and 1.7) and two levels of UDP (35% and 50% of crude protein [CP]). Duodenal nutrient flows were measured with dual markers of Yb and Co, and microbial N (MN) synthesis was estimated using (15)N. High UDP decreased organic matter (OM) intake (p = 0.002) and CP intake (p = 0.005). Ruminal pH (p<0.001), ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N; p = 0.008), and total volatile fatty acids (p<0.001) were affected by dietary NFC/NDF. The ruminal concentration of NH3-N was also affected by UDP (p<0.001). The duodenal flow of total MN (p = 0.007) was greater for lambs fed the high NFC/NDF diet. The amount of metabolisable N increased with increasing dietary NFC:NDF (p = 0.02) or UDP (p = 0.04). In conclusion, the diets with high NFC/NDF (1.7) and UDP (50% of CP) improved metabolisable N supply to lambs.

Effect of dietary supplementation of rutin on lactation performance, ruminal fermentation and metabolism in dairy cows.

The effect of long-term dietary supplementation with rutin on the lactation performance, ruminal fermentation and metabolism of dairy cows were investigated in this study. Twenty multiparous Chinese Holstein cows were randomly divided into four groups, and each was offered a basal diet supplemented with 0, 1.5, 3.0 or 4.5 mg rutin/kg of diet. The milk yield of the cows receiving 3.0 and 4.5 mg rutin/kg was higher than that of the control group, and the milk yield was increased by 10.06% and 3.37% (p < 0.05). On the basis of that finding, the cows supplemented with 0 or 3.0 mg rutin/kg of diet were used to investigate the effect of rutin supplementation on blood metabolites and hormone levels. Compared with the control group, the serum blood urea nitrogen (BUN) concentration of the 3.0 mg rutin/kg group is significantly decreased (p < 0.05). In another trial, four adult cows with permanent rumen fistula and duodenal cannulae were attributed in a self-control design to investigate the peak occurrence of rutin and quercetin in different parts of the gastrointestinal tract, ruminal fermentation and microbial population in dairy cows. The cows supplemented with 3.0 mg rutin/kg in the diet differed from the control period. Samples of rumen fluid, duodenal fluid and blood were collected at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 h after morning feeding. Compared to the control group, the pH, ammonia nitrogen concentration, number and protein content of rumen protozoa and blood urea nitrogen were lower, but the concentration of total volatile fatty acid (TVFA), microbial crude protein (MCP) and serum lysozyme content were higher for the cows fed the rutin diets. The addition of 3.0 mg rutin/kg to diets for a long term tended to increase the milk yield and improve the metabolism and digestibility of the dairy cows.

Effect of dietary supplementation with resveratrol on nutrient digestibility, methanogenesis and ruminal microbial flora in sheep.

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of resveratrol on methanogenesis and microbial flora in Dorper × thin-tailed Han cross-bred ewes. In experiment 1, ten ewes (67.2 ± 2.24 kg BW) were assigned to two dietary treatments, a basal diet and a basal diet supplemented with resveratrol (0.25 g/head·day), to investigate the effect of resveratrol on nutrient digestibility and nitrogen balance. In experiment 2, six ewes (64.0 ± 1.85 kg BW) with ruminal cannulae were assigned to the identical dietary treatments used in experiment 1 to investigate supplementary resveratrol on ruminal fermentation and microbial flora using qPCR. The results showed that supplementary resveratrol improved the digestibility of organic matter (OM; p < 0.001), nitrogen (N; p = 0.007), neutral detergent fibre (NDF; p < 0.001) and acid detergent fibre (ADF; p < 0.001). The excretion of faecal N was reduced (p = 0.007), whereas that of urinary N increased (p = 0.002), which led to an unchanged N retention (p = 0.157). Both CO2 and CH4 output scaled to digestible dry matter (DM) intake decreased from 602.5 to 518.7 (p = 0.039) and 68.2 to 56.6 (p < 0.001) respectively. Ruminal pH (p = 0.341), ammonia (p = 0.512) and total volatile fatty acid (VFA) (p = 0.249) were unaffected by resveratrol. The molar proportion of propionate increased from 13.1 to 17.5% (p < 0.001) while that of butyrate decreased from 11.0 to 9.55% (p < 0.001). The ratio of acetate to propionate (A/P) decreased from 5.44 to 3.96 (p < 0.001). Supplementary resveratrol increased ruminal population of Fibrobacter succinogenes, Ruminococcus albus and Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens (p < 0.001) while decreased protozoa and methanogens. In conclusion, dietary resveratrol inhibited methanogenesis without adversely affecting ruminal fermentation.

Effect of a probiotic mixture on intestinal microflora, morphology, and barrier integrity of broilers subjected to heat stress.

The current study investigated the efficacy of a probiotic mixture on ameliorating heat stress-induced impairment of intestinal microflora, morphology, and barrier integrity in broilers. The probiotic mixture contained Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus subtilis, and Lactobacillus plantarum. Three hundred sixty 21-d-old Ross 308 male broilers were allocated in 4 experimental treatments, each of which was replicated 6 times with 15 broilers per replicate. A 2 × 2 factorial design was used in the study, and the main factors were composed of diet (basal diet or addition of 1.5 g/kg of probiotic mixture) and temperature (thermoneutral zone or heat stress). From d 22 to 42, birds were either raised in a thermoneutral zone (22°C) or subjected to cyclic heat stress by exposing them to 33°C for 10 h (from 0800 to 1800) and 22°C from 1800 to 0800. Compared with birds kept in the thermoneutral zone, birds subjected to heat stress had reduced ADG and ADFI; lower viable counts of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium and increased viable counts of coliforms and Clostridium in small intestinal contents; shorter jejunal villus height, deeper crypt depth, and lower ratio of villus height to crypt depth; decreased jejunal transepithelial electrical resistance and a higher level of jejunal paracellular permeability of fluorescein isothiocyanate dextran 4 kDa; and downregulated protein levels of occludin and zonula occludens-1 (P < 0.05). Supplemental probiotics increased (P < 0.05) small intestinal Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, jejunal villus height, protein level of occludin, and decreased (P < 0.05) feed to gain ratio and small intestinal coliforms. These results indicate that dietary addition of probiotic mixture was effective in partially ameliorating intestinal barrier function. But no temperature × diet interaction was observed in the present study, revealing that the supplemented probiotics had the same effect at both temperatures.

Energy requirements of Dorper crossbred ewe lambs.

The ME and NE requirements of Dorper crossbred ewe lambs grown from 35 to 50 kg BW were assessed in a comparative slaughter trial. Thirty-five ewe lambs (33.5 ± 0.6 kg BW) of F1 crosses of purebred Dorper and thin-tailed Han sheep were used: 7 lambs were slaughtered at the start of the trial to provide baseline measures of body composition and 7 lambs were fed ad libitum and slaughtered when they reached 43 kg BW to provide intermediate measures of body composition. The remaining 21 lambs were divided into 3 groups of 7 lambs each and fed a pelleted mixed diet (concentrate:roughage = 44:56, DM basis) for ad libitum intake or 65 or 45% of ad libitum intake. All 3 groups were slaughtered when the ad libitum group reached 50 kg BW. Total body energy, N, fat, ash, and moisture content were measured. In a separate trial, 15 ewe lambs (39.5 ± 0.7 kg BW) of F1 crosses of purebred Dorper and thin-tailed Han sheep were housed in metabolism cages to evaluate the ME value of the diet at each of the 3 levels of feed intake. In vivo methane production was measured by open-circuit respirometry along with the collection of all feces and urine. The daily NEm requirement of the ewe lambs was 280 kJ/kg metabolic BW (BW(0.75)) or 292 kJ/kg metabolic shrunk BW (SBW(0.75)), whereas the daily ME requirement for maintenance was 418 kJ/kg BW(0.75) or 437 kJ/kg SBW(0.75), with a partial efficiency of ME utilization for maintenance of 0.67. The NEg requirement ranged from 1.37 to 3.94 MJ/d for ADG from 100 to 250 g BW, and the partial efficiency of ME utilization for gain was 0.44. The NE and ME requirements of Dorper × thin-tailed Han crossbred ewe lambs were lower than the recommendations of the United States' nutritional system.

The host species affects the microbial community in the goat rumen.

AIMS: This study was carried out to determine whether bacterial and ciliate populations in goat rumen vary significantly between different goat species living in the same environment. METHODS AND RESULTS: Bacterial and ciliate communities in the rumen of three goat species were analysed at the molecular level using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. The microbial community varied considerably among goats living in the same environment. Interspecies variation in the bacterial population was noticeably greater than intraspecies variation. In contrast, there was considerable variation in the ciliate population among goats within the same species, and intraspecies similarities were no greater than those observed across species. CONCLUSIONS: Because environmental factors and diets were identical for all goats, differences in bacterial populations reflect species-specific differences in rumen microbes. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Factors related to the host species have an important effect on determining the bacterial composition in the goat rumen.