Animal Research and One Health最新文献

The honey bee dance communication system is one of the most intriguing animal communication signals. It allows foragers to share information related to food sources with nestmates using the waggle dance, which involves the transmission of location information through orientation and duration. Honey bee transcriptomes are dynamic with different stages, expressing an ensemble of differential genes that give rise to substantial behavior diversity. Here, we have provided a global view of mRNA expression profiles in three different stages of waggle dancers including dancing start (DS), dancing end (DE), and dancing cessation (DC). This study yielded 212 differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Among them, we identified 92 DEGs between DS and DC, 118 DEGs between DE and DC, and 2 DEGs between DS and DE. Further, gene ontology (GO) and KEGG analysis suggested that hormone-mediated signaling pathways and participation in pathways controlling the circadian rhythm, nicotinate, and nicotinamide metabolism were attributed to upregulated genes in DS. In addition, the D1 dopamine receptor in dopaminergic pathways, the peptide signaling involving apidaecin, and neprilysin-2 may play important roles in intricate behavioral processes.

Fungi are dependent on animal manure as a cultivation medium and may be vulnerable to feed-derived β-agonist contamination. To test whether β-agonists incorporated in animal feed can transport into fungi through manure, a greenhouse study was conducted with Tricholoma gambosum grown in a culture medium amended with medicated cattle manure. Cattle were orally administrated with a single (ractopamine, 670.0 μg/kg BW/day) or a mixture of β-agonists (clenbuterol, ractopamine, and salbutamol at the doses of 5.3, 223.3, and 50.0 μg/kg BW/day, respectively) for 28 days. Three batches of T. gambosum were harvested. A liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry-based method was developed to quantify the number of β-agonists taken up by T. gambosum from animal manure. The analytical recoveries for β-agonists were between 66.61% and 91.78% with relative standard deviations between 1.70% and 12.18%, and the limit of quantification (LOQ) was 0.3 ng/g. The ractopamine residues in T. gambosum from batch 1 were 1.3 ng/g and were below the LOQ in batches 2 and 3 in the single treatment group. In the mixed treatment group, ractopamine concentrations were 0.42 and 0.50 ng/g in batches 1 and 2, respectively, and the salbutamol concentration was 1.94 ng/g in batch 1, while clenbuterol was undetectable in all three batches. These results indicated that the β-agonists transferred to T. gambosum in trace amounts and presented a limited risk to consumers.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a common chronic gastrointestinal disease in humans, has emerged as a global public health challenge. Dihydromyricetin (DHM) has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities, which can alleviate inflammation. In this study, we explored the effect and underlying mechanism of DHM on dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in mice and porcine jejunum epithelial cells (IPEC-J2) exposed to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). We found that DHM alleviated loss of weight, diarrhea, and damage of colon structure in colitis mice. For the intestinal microbial, a significant rise in the amount of the potentially beneficial genera and a decline in the amount of harmful genera were observed in DHM-treated colitis mice. Metabolomic analysis of cecal content revealed that DHM restored phenylalanine metabolism, arginine biosynthesis, and arachidonic acid metabolism disorders caused by intestinal inflammation. Moreover, DHM decreased the level of pro-inflammatory cytokines and reactive oxygen species in LPS-treated IPEC-J2 cells. DHM also reduced the expression of MyD88 and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB). In summary, we found that 125 mg/kg DHM administration alleviated diarrhea, reinstated intestinal barrier function, modulated intestinal dysbiosis, and suppressed the expression of myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) and NF-κB. Therefore, DHM may be a potentially therapeutic agent for IBD.

Conditional gene regulation systems can control gene expression in predefined tissues or organs at a desired time. Site-specific recombinase systems and chemically induced gene expression systems are the two most widely used approaches for creating genetically modified (GM) animals with conditional regulation of gene expression. Generation of GM pigs with controllable elements, usually involving multiple gene editing, used to be a major challenge due to a lack of germ line-competent pluripotent stem cells. With the emergence of artificial endonuclease-mediated gene editors, a variety of GM pigs with recombinase-specific recognition elements or chemically induced elements for conditional regulation of gene expression have been generated by the combination of site-directed knock-in of somatic cells and somatic cell nuclear transfer technology, allowing conditional deletion of endogenous genes or overexpression of exogenous genes in pigs. These inducible tool pig models will greatly facilitate the production of GM pigs and broaden the applications of transgenic pigs in biomedicine and agriculture fields. In this paper, we review the progress in the construction and application of pigs with controllable elements using gene editing techniques.

Reserve mesenchyme cells (RMCs) of deer antlers have been considered as the promising cell source for repairing injury-induced articular cartilage or cartilage degeneration. However, systematic investigation of RMC differentiation to repair injured cartilage and its combination with biomaterials has not been reported. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of RMCs in combination with hyaluronic acid (HA) in promoting chondrogenic differentiation through simulating native environments and their efficacy in articular cartilage repair. The RMCs were cultured in vitro for the characterization of these cells, including morphology, surface marker expression, and multipotent differentiation potential (adipogenesis, chondrogenesis, and osteogenesis). When combined with HA in vitro, RMCs increased expression levels of the chondrogenic marker gene (COL II and COMP) but decreased levels of the hypertrophic marker gene (COL X). Using a rat articular cartilage defect model, we evaluated the effects of RMCs in combination with HA on cartilage defect repair at 4 and 8 weeks through macroscopical, histological, and immunohistochemical examinations. Compared with other groups, treatment with RMCs + HA reduced cartilage loss and degree of cartilage surface worn, whereas cartilage content was significantly increased. These results suggest that the combination of RMCs with HA can effectively repair cartilage defects. We believe that effective cartilage defect repair will benefit from the use of RMCs together with favorable biomaterials, such as HA.

A range of studies indicates that keeping farm animals in crowded, stressful conditions leads to an increased risk of the emergence, transmission, and amplification of pathogens including zoonoses. Some such zoonoses could lead to a pandemic. Biosecurity, though essential, is not on its own sufficient to prevent the entry of disease into large, intensive livestock housing. To minimize disease risks, both biosecurity measures and the keeping of animals in conditions that are supportive of good health and effective immunocompetence are necessary. A further threat to human health arises from the routine use of antimicrobials in intensive livestock production to prevent disease. This high use of antimicrobials contributes significantly to the emergence of antimicrobial resistance in animals, which can then be transferred to people, thereby undermining the efficacy of the antimicrobials that are so important in human medicine. If we want to save our antimicrobials and minimize the risk of future zoonoses and pandemics, we need to move to “health-oriented systems” for the rearing of animals, systems in which good health is inherent in the farming methods rather than being dependent on the routine use of antimicrobials. Health-oriented systems should avoid high stocking densities and large group size, should minimize stress and mixing of animals, and ensure that animals can perform their natural behaviors as the inability to do so is highly stressful. They should avoid the use of animals selected for excessive production levels as these appear to involve an increased risk of immunological problems and pathologies.

Animal welfare closely depends on its ability to adapt and thrive in a harmonious relationship with its environment, ensuring both physical and psychological well-being. Over the years, the welfare of farm animals has gathered global attention and has become increasingly important to the general public and scientific communities. The connection between the environment and animal welfare is primarily established through the provision of suitable and controllable environment for animals. However, it is essential to recognize that the impact of environment extends beyond merely ensuring freedom from discomfort. The environment plays a crucial role in shaping an animal's response to challenges such as disease, stress, and pathogen. While animals may be housed in controlled environments that provide optimal conditions for health, production, and welfare, it is important to acknowledge that specific scenarios can significantly affect and alter the environmental requirements. Even with access to fresh air, certain factors can have a substantial impact on the well-being of animals. Furthermore, providing appropriate environmental conditions goes beyond meeting basic needs and can greatly contribute to allowing animals to engage in their natural behaviors. It serves as a relevant tool for ensuring and maintaining adequate welfare standards. This review takes a comprehensive approach to environmental welfare by considering the welfare of animals managed in different stocking systems, considering environmental stress, stocking systems, and the provision of environmental enrichment items. By examining these factors, a broader understanding of the relationship between environment and welfare is achieved and recommendations for future research are outlined.

Milk serves two nutritional functions: it provides nutrition while also maintaining a healthy intestinal microenvironment. Thus, the safety and quality of milk products are critical for consumers' health. To evaluate liquid milk and infant formula products in China, we analyzed nine indices of 294 batches of pasteurized milk (PM), 92 batches of ultra-high temperature milk (UHT), and 20 batches of infant formula milk powder (IF) collected from 21 provinces in 2022. All PM, UHT, and IF samples were satisfactory concerning aflatoxin M₁ contamination, contamination by heavy metals, and residues of veterinary drugs and pesticides. The contents of lactoferrin, α-lactalbumin, β-lactoglobulin, furosine, and lactulose in the majority of samples met the group standards. Moreover, the contents of lactoferrin, α-lactalbumin, and β-lactoglobulin were higher in PM than in UHT, while furosine and lactulose contents showed the opposite trend. The findings concerning the safety and quality of milk products in China provide important insights to aid consumer preferences for milk products.

Multiple trait genomic selection incorporating correlated traits can improve the predictive ability of low-heritability traits. In this study, we evaluated genomic prediction accuracy using multi-trait BayesCπ method (MT-BayesCπ), which allows for a broader range of mixture priors for important traits in beef cattle. We compared the prediction performance of MT-BayesCπ with single-trait genomic best linear unbiased prediction (ST-GBLUP), multi-trait GBLUP (MT-GBLUP), and single-trait BayeCπ (ST-BayesCπ) methods. We found that ribeye area (REA) and ribeye weight (REWT) showed high heritability, while slaughter weight (SWT) and carcass weight (CWT) displayed medium heritability, and slaughter rate (SR) and feedlot average daily gain (FDG) showed low heritability. Highly positive genetic correlations were observed between CWT and SWT (0.981) and SR and REWT (0.921). Notably, the MT-BayesCπ method showed superior predictive abilities compared to other models. Using MT-BayesCπ method, the accuracy increased from 0.272 to 0.694 for CWT compared to ST-GBLUP and ST-BayesCπ. MT-GBLUP and ST-BayesCπ showed similar prediction accuracies, while MT-BayesCπ showed the least biased evaluations. Additionally, our results suggested that prediction accuracy of low-heritability traits significantly increased when they were combined with traits with high genetic correlation in a multi-trait prediction. Our study suggests that multi-trait genomic predictions using GBLUP and Bayesian mixture prior models is feasible for genomic selection in beef cattle. Our findings indicate that MT-BayesCπ outperforms other models (ST-GBLUP, MT-GBLUP and ST-BayesCπ), especially for low-heritability traits.