Journal Articles

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    Supplementation with Astragalus Root Powder Promotes Rumen Microbiota Density and Metabolome Interactions in Lambs
    (MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2024-03-02) Shao P; Sha Y; Liu X; He Y; Wang F; Hu J; Wang J; Li S; Chen X; Yang W; Chen Q; Gao M
    The gut microbiota is highly symbiotic with the host, and the microbiota and its metabolites are essential for regulating host health and physiological functions. Astragalus, as a feed additive, can improve animal immunity. However, the effects of Astragalus root powder on the rumen microbiota and their metabolites in lambs are not apparent. In this study, thirty healthy Hu sheep lambs with similar body weights (17.42 ± 2.02 kg) were randomly selected for the feeding experiment. Lambs were fed diets supplemented with 0.3% Astragalus root powder, and the rumen microbiota density and metabolome were measured to determine the effects of Astragalus on the health of lambs in the rumen. The results showed that the relative abundance of Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens (Bf), Ruminococcus flavefaciens (Rf), Succiniclasticum (Su), and Prevotella (Pr) in the rumen was increased in the Astragalus group (p < 0.01), and metabolic profiling showed that the metabolites, such as L-lyrosine and L-leucine, were upregulated in the Astragalus group (p < 0.01). KEGG functional annotation revealed that upregulated metabolites were mainly enriched in the pathways of amino acid metabolism, lipid metabolism, fatty acid biosynthesis, and bile secretion in the Astragalus group, and downregulated metabolites were enriched in the pathways of methane metabolism and other pathways. Correlation analysis revealed that butyric acid was positively correlated with Roseburia and Blautia (p < 0.05) and negatively correlated with Desulfovibrio (p < 0.05). Thus, by analyzing the interactions of Astragalus root powder with the density of rumen microorganisms and their metabolites in lambs, it was shown that Astragalus root powder could improve the structure of rumen microbiota and their metabolites and then participate in the regulation of amino acid metabolism, lipid metabolism, immune metabolism, and other pathways to improve the efficiency of energy absorption of the lambs.
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    Mass Spectrometry-Based Lipidomics of Brown Adipose Tissue and Plasma of New-Born Lambs Subjected to Short-Term Cold Exposure
    (MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2022-10-14) Graña-Baumgartner A; Dukkipati VSR; Biggs PJ; Kenyon PR; Blair HT; Lopez-Villalobos N; Ross AB; Czauderna M
    During cold exposure, brown adipose tissue (BAT) holds the key mechanism in the generation of heat, thus inducing thermogenic adaptation in response to cooler environmental changes. This process can lead to a major lipidome remodelling in BAT, where the increase in abundance of many lipid classes plays a significant role in the thermogenic mechanisms for heat production. This study aimed to identify different types of lipids, through liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), in BAT and plasma during a short-term cold challenge (2-days), or not, in new-born lambs. Fifteen new-born Romney lambs were selected randomly and divided into three groups: Group 1 (n = 3) with BAT and plasma obtained within 24 h after birth, as a control; Group 2 (n = 6) kept indoors for two days at an ambient temperature (20-22 °C) and Group 3 (n = 6) kept indoors for two days at a cold temperature (4 °C). Significant differences in lipid composition of many lipid categories (such as glycerolipids, glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids and sterol lipids) were observed in BAT and plasma under cold conditions, compared with ambient conditions. Data obtained from the present study suggest that short-term cold exposure induces profound changes in BAT and plasma lipidome composition of new-born lambs, which may enhance lipid metabolism via BAT thermogenic activation and adipocyte survival during cold adaptation. Further analysis on the roles of these lipid changes, validation of potential biomarkers for BAT activity, such as LPC 18:1 and PC 35:6, should contribute to the improvement of new-born lamb survival. Collectively, these observations help broaden the knowledge on the variations of lipid composition during cold exposure.
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    RNAseq Analysis of Brown Adipose Tissue and Thyroid of Newborn Lambs Subjected to Short-Term Cold Exposure Reveals Signs of Early Whitening of Adipose Tissue
    (MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2022-10-20) Graña-Baumgartner A; Dukkipati VSR; Kenyon PR; Blair HT; Lopez-Villalobos N; Gedye K; Biggs PJ; Kadegowda AKG; Bionaz M
    During the early postnatal period, lambs have the ability to thermoregulate body temperature via non-shivering thermogenesis through brown adipose tissue (BAT), which soon after birth begins to transform into white adipose tissue. An RNA seq approach was used to characterize the transcriptome of BAT and thyroid tissue in newborn lambs exposed to cold conditions. Fifteen newborn Romney lambs were selected and divided into three groups: group 1 (n = 3) was a control, and groups 2 and 3 (n = 6 each) were kept indoors for two days at an ambient temperature (20-22 °C) or at a cold temperature (4 °C), respectively. Sequencing was performed using a paired-end strategy through the BGISEQ-500 platform, followed by the identification of differentially expressed genes using DESeq2 and an enrichment analysis by g:Profiler. This study provides an in-depth expression network of the main characters involved in the thermogenesis and fat-whitening mechanisms that take place in the newborn lamb. Data revealed no significant differential expression of key thermogenic factors such as uncoupling protein 1, suggesting that the heat production peak under cold exposure might occur so rapidly and in such an immediate way that it may seem undetectable in BAT by day three of life. Moreover, these changes in expression might indicate the start of the whitening process of the adipose tissue, concluding the non-shivering thermogenesis period.
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    Growth of early weaned lambs on a plantain-clover mix compared with lambs suckling their dam on a plantain-clover mix or a grass based sward
    (NZSAP, 7/07/2016) Cranston, LM; Corner-Thomas, RA; Kenyon, PR; Morris, ST
    Plantain-clover mixes have high metabolisable energy content and have been shown to support greater liveweight gains in lambs both pre- and post-weaning when compared with grass. The aim of this experiment was to determine if a plantain-clover mix could be used as a means to wean lambs earlier. Twin-bearing ewes (n=67) with both lambs at a minimum live weight of 16 kg each were allocated to one of three treatments; 1) ewe and lambs together on grass, 2) ewes and lambs together on plantain- clover mix, 3) lambs weaned at approximately 8 weeks of age onto a plantain-clover mix and ewes on grass. Lambs that were weaned early were lighter (P<0.05) at approximately 14 weeks of age than those which remained with their dam on either a plantain-clover mix or grass (32.3±0.43 vs 34.7±0.44 vs 33.7±0.45 kg, respectively). However, ewes which had their lambs weaned early were heavier (P<0.05; 79.7±1.73 vs 75.5±1.68 vs 75.9±1.64 kg, respectively) and in better body condition score (P<0.05; 3.1±0.05 vs 2.9±0.05 vs 2.9±0.05, respectively) than those which remained with their lambs on either a plantain-clover mix or grass. This suggests early weaning improved ewe condition but did not improve lamb performance