Effects of Dietary Organic and Inorganic Sulfur on Laying Performance, Egg Quality, Ileal Morphology, and Antioxidant Capacity in Laying Hens

The present study was conducted to investigate the comparative effects of organic and inorganic forms of sulfur, methyl sulfonyl methane (MSM) and sodium sulfate (SS), on laying performance, egg quality, ileal morphology, ileal volatile fatty acids, and antioxidant and stress markers in various biological samples in aged laying hens. A total of 144, 73-week-old Lohman Brown-Lite laying hens were randomly assigned to one of three experimental diets: basal diet (CONT), CONT + 0.2% MSM (MSM), and CONT + 0.3% SS (SS). The trial lasted for 12 weeks. MSM and SS diets contained 0.07% of sulfur, either organic or inorganic. Dietary MSM did not affect egg production or feed conversion ratio at 12 weeks compared with the CONT group. Dietary sulfur did not affect egg quality except for the Haugh unit at 4 weeks, which was lowered (p < 0.05) in the SS group. Compared with the CONT group, a higher (p < 0.05) villus height to crypt depth ratio was observed in the SS group. Dietary sulfur did not affect the percentages of short-chain fatty acids in the ileum. Total antioxidant capacity of the liver increased (p < 0.05) in laying hens fed MSM- and SS-added diets compared with the CONT group. The MSM and SS groups were found to have lowered (p < 0.05) malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration in serum samples compared with CONT. Finally, dietary MSM had the lowest (p < 0.05) MDA concentrations in yolk samples. Taken together, our study showed that dietary organic and inorganic sulfur have positive effects on ileal morphology and antioxidant capacity in laying hens. However, SS-mediated inhibition in laying performance needs to be clarified.

Effects of Dietary Organic and Inorganic Sulfur on Laying Performance, Egg Quality, Ileal Morphology, and Antioxidant Capacity in Laying Hens

The present study was conducted to investigate the comparative effects of organic and inorganic forms of sulfur, methyl sulfonyl methane (MSM) and sodium sulfate (SS), on laying performance, egg quality, ileal morphology, ileal volatile fatty acids, and antioxidant and stress markers in various biological samples in aged laying hens. A total of 144, 73-week-old Lohman Brown-Lite laying hens were randomly assigned to one of three experimental diets: basal diet (CONT), CONT + 0.2% MSM (MSM), and CONT + 0.3% SS (SS). The trial lasted for 12 weeks. MSM and SS groups contained 0.07% of sulfur, either organic or inorganic. Dietary MSM did not affect egg production and feed conversion ratio at 12 weeks compared with the CONT group. Dietary sulfur did not affect egg quality except for Haugh unit at 4 weeks which was lowered (P &amp;lt; 0.05) in the SS group. Compared with the CONT group, higher (P &amp;lt; 0.05) villus height and crypt depth ratio was observed in the SS group. None of dietary sulfur affected the percentages of short-chain fatty acids in the ileum. Total antioxidant capacity of liver increased (P &amp;lt; 0.05) in laying hens fed MSM- and SS-added diets compared with the CONT group. The MSM and SS groups lowered (P &amp;lt; 0.05) malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration in serum samples compared with the CONT. Finally, dietary MSM had the lowest (P &amp;lt; 0.05) MDA concentrations in yolk samples. Taken together, our study showed that dietary organic and inorganic sulfur have positive effects on ileal morphology and antioxidant capacity in laying hens. However, SS-mediated inhibition in laying performance needs to be clarified.

Distillation of total reduced inorganic sulfur from marine sediment samples v1

This procedure can be used to precipitate H2S as Ag2S from the Total Reduced Inorganic Sulfur (TRIS) fraction of marine sediments.

Ecology of inorganic sulfur auxiliary metabolism in widespread bacteriophages

Microbial sulfur metabolism contributes to biogeochemical cycling on global scales. Sulfur metabolizing microbes are infected by phages that can encode auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs) to alter sulfur metabolism within host cells but remain poorly characterized. Here we identified 191 phages derived from twelve environments that encoded 227 AMGs for oxidation of sulfur and thiosulfate (dsrA, dsrC/tusE, soxC, soxD and soxYZ). Evidence for retention of AMGs during niche-differentiation of diverse phage populations provided evidence that auxiliary metabolism imparts measurable fitness benefits to phages with ramifications for ecosystem biogeochemistry. Gene abundance and expression profiles of AMGs suggested significant contributions by phages to sulfur and thiosulfate oxidation in freshwater lakes and oceans, and a sensitive response to changing sulfur concentrations in hydrothermal environments. Overall, our study provides fundamental insights on the distribution, diversity, and ecology of phage auxiliary metabolism associated with sulfur and reinforces the necessity of incorporating viral contributions into biogeochemical configurations.

Application of an inorganic sulfur-modified expanded graphite for sodium storage at low temperature

Carbonaceous materials as anode materials are one of candidates for commercial lithium ion batteries, meanwhile they are potential for commercial sodium ion batteries. Graphite as a member of them, reserves...