scholarly journals Food supplementation affects gut microbiota and immunological resistance to parasites in a wild bird species

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah A. Knutie
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Antibody Response ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Food Supplementation ◽  
List Type ◽  
Supplemental Feeding ◽  
Parasite Abundance ◽  
Effect Of Food

AbstractSupplemental feeding can increase the overall health of animals but also can have varying consequences for animals dealing with parasites. Furthermore, the mechanism mediating the effect of food supplementation on host-parasite interactions remains poorly understood.The goal of the study was to determine the effect of food supplementation on host defenses against parasitic nest flies and whether host gut microbiota, which can affect immunity, potentially mediates these relationships. In a fully crossed design, I experimentally manipulated the abundance of parasitic nest flies (Protocalliphora sialia) and food availability then characterized the gut microbiota, immune responses, and nest parasite abundance of nestling eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis).Food supplemented birds had 75% fewer parasites than unsupplemented birds. Parasite abundance decreased throughout the breeding season for unsupplemented birds, but abundance did not change throughout the season for supplemented birds. Food supplementation increased overall fledging success. Parasitism had a sublethal effects on blood loss, but food supplementation mitigated these effects by increasing parasite resistance via the nestling IgY antibody response.Food supplementation increased the gut bacterial diversity in nestlings, which was negatively related to parasite abundance. Food supplementation also increased the relative abundance of Clostridium spp. in nestlings, which was positively related to their antibody response and negatively related to parasite abundance.Synthesis and applications. Overall, these results suggest that food supplementation, especially early in the breeding season, increases resistance to parasitism during the early life stage of the host, which could be mediated by the effect of supplementation on the gut microbiota. Wildlife food supplementation is a common pastime for humans worldwide and therefore it is important to determine the consequences of this activity on animal health. Furthermore, supplemental feeding could induce resistance to detrimental parasites (e.g. invasive parasites) in hosts when management of the parasite is not immediately possible.

scholarly journals BOARD INVITED REVIEW: The pig microbiota and the potential for harnessing the power of the microbiome to improve growth and health1

2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (9) ◽  
pp. 3741-3757 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nirosh D Aluthge ◽  
Dana M Van Sambeek ◽  
Erin E Carney-Hinkle ◽  
Yanshuo S Li ◽  
Samodha C Fernando ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gastrointestinal Tract ◽  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Microbial Colonization ◽  
Critical Importance ◽  
Specific Host ◽  
Microbiome Research ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
The Impact

Abstract A variety of microorganisms inhabit the gastrointestinal tract of animals including bacteria, archaea, fungi, protozoa, and viruses. Pioneers in gut microbiology have stressed the critical importance of diet:microbe interactions and how these interactions may contribute to health status. As scientists have overcome the limitations of culture-based microbiology, the importance of these interactions has become more clear even to the extent that the gut microbiota has emerged as an important immunologic and metabolic organ. Recent advances in metagenomics and metabolomics have helped scientists to demonstrate that interactions among the diet, the gut microbiota, and the host to have profound effects on animal health and disease. However, although scientists have now accumulated a great deal of data with respect to what organisms comprise the gastrointestinal landscape, there is a need to look more closely at causative effects of the microbiome. The objective of this review is intended to provide: 1) a review of what is currently known with respect to the dynamics of microbial colonization of the porcine gastrointestinal tract; 2) a review of the impact of nutrient:microbe effects on growth and health; 3) examples of the therapeutic potential of prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics; and 4) a discussion about what the future holds with respect to microbiome research opportunities and challenges. Taken together, by considering what is currently known in the four aforementioned areas, our overarching goal is to set the stage for narrowing the path towards discovering how the porcine gut microbiota (individually and collectively) may affect specific host phenotypes.

DNA fragmentation and morphometric studies in sperm of stallions supplemented with maca (Lepidium meyenii)

Zygote ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Emanuele D’Anza ◽  
Sara Albarella ◽  
Giacomo Galdiero ◽  
Simona Tafuri ◽  
Chiara Del Prete ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dna Fragmentation ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Sperm Count ◽  
Sperm Concentration ◽  
Food Supplementation ◽  
Sperm Dna Fragmentation ◽  
Economic Management ◽  
Lepidium Meyenii ◽  
The Andes ◽  
Length Width

Summary The reproductive performances of livestock play an essential role in the economic management of the farm. The improvement of semen quantity and quality through the use of food supplements that lack substances which are forbidden in animal feeding, or that may have detrimental effects, is an important goal. Maca (Lepidium meyenii) is a plant that has been used for centuries in the Andes for nutrition and fertility enhancement in humans and animals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of food supplementation of stallions with maca during the breeding season on spermatozoa parameters such as DNA fragmentation and shape, which are two predictive indexes of spermatozoa functionality. For this purpose, ejaculate volume, semen gel-free volume, sperm concentration and motility, total sperm count, sperm DNA fragmentation and sperm head parameters (length, width, perimeter, area, shape factor, roughness) were measured in four stallions. Maca food supplementation in stallions during breeding reduced the percentage of spermatozoa with fragmented DNA, increased significantly sperm concentration and exerted an elongation of the spermatozoa head, a condition that is believed to improve spermatozoa functionality, suggesting that food supplementation of maca could be useful in horse breeding during the breeding season.

scholarly journals Antibiotics at birth and later antibiotic courses: effects on gut microbiota

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sofia Ainonen ◽  
Mysore V Tejesvi ◽  
Md. Rayhan Mahmud ◽  
Niko Paalanne ◽  
Tytti Pokka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Control Group ◽  
List Type ◽  
Antibiotic Exposure ◽  
Microbiota Composition ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Antibiotic Courses ◽  
Gut Microbiota Composition

Abstract Background Intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis (IAP) is widely used, but the evidence of the long-term effects on the gut microbiota and subsequent health of children is limited. Here, we compared the impacts of perinatal antibiotic exposure and later courses of antibiotic courses on gut microbiota. Methods This was a prospective, controlled cohort study among 100 vaginally delivered infants with different perinatal antibiotic exposures: control (27), IAP (27), postnatal antibiotics (24), and IAP and postnatal antibiotics (22). At 1 year of age, we performed next-generation sequencing of the bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA gene of fecal samples. Results Exposure to the perinatal antibiotics had a clear impact on the gut microbiota. The abundance of the Bacteroidetes phylum was significantly higher in the control group, whereas the relative abundance of Escherichia coli was significantly lower in the control group. The impact of the perinatal antibiotics on the gut microbiota composition was greater than exposure to later courses of antibiotics (28% of participants). Conclusions Perinatal antibiotic exposure had a marked impact on the gut microbiota at the age of 1 year. The timing of the antibiotic exposure appears to be the critical factor for the changes observed in the gut microbiota. Impact Infants are commonly exposed to IAP and postnatal antibiotics, and later to courses of antibiotics during the first year of life. Perinatal antibiotics have been associated with an altered gut microbiota during the first months of life, whereas the evidence regarding the long-term impact is more limited. Perinatal antibiotic exposure had a marked impact on the infant’s gut microbiota at 1 year of age. Impact of the perinatal antibiotics on the gut microbiota composition was greater than that of the later courses of antibiotics at the age of 1 year.

scholarly journals Increased summer food supply decreases non-breeding movement in black-legged kittiwakes

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 20190725 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon Whelan ◽  
Scott A. Hatch ◽  
David B. Irons ◽  
Alyson McKnight ◽  
Kyle H. Elliott
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Food Supply ◽  
Light Level ◽  
Food Supplementation ◽  
Reproductive Phenology ◽  
Rissa Tridactyla ◽  
Breeding Behaviour ◽  
Unlimited Supply ◽  
Migration Phenology ◽  
Carry Over

Individual condition at one stage of the annual cycle is expected to influence behaviour during subsequent stages, yet experimental evidence of food-mediated carry-over effects is scarce. We used a food supplementation experiment to test the effects of food supply during the breeding season on migration phenology and non-breeding behaviour. We provided an unlimited supply of fish to black-legged kittiwakes ( Rissa tridactyla ) during their breeding season on Middleton Island, Alaska, monitored reproductive phenology and breeding success, and used light-level geolocation to observe non-breeding behaviour. Among successful breeders, fed kittiwakes departed the colony earlier than unfed controls. Fed kittiwakes travelled less than controls during the breeding season, contracting their non-breeding range. Our results demonstrate that food supply during the breeding season affects non-breeding phenology, movement and distribution, providing a potential behavioural mechanism underlying observed survival costs of reproduction.

scholarly journals One Health, Fermented Foods, and Gut Microbiota

Foods ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Bell ◽  
Jorge Ferrão ◽  
Lígia Pimentel ◽  
Manuela Pintado ◽  
Tito Fernandes
Keyword(s):  
Lactic Acid ◽  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
One Health ◽  
Inflammatory Diseases ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Saturated Fat ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Fermented Foods ◽  
Being There ◽  
The Impact

Changes in present-day society such as diets with more sugar, salt, and saturated fat, bad habits and unhealthy lifestyles contribute to the likelihood of the involvement of the microbiota in inflammatory diseases, which contribute to global epidemics of obesity, depression, and mental health concerns. The microbiota is presently one of the hottest areas of scientific and medical research, and exerts a marked influence on the host during homeostasis and disease. Fermented foods and beverages are generally defined as products made by microbial organisms and enzymatic conversions of major and minor food components. Further to the commonly-recognized effects of nutrition on the digestive health (e.g., dysbiosis) and well-being, there is now strong evidence for the impact of fermented foods and beverages (e.g., yoghurt, pickles, bread, kefir, beers, wines, mead), produced or preserved by the action of microorganisms, on general health, namely their significance on the gut microbiota balance and brain functionality. Fermented products require microorganisms, i.e., Saccharomyces yeasts and lactic acid bacteria, yielding alcohol and lactic acid. Ingestion of vibrant probiotics, especially those contained in fermented foods, is found to cause significant positive improvements in balancing intestinal permeability and barrier function. Our guts control and deal with every aspect of our health. How we digest our food and even the food sensitivities we have is linked with our mood, behavior, energy, weight, food cravings, hormone balance, immunity, and overall wellness. We highlight some impacts in this domain and debate calls for the convergence of interdisciplinary research fields from the United Nations’ initiative. Worldwide human and animal medicine are practiced separately; veterinary science and animal health are generally neither considered nor inserted within national or international Health discussions. The absence of a clear definition and subsequent vision for the future of One Health may act as a barrier to transdisciplinary collaboration. The point of this mini review is to highlight the role of fermented foods and beverages on gut microbiota and debate if the need for confluence of transdisciplinary fields of One Health is feasible and achievable, since they are managed by separate sectors with limited communication.

Piglets' gut microbiota dynamics.

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (048) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela R. Klein
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Pathogenic Bacteria ◽  
Cell Structure ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Swine Production ◽  
Growth Promoters ◽  
Health Maintenance ◽  
Mortality And Morbidity ◽  
Weaning Piglets ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The gut microbiota has been a subject of great interest in recent years because the composition and diversity are associated with the maintenance of piglets' health and welfare. This review aims to summarise the composition and diversity of piglet microbiome, the impact on health maintenance, influence of feed and nutrients, impact of stress situations, and the effect of growth promoters and antimicrobials on gut microbiota. The composition and diversity of microbiota are influenced by animal early experiences, the appropriate development of microbiota is essential for intestinal function, and influence animal health, growth and productivity. Interactions between the gut microbiota and the immune system help maintain epithelial barrier, and protect from post-weaning diarrhoea pathogenies. After weaning, the piglets' diet changes abruptly, affecting the microbiota and the physiology, but this can be modulated through nutrients such as fibre, protein and minerals. Stress situations contribute to the appearance of intestinal disorders, possibly changing the microbiota and epithelial cell structure, facilitating colonisation of pathogenic bacteria, decreased performance and increase the use of antimicrobials. In swine production, growth promoters and antibiotics are used to reduce mortality and morbidity, especially in weaning piglets, reducing and controlling potential pathogenic bacteria, resulting in more feed intake and body weight. Antimicrobial use reduces the entire gut microbial population; the replacers are probiotics, prebiotics and organic acids, which helps maintain intestinal microbial populations, and inhibits pathogenic bacteria development. Knowing the animal microbiome dynamics helps improve immunity, productive performance and welfare, and also reduce the use of antimicrobials in animal production.

scholarly journals Effect of life stage and pesticide exposure on the gut microbiota of Aedes albopictus and Culex pipiens L

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elijah O. Juma ◽  
Brian F. Allan ◽  
Chang-Hyun Kim ◽  
Christopher Stone ◽  
Christopher Dunlap ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Aedes Albopictus ◽  
Culex Pipiens ◽  
Pesticide Exposure ◽  
Life Stage

The impact of botfly parasitism on the health of the gracile mouse opossum (Gracilinanus agilis)

Parasitology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 146 (8) ◽  
pp. 1013-1021
Author(s):  
Priscilla Lóra Zangrandi ◽  
André Faria Mendonça ◽  
Ariovaldo Pereira Cruz-Neto ◽  
Rudy Boonstra ◽  
Emerson M. Vieira
Keyword(s):  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Haemoglobin Concentration ◽  
Blood Parameters ◽  
Small Population ◽  
Maximum Temperature ◽  
Food Supplementation ◽  
Local Extinctions ◽  
The Impact

AbstractFragmented habitats generally harbour small populations that are potentially more prone to local extinctions caused by biotic factors such as parasites. We evaluated the effects of botflies (Cuterebra apicalis) on naturally fragmented populations of the gracile mouse opossum (Gracilinanus agilis). We examined how sex, food supplementation experiment, season and daily climatic variables affected body condition and haemoglobin concentration in animals that were parasitized or not by botflies. Although parasitism did not affect body condition, haemoglobin concentrations were lower in parasitized animals. Among the non-parasitized individuals, haemoglobin concentration increased with the increase of maximum temperature and the decrease of relative humidity, a climatic pattern found at the peak of the dry season. However, among parasitized animals, the opposite relationship between haemoglobin concentration and relative humidity occurred, as a consequence of parasite-induced anaemia interacting with dehydration as an additional stressor. We conclude that it is critical to assess how climate affects animal health (through blood parameters) to understand the population consequences of parasitism on the survival of individuals and hence of small population viability.

17 WHITETAIL DEER OFFSPRING FROM ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION WITH EPIDIDYMAL SPERM HARVESTED FROM A HUNTER-KILLED BUCK

2007 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 127
Author(s):  
J. R. Saenz ◽  
G. T. Gentry ◽  
W. Forbes ◽  
B. Olcott ◽  
J. Chenevert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Gestation Length ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Epididymal Sperm ◽  
Hunting Season ◽  
Deer Hunting ◽  
Antler Size ◽  
One Step

The ability to cryopreserve epididymal sperm from mature postmortem bucks has long been of interest to both wildlife conservationists and deer ranchers. At present, there is loss of valuable genetics from the hunter harvest of trophy males. Increasing adult body weight and antler size of adult males would be of substantial economic value to the deer hunting industry. In this preliminary trial, 6 yearling pen-raised Whitetail does (47 to 58 kg), in good body condition, were isolated from all bucks prior to the onset of the fall breeding season. Females were synchronized for AI with a 14-day caprine CIDR and 200 IU of eCG (IM) at the time of CIDR removal. Does were timed AI 60 to 63 h after eCG with one 0.5-mL straw of frozen–thawed Whitetail sperm. All sperm used for AI were harvested from a single mature Whitetail buck that was hunter harvested during the previous hunting season. Within 3 h after death, the testes with scrotum were removed, enclosed in a plastic Ziploc bag, and then placed in a Styrofoam ice chest containing frozen cold packs. The ice chest was transported to the laboratory where sperm were extracted at 4�C in the late evening (<12 h postmortem) by flushing the cauda epididymides with Triladyl� one-step extender (Minitube, Verona, WI, USA) in a retrograde flow from a small incision made in the cauda. The sperm–Triladyl mixture was flushed from the cauda incision into a sterile 50-mL tube using a 10-mL plastic syringe modified by heating and then stretching the tip until small enough to thread into the vas deferens. The sperm plus extender was then held at 4 to 10�C for 12 h and frozen at a concentration of <50 million/straw using a commercial bull freezing protocol (Genex Custom Collection Center, Baton Rouge, LA, USA). A random sample of straws was then thawed, resulting in an overall post-thaw motility of 60%. The remaining straws were left frozen in liquid nitrogen until the next breeding season. On the first of December, does (n = 6) were given 0.1 mL of Domosedan� (Pfizer Animal Health, Groton, CT, USA) IV and inseminated transcervically using a modified caprine speculum. All does were handled in a custom-built deer barn, and AI was performed by one technician in a drop-bottom deer chute (Deer Handler; Delclayna, Alberta, Canada). At 48 days after AI, 3 of the 6 does (50%) were diagnosed pregnant by transrectal ultrasonography. All pregnant females gave birth, producing 5 offspring (1 male and 1 female singletons and a set of mixed sex triplets) that ranged from 1.9 to 4.3 kg and had a mean gestation length of 196 days (range = 190–203 days). In summary, results indicate that live offspring can be produced from epididymal sperm harvested from mature hunter-harvested Whitetail bucks. Further experiments are needed to optimize techniques and protocols for the harvesting and usage of these gametes.

8 Evaluation of puberty induction protocol in peripubertal beef heifers prior to fixed-time AI programs

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 129
Author(s):  
J. B. S. Borges ◽  
D. S. V. Luiz ◽  
P. R. L. Aguiar ◽  
C. G. B. Berlitz ◽  
G. S. Velho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Body Condition Score ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Hormonal Treatment ◽  
Fixed Time ◽  
P Value ◽  
Ovarian Activity ◽  
Beef Heifers ◽  
Condition Score

Beef heifers that conceive early during their first breeding season calve earlier, wean heavier calves, and tend to continue doing so throughout the rest of their reproductive lives. Otherwise, under extensively managed systems in Southern Brazil, only a variable proportion of 2-year-old beef heifers reach puberty before the start of the breeding season. The aim of this study was to evaluate a protocol to induce puberty in peripubertal beef heifers using injectable progesterone (P4) and oestradiol cypionate (EC) to improve pregnancy per AI (P/AI) in fixed-time AI (FTAI) programs. A total of 311 Angus heifers, 24±3 months of age, 3.1±0.3 body condition score (1=emaciated; 5=obese), and 328±41kg of body weight (BW), were examined before FTAI protocol (Day −24) by transrectal ultrasonography to determine reproductive tract score (RTS; 1=prepubertal; 5=pubertal). Prepubertal heifers (RTS 1; 12.8%, 40/311) were excluded from the study. Heifers with RTS=2 (n=271) were assigned to 2 groups: P4 (RTS 2 or 3, n=100) and cyclic (RTS 4 and 5, n=171). Peripubertal heifers were treated on Day −24 with 150mg of injectable P4 IM (Sincrogest® injectable, Ourofino Animal Health, Cravinhos, Brazil) and on Day −12 received 1mg of EC IM (Sincro CP®, Ourofino Animal Health). Cyclic heifers received no hormonal treatment before FTAI protocol. On Day 0, heifers in the P4 group were evaluated again to determine RTS, body condition score, and BW. Induction of puberty was defined by the presence of a follicle >8.5mm (RTS=4) or a corpus luteum (RTS=5). All heifers received an FTAI protocol consisting of 2mg of oestradiol benzoate IM (Sincrodiol®, Ourofino Animal Health) and an intravaginal progesterone implant (1 g; Sincrogest®, Ourofino Animal Health). On Day 8, heifers had implants removed and were injected with 1mg of EC and 500µg of sodium cloprostenol IM (Sincrocio®, Ourofino Animal Health). After 48h, all heifers received an FTAI. Thirty days after AI, the diagnosis of gestation was performed by ultrasonography. Statistics included chi-square and linear regression with coefficients analysed as independent variables, considering a significant P-value of 0.05. On Day 0, percentages of RTS 5, 4, and 3 in the P4 heifers were 37, 27, and 36%, respectively, resulting in 64% of puberty induction. The P/AI was similar (P=0.14) in P4-treated and cyclic heifers (59v. 50.3%, respectively). The regression analysis presented a linear and positive effect of BW on P/AI (P<0.001) in cyclic heifers and a positive influence of BW on RTS (P=0.05) and RTS on P/AI (P=0.008) in P4-treated heifers. The application of RTS system associated with P4 treatment of peripubertal heifers before FTAI protocol improved ovarian activity and might have contributed to higher P/AI, comparable with that achieved in cyclic heifers.

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