Impacts of Early Weaning on Lamb Gut Health and Immune Function: Short-Term and Long-Term Effects.

Despite the known impacts of weaning on animal health, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear, particularly how psychological and nutritional stress differentially affect gut health and immune function over time. This study hypothesized that early weaning exerts distinct short- and long-term effects on lamb stress physiology, immunity, and gut health, mediated by specific molecular pathways. Twelve pairs of full-sibling male Hu sheep lambs were assigned to control (CON) or early-weaned (EW) groups.

Machine learning model interpretability using SHAP values: Applied to the task of classifying and predicting the nutritional content of different cuts of mutton.

The rapid identification and prediction of nutritional components in fresh meat products pose a significant challenge. This study aims to classify different cuts of fresh mutton and predict their nutritional components using SVM and PLS model, focusing on the differences in fatty acid composition among the , hindshank, and foreshank. An SVM-SHAP model predicted crude fat, protein, and fatty acids, while interpreting feature contributions.

Differences in rectal fecal microbes among Hu sheep, Tibetan sheep, and their hybrid breeds and their relationship with growth traits.

Unlabelled: Variety and diversity serve as the foundation for animal husbandry development. Nowadays, heterosis is often used to improve animal performance and increase economic benefits. The intestine is an important organ for nutrient absorption and is also the largest immune organ in the body.

Differences in production performance, fore-digestive tract microbiota, and expression levels of nutrient transporters of Hu sheep with different feed conversion ratio.

Unlabelled: Increasing strain on feed resources has led to a gradual increase in feed input costs, making it necessary to improve feed efficiency in livestock and poultry. In this study, Hu sheep were divided into two groups (high and low feed conversion ratio [FCR]) according to the FCR. Based on 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing technology to compare rumen and small intestine microbial composition, the differences and similarities of production performance, expression level of intestinal nutrient-specific carrier, digestive enzyme activity, short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) content, muscle conventional nutrient content, and blood biochemical indexes of Hu sheep in high- and low-FCR groups were investigated, and correlation analysis was conducted.

Effect of whole-plant mulberry supplementation on testis development and antioxidant capacity in Hu rams.

Objective: This study investigated the effects of dietary whole-plant mulberry (WM) on testicular development and antioxidant performance in sheep.

Methods: Fifty-four three-month-old Hu sheep were divided into three groups and fed diets containing different proportions of WM (WM0, without WM; WM4, 4% WM; WM8, 8% WM). Following a 70-day feeding trial, 15 individuals from each group were humanely slaughtered.

Influence of Dietary Forage Neutral Detergent Fiber on Ruminal Fermentation, Chewing Activity, Nutrient Digestion, and Ruminal Microbiota of Hu Sheep.

As the key components of dietary carbohydrates, ensuring a balance between forage-neutral detergent fiber (FNDF) and rumen-degradable starch (RDS) is essential for ruminant health. Eight male Hu sheep equipped with rumen cannulas were randomly divided into four groups based on dietary FNDF content: low FNDF (L-FNDF, 6.08%), middle low FNDF (ML-FNDF, 9.

Analyses of widely targeted metabolic profiling reveal enhanced energy metabolism in well-developed testicular tissue of Hu sheep.

Energy supply is crucial for testicular development. Nevertheless, the specific alterations in the energy metabolic pathways that affect testicular development have not been extensively investigated. This study aimed to investigate the variations in metabolites and alterations in energy metabolic pathways in the testes of Hu sheep with different developmental status at 6 months of age.

Spatial heterogeneity determines the gastrointestinal microbiome signatures and ecological processes that govern bacterial community assembly in sheep.

Unlabelled: Sheep are one of the globally significant livestock, providing meat, dairy products, and wool for human life, playing an indispensable role in human civilization. Despite significant advancements in microbiome research in recent years, most studies have focused solely on the rumen, lacking a comprehensive study covering the microbiome of different gastrointestinal tract (GIT) regions in sheep. In this study, we collected 338 samples from 10 different regions of the sheep GIT and systematically investigated their microbiome signatures, including community structure, enterotypes, interactions among taxa, and microbial community assembly.

Rumen microbiome and fat deposition in sheep: insights from a bidirectional mendelian randomization study.

Rumen microbiotas are known to influence the fat deposition (FD) in sheep, but controversy over causality remains unresolved. Here, we performed microbiome-wide association studies (MWAS), microbiome genome-wide association analysis (mbGWAS) and bidirectional mendelian randomization (MR) analyses on 1,150 sheep with genotype data from whole-genome resequencing, 16S rRNA sequencing and multilevel FD-traits data. We quantified the proportion of individual variation in FD-traits explained by host genetics, rumen microbiota, and their interaction effects.

Effects of Active Dry Yeast Supplementation in In Vitro and In Vivo Nutrient Digestibility, Rumen Fermentation, and Bacterial Community.

This study assessed the impact of active dry yeast (ADY) on nutrient digestibility and rumen fermentation, using both in vitro and in vivo experiments with lambs. In vitro, ADYs were incubated with rumen fluid and a substrate mixture to assess gas production, pH, volatile fatty acid (VFA) profiles, and lactate concentration. In vivo, Hu lambs were randomly assigned to five dietary treatments: a control group and four groups receiving one of two dosages of either Vistacell or Procreatin7.

Oxylipin profiling analyses reveal that ω-3 PUFA is more susceptible to lipid oxidation in sheep testis under oxidative stress.

Reactive oxygen species causes oxidative stress, which oxidizes polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) to form oxidative metabolites. Sertoli cell is an important cellular metabolism of PUFA in testicular cells, and it regulates the testis development and spermatogenesis. However, the oxylipins generated in testes with different developmental statuses are lacking.

Relationship between sheep feces scores and gastrointestinal microorganisms and their effects on growth traits and blood indicators.

Fecal scores are crucial for assessing the digestive and gastrointestinal status of animals. The Bristol fecal scoring system is a commonly used method for the subjective evaluation of host feces, there is limited research on fecal scoring standards for fattening Hu sheep. In this study, Hu sheep were collected for rumen, rectum, and colon contents for 16S rDNA sequencing.

Effect of Codonopsis pilosula polysaccharide on the quality of sheep semen preservation at 4°C.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of Codonopsis pilosula polysaccharide (CPP) on the motility, mitochondrial integrity, acrosome integrity rate, and antioxidant ability of sheep sperm after preservation at 4°C.

Methods: Semen from healthy adult rams were collected and divided into four groups with separate addition of 0, 200, 400, and 1,000 mg/L CPP. Sperm motility was analyzed using the Computer-Assisted Semen Analysis software after preservation at 4°C for 24, 72, 120, and 168 h.

Polymorphism in gene and its association with scrotal circumference in Hu lambs.

Scrotal circumference is an important reproductive index of breeding rams, which has a high genetic correlation with ejaculation volume and semen quality. In this study, the scrotal circumference of 1353 male Hu sheep at different stages of development was measured and descriptive statistical analysis was performed. The results showed that the coefficient of variation of scrotal circumference at each stage was greater than 10%, and its heritability were moderately to high, ranging from 0.

Identification of and genes polymorphisms in Hu sheep and their relationship with body size traits.

The body size traits are major traits in livestock, which intuitively displays the development of the animal's bones and muscles. This study used PCR amplification, Sanger sequencing, KASPar genotyping, and quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) to analyze the Single-nucleotide polymorphism and expression characteristics of Argonaute RISC catalytic component 2 () and Plectin () genes in Hu sheep. Two intron mutations were found in Hu sheep, which were g.

Localization and expression of phospholipase A and polyunsaturated fatty acid profile in the testis tissues of Hu sheep.

The fatty acid content and the localization and expression of phospholipase A (PLA) in the testis of Hu sheep were investigated. A total of 18 six-month-old Hu sheep were divided into small group (S, with left testis weight < 50 g), medium group (M, with left testis weight among 90-110 g), and large group (L, with left testis weight >160 g), which had six individuals each. The expression of PLA in testicular tissues of different sizes was analyzed by immunohistochemistry, RT-qPCR, and Western blot.

Relationship between hindgut microbes and feed conversion ratio in Hu sheep and microbial longitudinal development.

Feed efficiency is an important indicator in the sheep production process, which plays an important role in improving economic benefits and strengthening energy conservation and emission reduction. Compared with the rumen, the fermentation of the hindgut microorganisms can also provide part of the energy for the host, and the composition of the hindgut microorganisms will affect the feed efficiency. Therefore, we hope to find new ways to regulate sheep feed efficiency by studying the sheep gut microbes.

iTRAQ-based proteomic analysis provides novel insight into the postnatal testicular development of Hu sheep.

Testicular development is an intricate and coordinated process in which thousands of proteins are involved in the regulation of somatic cells development and spermatogenesis. However, knowledge about the proteomic changes during postnatal testicular development in Hu sheep is still elusive. The study was conducted to characterize the protein profiles at four key stages during postnatal testicular development, including infant (0-month-old, M0), puberty (3-month-old, M3), sexual maturity (6-month-old, M6) and body maturity (12-month-old, M12), and between the large- and small-testis groups at 6 months in Hu sheep.

Polymorphism and expression level of the gene and associated with the growth traits in Hu sheep.

Growth traits are the economically important traits of sheep, and screening for genes related to growth and development is helpful for the genetic improvement of ovine growth traits. The fatty acid desaturase 3 () is one of the important genes affecting the synthesis and accumulation of polyunsaturated fatty acids in animals. In this study, the expression levels of the gene and polymorphism of the gene associated with growth traits in Hu sheep were detected using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), Sanger sequencing, and KAspar assay.

Effect of corn straw or corncobs in total mixed ration during peri-puberty on testis development in Hu lambs.

Corn straw and corncobs contain large amounts of crude fibers and are widely used in mutton sheep husbandry in northwest China. The aim of this study was to determine whether feeding with corn straw or corncobs affects lamb testis development. A total of 50 healthy Hu lamb at two-month-old (average body weight of 22.

Expression of the Ovine Gene and the Relationship Between Its Polymorphism and Feed Efficiency Traits.

In the mutton industry, feed efficiency traits have the greatest influence on the economic benefits of sheep raised in housing conditions. In this study, quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), Sanger sequencing, and KASPar methods were used to detect the expression levels of the B cell scaffold protein with ankyrin repeats 1 () gene and the relationship between its polymorphism and feed efficiency traits in Hu sheep. The qRT-PCR results showed that the gene was extensively expressed in 10 tissues and it was expressed at remarkably higher levels in lymph than in other tissues ( < 0.