Microbial composition in different gut locations of weaning piglets receiving antibiotics.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine shifts in the composition of the bacterial population in the intestinal tracts (ITs) of weaning piglets by antibiotic treatment using high-throughput sequencing. METHODS: Sixty 28-d-old weaning piglets were randomly divided into two treatment groups. The Control group was treated with a basal diet without antibiotics. The Antibiotic group's basal diet contained colistin sulfate at a concentration of 20 g per ton and bacitracin zinc at a concentration of 40 g per ton. All of the pigs were fed for 28 days. Then, three pigs were killed, and the luminal contents of the jejunum, ileum, cecum, and colon were collected for DNA extraction and high-throughput sequencing. RESULTS: The results showed that the average daily weight gain of the antibiotic group was significantly greater (p<0.05), and the incidence of diarrhea lower (p>0.05), than the control group. A total of 812,607 valid reads were generated. Thirty-eight operational taxonomic units (OTUs) that were found in all of the samples were defined as core OTUs. Twenty-one phyla were identified, and approximately 90% of the classifiable sequences belonged to the phylum Firmicutes. Forty-two classes were identified. Of the 232 genera identified, nine genera were identified as the core gut microbiome because they existed in all of the tracts. The proportion of the nine core bacteria varied at the different tract sites. A heat map was used to understand how the numbers of the abundant genera shifted between the two treatment groups. CONCLUSION: At different tract sites the relative abundance of gut microbiota was different. Antibiotics could cause shifts in the microorganism composition and affect the composition of gut microbiota in the different tracts of weaning piglets.

APACHE score, Severity Index of Paraquat Poisoning, and serum lactic acid concentration in the prognosis of paraquat poisoning of Chinese Patients.

Many prognostic indictors have been studied to evaluate the prognosis of paraquat poisoning. However, the optimal indicator remains unclear. To determine the value of the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score, the Severity Index of Paraquat Poisoning (SIPP), and serum lactate levels in the prognosis of paraquat poisoning, we performed a prospective study that enrolled 143 paraquat patients. Data were collected from patients (161) at West China Hospital in Chengdu, China, including details about the patients' general conditions, laboratory examinations, and treatment. Receiver operating characteristic curves for predicting inpatient mortality based on APACHE II score, SIPP, and lactate levels were generated. To analyze the best cutoff values for lactate levels, APACHE II scores, and SIPP in predicting the prognosis of paraquat poisoning, the initial parameters on admission and 7-day survival curves of patients with lactate levels greater than or equal to 2.95 mmol/L, APACHE II score greater than or equal to 15.22, and SIPP greater than or equal to 5.50 h · mg/L at the time of arrival at West China Hospital were compared using the 1-way analysis of variance and the log-rank test. The APACHE II score (5.45 [3.67] vs 11.29 [4.31]), SIPP (2.78 [1.89] vs 7.63 [2.46] h · mg/L), and lactate level (2.78 [1.89] vs 7.63 [2.46] mmol/L) were significantly lower in survivors (77) after oral ingestion of paraquat, compared with nonsurvivors (66). The APACHE II score, SIPP, and lactate level had different areas under the curve (0.847, 0.789, and 0.916, respectively) and accuracy (0.64, 0.84, and 0.89, respectively). Respiratory rate, serum creatinine level, Paco2, and mortality rate at 7 days after admission in patients with lactate levels greater than or equal to 2.95 mmol/L were markedly different compared with those of other patients (P < 0.05). The predictive value of lactic acid was superior to that of APACHE II score and SIPP for acute oral paraquat poisoning.

Comparison of Digestive Enzyme Activities and Expression of Small Intestinal Transporter Genes in Jinhua and Landrace Pigs.

Digestive enzyme activity is involved in the regulation of growth performance because digestive enzymes function to improve the feed efficiency by digestion and in turn to modulate the process of nutrient metabolism. The objective of this study was to investigate the differences of the digestive enzyme activities and expression of nutrient transporters in the intestinal tract between Jinhua and Landrace pigs and to explore the potential breed-specificity in digestion and absorption. The pancreas segments and the digesta and mucosa of the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum were collected from 10 Jinhua pigs and Landrace pigs, respectively. The activities of trypsin, chymotrypsin, amylase, maltase, sucrase, and lipase were measured and the expression levels of PepT1, GLUT2, SGLT1, FABP1, FABP2, and FABP4 were examined. Results showed that the trypsin activity in the pancreas of Jinhua pigs was higher than that in Landrace pigs, but was lower in the small intestine, except for in the jejunal mucosa. The chymotrypsin activity in the small intestine of Jinhua pigs was higher than that in Landrace pigs, except for in jejunal mucosa and contents. Compared with Landrace pigs, the amylase and maltase activity in the small intestine of Jinhua pigs was lower, except for in ileal mucosa. The sucrase activity in the small intestine of Jinhua pigs was also lower than Landrace pigs, except for in jejunal mucosa. Furthermore, the lipase activity in the small intestine of Jinhua pigs was higher than that in Landrace pigs. The mRNA levels of PepT1 and GLUT2 in duodenal, jejunal and ileal mucosa showed no difference between Jinhua and Landrace pigs, whereas SGLT1 in ileal mucosa was lower in Jinhua pigs. The mRNA levels of FABP1, FABP2 and FABP4 in the small intestinal mucosa of Jinhua pigs were higher than in Landrace pigs. These findings indicate that there is a certain difference in the digestibility and absorption of nutrients in small intestine of Jinhua and Landrace pigs, partially resulting in their differences in growth development and fat deposition.

Microbial community mapping in intestinal tract of broiler chicken.

Domestic chickens are valuable sources of protein associated with producing meat and eggs for humans. The gastrointestinal tract (GIT) houses a large microbial community, and these microbiota play an important role in growth and health of chickens, contributing to the enhancement of nutrient absorption and improvement of the birds' immune systems. To improve our understanding of the chicken intestinal microbial composition, microbiota inhabiting 5 different intestinal locations (duodenum, jejunum, ileum, cecum, and colon) of 42-day-old broiler chickens were detected based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. As a result, 1,502,554 sequences were clustered into 796 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) at the 97% sequence similarity value and identified into 15 phyla and 288 genera. Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Cyanobacteria were the major microbial groups and Firmicutes was the dominant phylum in duodenum, jejunum, ileum and colon accounting for > 60% of sequences, while Bacteroidetes was the dominant phylum in cecum (>50% of sequences), but little in the other four gut sections. At the genus level, the major microbial genera across all gut sections were Lactobacillus, Enterococcus, Bacteroides, and Corynebacterium. Lactobacillus was the predominant genus in duodenum, jejunum, and ileum (>35%), but was rarely present in cecum, and Bacteroides was the most dominant group in cecum (about 40%), but rarely present in the other 4 intestinal sections. Differences of microbial composition between the 5 intestinal locations might be a cause and consequence of gut functional differences and may also reflect host selection mediated by innate or adaptive immune responses. All these results could offer some information for the future study on the relationship between intestinal microbiota and broiler chicken growth performance as well as health.