Animal最新文献

{"title":"Association of inflammatory cytokine profiles in the cervical mucus with the mode of calving ease after induction of parturition in overdue cows","authors":"T. Hashiguchi ,&nbsp;G. Kitahara ,&nbsp;K. Kanemaru ,&nbsp;M. Uematsu ,&nbsp;T. Osawa","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101731","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101731","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>During normal cervical ripening in cows, there is an increase in the concentrations of various cytokines in the cervical mucus, which may be a marker of the progression of cervical ripening. However, the cytokine dynamics during abnormal delivery remain unclear. We aimed to clarify the relationship between the concentrations of various cytokines in the cervical mucus of cows past the expected date of calving and the occurrence of dystocia after calving. Cervical mucus was collected from 145 Japanese Black cows with a gestational period of 295 days or longer (overdue cows), and calving was induced immediately after collection. Interleukin (<strong>IL</strong>)-1α, 1β, 6, 8, 10, and tumour necrosis factor (<strong>TNF</strong>)α concentrations in the mucus were determined. Cytokine concentrations were compared between the eutocia (n = 121) and dystocia (n = 24) groups. Concentrations of IL-1α, IL-8, and TNFα were lower in the dystocia group than in the eutocia group (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). To evaluate the accuracy of dystocia prediction, the areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves for IL-1α, IL-8, and TNFα were calculated, with values of 0.638, 0.712, and 0.709, respectively. In conclusion, IL-1α, IL-8 and TNFα concentrations in cervical mucus of overdue cows may be suitable indicators for screening animals at risk of dystocia.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"20 1","pages":"Article 101731"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145884713","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Early weaning in pregnant Nelore cows as a foetal programming strategy in Nelore cattle: 2. Effects on feedlot phase offspring growth, and skeletal muscle gene expression in beef cattle","authors":"M.S.P. Carlis ,&nbsp;G. Abitante ,&nbsp;T.K. Nishimura ,&nbsp;V.T.L. Rozin ,&nbsp;T.R.S. Gionbelli ,&nbsp;J.M. Oliveira ,&nbsp;C.R. Dahlen ,&nbsp;G.D.R. Zamudio ,&nbsp;S.L. Silva ,&nbsp;M.H.A. Santana ,&nbsp;A.S. Netto ,&nbsp;P.R. Leme ,&nbsp;G. Pugliesi ,&nbsp;R.P. de Arruda ,&nbsp;R.S. Goulart","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101736","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101736","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Nutritional stress during gestation in tropical grazing systems can impair maternal performance and foetal development. This study evaluated the effects of weaning strategy and dam parity on the feedlot performance, carcass traits, and mRNA abundance profiles of Nelore young bulls that were <em>in utero</em> at the time of the weaning intervention. A randomised 2 × 2 factorial design was utilised with 57 Nelore bulls. The treatments were composed of early (<strong>EW</strong>; 150 d lactation) versus conventional weaning (<strong>CW</strong>; 240 d lactation) and dam parity (multiparous (<strong>MP</strong>) or secundiparous (<strong>SP</strong>)). The data were analysed considering the animal as an experimental unit by using the Mixed procedure, considering the WS, DP as a fixed effect, and the two-way interaction in the model. There was an interaction between WS × DP on performance measures in the feedlot, with CW-SP bulls showing smaller initial BW (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) and a trend for smaller final BW (<em>P</em> = 0.07) compared to other groups. For carcass traits, there was only a tendency (<em>P</em> = 0.09) for WS × DP interaction on subcutaneous fat thickness, which was small in CW-SP bulls compared to other groups. Additionally, there was a WS × DP interaction (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) with CW-MP bulls showing a small number of muscle fibres than EW-SP and CW-MP offspring, but no significant differences with EW-MP offspring. Furthermore, bulls from CW dams exhibited greater cross-sectional area and diameter compared to EW. Regarding gene regulation, a WS × DP interaction with the <em>GSK3B</em> gene (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) showed smaller expression in CW-SP compared to CW-MP and EW-MP. Conversely, the <em>SCD1</em> gene (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) showed greater expression in EW-MP bulls compared to CW-MP and EW-SP offspring. The genes <em>PAX7</em>, <em>MYF5</em>, <em>IGFR1</em>, and <em>PPARG</em> showed a tendency (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.10) for greater expression in MP bulls than the SP group. The gene <em>EIF4E</em> showed significantly greater expression (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) in bulls from the EW group compared to the CW group, while the gene <em>MTOR</em> tended (<em>P</em> = 0.10) to have greater expression in the EW group compared to the CW group. These findings indicate that early weaning improves maternal reserves and positively programmes offspring growth. The observed alterations in gene expression profiles suggest that alleviating maternal nutritional stress during gestation has long-term consequences on the molecular machinery regulating muscle growth and turnover in the offspring.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"20 1","pages":"Article 101736"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145884715","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Early weaning in pregnant Nelore cows as a foetal programming strategy: 1. Effects on cow-calf and backgrounding offspring growth, and skeletal muscle gene expression in beef cattle","authors":"M.S.P. Carlis ,&nbsp;G. Abitante ,&nbsp;T.K. Nishimura ,&nbsp;T.R.S. Gionbelli ,&nbsp;J.M. Oliveira ,&nbsp;C.R. Dahlen ,&nbsp;G.D.R. Zamudio ,&nbsp;S.L. Silva ,&nbsp;M.H.A. Santana ,&nbsp;A.S. Netto ,&nbsp;P.R. Leme ,&nbsp;G. Pugliesi ,&nbsp;R.P. de Arruda ,&nbsp;R.S. Goulart","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101735","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101735","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In tropical beef systems, the dry season coincides with mid-to-late gestation, creating a nutritional conflict between lactation and foetal development. Early weaning (<strong>EW</strong>) mitigates this stress, but its impact on <em>Bos indicus</em> offspring muscle development via foetal programming remains unclear. This study evaluated the effects of weaning strategy and dam parity on maternal performance and offspring postnatal growth and skeletal muscle gene expression. A randomised 2 × 2 factorial design was utilised with 58 Nelore cow-calf pairs. The treatments were composed of early (EW; 150 d lactation) versus conventional weaning (<strong>CW</strong>; 240 d lactation) and dam parity (multiparous (<strong>MP</strong>) or secundiparous (<strong>SP</strong>)). The data were analysed considering the animal as an experimental unit by using the Mixed procedure, considering the WS, DP as a fixed effect, and the two-way interaction in the model. Maternal BW and body condition score (<strong>BCS</strong>) were monitored during gestation. Offspring growth was assessed from birth to 18 months, and Longissimus thoracis mRNA abundance was analysed at 5, 13, and 18 months. During gestation, MP dams had greater BCS (<em>P</em> = 0.01) and BW (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.001) compared to SP dams. During the dam’s gestation, EW and MP dams had greater BCS (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.001), BW (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.001), non-pregnant empty BW (<em>P</em> = 0.002) and pregnant compound (<em>P</em> = 0.034) compared to CW and SP dams (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.001). The EW calves increased birth BW (<em>P</em> = 0.054), weaning BW (<em>P</em> = 0.034), and average daily gain (<strong>ADG</strong>; <em>P</em> = 0.015) compared to CW calves. Calves born to MP dams increased weaning BW (<em>P</em> = 0.005) and ADG (<em>P</em> = 0.008) compared to SP calves. There was a WS × DP interaction for the mRNA abundance of MTOR (<em>P</em> = 0.011) and EIF4E (0.017), where EW-SP calves showed smaller mRNA abundance compared to CW-SP calves at 18 months. The CW calves showed greater mRNA abundance of <em>PAX7</em> (<em>P</em> = 0.05) at weaning, <em>TRIM63</em> (<em>P</em> = 0.006) at 13 months of age (<em>P</em> = 0.006), <em>PAX7</em> (<em>P</em> = 0.04), NFB1 (<em>P</em> = 0.01) and IGRF1R (<em>P</em> = 0.05) at 18 months of age compared to EW calves. In conclusion, early weaning effectively improves maternal nutritional status during gestation, which positively programmes offspring’s prenatal and pre-weaning growth. Furthermore, this strategy induces long-term alterations in the expression of genes related to muscle hypertrophy and atrophy, indicating that alleviating maternal nutritional stress via early weaning can modulate the physiological potential of the progeny.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"20 1","pages":"Article 101735"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145884716","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Honeybee workers reared in standard-cell combs have larger hypopharyngeal glands","authors":"P. Dziechciarz ,&nbsp;A. Gregorc ,&nbsp;A. Strachecka ,&nbsp;G. Borsuk ,&nbsp;K. Olszewski","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101733","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101733","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The functionally and morphologically variable hypopharyngeal glands (<strong>HGs</strong>) of honey bee <em>Apis mellifera</em> workers play critical roles in the individual bee physiology and honey bee colony biology. Previous studies have primarily focused on the age polyethism of honeybees involved in undertaking colony activities, including foraging or guarding, as life expectancy decreases. However, the development of the role of these glands in the life of a bee, and thus the division of labour in the colony, is also conditioned by environmental factors. The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of the comb cell size (small-cell or standard-cell comb) in which worker bees were reared on HG acini count and size (width, length and area) of worker bees on 1-, 7-, 14- and 21 days of their life. The acini of workers reared in small-cell combs (4.96–4.97 mm) (<strong>SM-bees</strong>) had significantly smaller width and length and, therefore, acini area, than workers reared in standard-cell combs (5.54–5.56 mm) (<strong>ST-bees</strong>). Bees reared in standard-cell combs had, on average, higher acini number in the HGs 500 µm collecting duct distance. The results presented in the current work thus suggest the occurrence of anatomical and morphological differences caused by the type of comb. The higher number of ST-bee acini and the higher width, length and area of HG acini found during workers’ development compared to SM-bees suggests that workers reared in standard-cell combs are predisposed to perform various tasks in the nest, mainly as nurse bees or as nectar converters. In contrast, workers reared in small-cell combs seem better suited for working outside the nest, taking on the role of foragers. It seems that the presence of morphological polyethism induced by rearing conditions during larval and pupal development results in sub-cast specialisation and individual bee functionality. Verification of the above hypotheses may determine new research directions on explaining the mechanisms of functioning of the complex socio-physiological system created by the honeybee colony – the superorganism.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"20 1","pages":"Article 101733"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145939261","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Genomic prediction accuracy for five economically important traits in cashmere goats across single-nucleotide polymorphism densities and methods","authors":"Y. Zhang ,&nbsp;M. Zhang ,&nbsp;L. Zhang ,&nbsp;H. Yuan ,&nbsp;X. Wang ,&nbsp;Y. Rong ,&nbsp;Y. Qi ,&nbsp;J. Li ,&nbsp;Y. Hu ,&nbsp;F. Shang ,&nbsp;Z. Wang ,&nbsp;R. Su ,&nbsp;R. Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101747","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101747","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The production and quality improvement of cashmere from Inner Mongolia’s cashmere goats face numerous challenges, including high costs associated with measuring cashmere diameter and the low accuracy of cashmere yield measurements. Genetic improvement of the breed relies on traditional breeding methods, resulting in low selection accuracy and slow genetic progress. The high cost of typing using high-density single-nucleotide polymorphism (<strong>SNP</strong>) chip constrains the large-scale application of genomic selection techniques. This study employed seven randomly selected SNP densities-5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 K–and four genomic prediction methods-Genomic Best Linear Unbiased Prediction (<strong>GBLUP</strong>), Single-step Genomic Best Linear Unbiased Prediction (<strong>ssGBLUP</strong>), BayesA, and BayesB–to evaluate the prediction accuracy of five economically important traits in Inner Mongolia cashmere goats using five-fold cross-validation: cashmere diameter, cashmere yield, cashmere thickness, fleece length, and BW. The optimal “trait-SNP density-prediction method” combination was defined as the pairing that achieves the highest prediction accuracy for each trait, with prediction accuracy being the primary criterion for optimality. Research has found that the relationship between SNP density and prediction accuracy is not a simple linear one. For cashmere diameter and BW, the best prediction accuracy using the BayesB method was achieved at a SNP density of 60 K, with values of 0.7210 and 0.5302, respectively. The accuracy of predicting cashmere yield, fleece length, and cashmere thickness was highest when using the BayesA method at SNP densities of 50, 30, and 10 K, respectively, yielding accuracies of 0.4243, 0.4071, and 0.4661. For each of these traits, the accuracy of GBLUP and ssGBLUP remained relatively stable across increasing SNP densities; however, their predictive performance was significantly lower than that of the Bayesian method. Importantly, low-density chips combined with appropriate Bayesian methods can achieve prediction accuracy comparable to that of high-density chips, offering a cost-effective strategy for genomic selection in cashmere goat breeding programmes. Although Bayesian methods require longer computation time, this is manageable under current sample sizes and does not impede practical implementation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"20 2","pages":"Article 101747"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145981224","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Genome-wide association study on carcass traits in an indigenous yellow-feathered meat-type chicken population","authors":"Z. Pan,&nbsp;H. Geng,&nbsp;D. Li,&nbsp;X. Cheng,&nbsp;Y. Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101751","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101751","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Carcass traits are among the most critical production characteristics in broiler chickens. Therefore, the precise identification of genetic variants and candidate genes affecting these traits is highly valuable for enhancing breeding efficiency and overall productivity in poultry. In this study, a genome-wide association study (<strong>GWAS</strong>) was conducted to analyse seven carcass traits in 1 498 cocks from a Chinese indigenous yellow-feathered meat chicken population, which had been subjected to three generations of selective breeding for improved BW and feed conversion ratio. The assessing traits included breast muscle weight (<strong>BMW</strong>), BWs at 42 and 56 days (<strong>BW42</strong>, <strong>BW56</strong>), carcass weight (<strong>CW</strong>), eviscerated weight (<strong>EW</strong>), eviscerated weight with giblets (<strong>EWG</strong>), and leg weight (<strong>LW</strong>). Six significant single−nucleotide polymorphism (<strong>SNP</strong>) sites were identified by using the “Jingxin No. 1″ 55 K SNP microarray and bioinformatic analysis. These SNPs were annotated to six candidate genes on chromosomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, and Z, including <em>SPHKAP</em>, <em>ALCAM, CMTM7, ADAT2, LIMCH1</em> and <em>AP3B1</em>, with the variant in the <em>SPHKAP</em> gene harboured a frameshift deletion in the coding region. Our study identified novel variants related to chicken carcass traits, which provide a new insight into the genetic mechanism of chicken carcass traits. These trait-associated genetic variants could facilitate the selection of more efficient broilers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"20 2","pages":"Article 101751"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145981225","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"High canola meal in sow diets: effects on reproduction, piglet growth, milk composition, serum metabolites, and nutrient digestibility over two reproductive cycles","authors":"X. Zhang ,&nbsp;A. Rogiewicz ,&nbsp;E.G. Kiarie ,&nbsp;C. Yang ,&nbsp;C.M. Nyachoti","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101752","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101752","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Feed costs and global demand for soybean meal are increasing, reducing profitability in pig industry. Canola meal is the second most used protein source in swine diets, but evidence on its long-term effects across successive sow parities is limited. This study investigated the effects of canola meal inclusion as the main protein source in sow diets on sow and litter performance over two reproductive cycles. Sixty-eight sows from two batches were randomly allotted one of two diets on d 80 of pregnancy. The control diet (<strong>CON</strong>) consisted of corn, barley and soybean meal, and the treatment diet (<strong>CSCM</strong>) consisted of corn, barley and canola meal, included at 14.50% for gestating and 24.50% for lactating sows. The BW and backfat thickness of sows were measured on d 1, d 35, d 80, and d 111 of pregnancy, and on d 1 and d 21 post-farrowing. On d 1 and d 19 post-farrowing, piglets were weighed and milk and blood samples from sows were collected to determine milk composition and serum metabolites. Fecal samples from sows were collected on d 110 of gestation and d 19 of lactation to determine apparent total digestibility (<strong>ATTD</strong>) determination. Data were analyzed using a randomized complete block design with repeated measures. Results showed that sow BW and backfat thickness were unaffected by diet. Sows fed the CSCM diet exhibited lower (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) BW gain than CON sows during late gestation in the first cycle but not in the second cycle. Litter performance, including weight and size, was unaffected by dietary treatment, though litter weight at birth was higher (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) in the second cycle than in the first cycle. The composition of colostrum and milk was generally unaffected by diet or cycle, except for colostrum fat, which showed a significant interaction (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) between diet and cycle. Serum metabolites revealed tendencies (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.10) for increased creatinine and gamma-glutamyl transferase (<strong>GGT</strong>) with the CSCM diet, while reproductive cycle effects were observed for GGT, cholesterol, calcium, protein, and albumin levels. Apparent total tract digestibility of nutrients was not significantly influenced by diet or reproductive cycle, though the CSCM diet tended to reduce (<em>P</em> = 0.06) the ATTD of CP. In conclusion, sow diets containing 14.50% canola meal during gestation and 24.50% during lactation maintained similar sow reproductive and litter performance comparable with soybean meal-based diets across two reproductive cycles.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"20 2","pages":"Article 101752"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146013181","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Review: A systematic review on the use and effects of postbiotics on the general health, gut health, and performance of sows and piglets","authors":"B. Polimeni,&nbsp;F. Correa,&nbsp;P. Trevisi,&nbsp;D. Luise","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101749","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101749","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Growing concerns over antibiotic resistance have led to restrictions on antimicrobial use in various regions, including the European Union, prompting the search for alternative strategies to promote gut health. Of these, postbiotics have emerged as a promising strategy due to their potential immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, and gut barrier-enhancing properties. Despite extensive research regarding human health, the application of postbiotics in swine nutrition remains unexplored, with limited and inconclusive findings. The definition of postbiotics has evolved, leading to inconsistencies in the literature regarding their classification and functional properties. This review aimed to clarify the concept, the definition, and classification, and evaluate the types and effects of postbiotic supplementation on the health and performance of pigs. A literature search was conducted using PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Scopus, employing search terms mainly related to “postbiotic preparation” (i.e., cell wall fragments, exopolysaccharides, etc.) and “pig category” (gestating and lactating sows, suckling and post-weaning pigs). The search yielded 2 151 articles (published between 1982 and 2025), and 33 fulfilled the eligibility criteria (studies on swine and studies in which the postbiotic respected the latest definition of the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics). The findings indicate that postbiotics derived from <em>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</em> and <em>Lactobacillus</em> species are the most extensively investigated. Based on the explored studies, the mechanisms of action of the various postbiotics appear to be closely linked to their specific bioactive components and, consequently, to the originating microbial strains. Postbiotics derived from both <em>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</em> and <em>Lactobacillus</em> demonstrated beneficial effects on gut health pillars in both sows and piglets. Sows’ supplementation enhanced immunoglobulin concentrations in blood (31%) and milk (58%) while reducing oxidative stress markers (malondialdehyde, 34%). In weaned pigs, postbiotic supplementation reduced pro-inflammatory cytokines (Tumour Necrosis Factor-α, Interleukin 1β and Interleukin 6) along with improvements in gut morphology parameters and α-diversity. These effects collectively contribute to improved overall health and growth performance in the animals. In conclusion, postbiotic supplementation, whether administered to sows or directly to pigs, appears to support and enhance piglet health and growth, even under challenging conditions. The limited characterisation of the postbiotic formulation employed in the studies precluded definitive attribution of the observed mechanisms of action to specific bioactive constituents. Future research should focus on defining the optimal dosage and timing of supplementation to exploit the potential benefits of postbiotics fully.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"20 2","pages":"Article 101749"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146013195","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Arterial blood ionised calcium activity in periparturient Holstein cows fed an alkaline low-energy density or acidifying high-energy density close-up prepartum rations","authors":"M.B. Samarasinghe ,&nbsp;L.E. Hernández-Castellano ,&nbsp;N.B. Kristensen ,&nbsp;M. Larsen","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101753","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101753","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Periparturient dairy cows often experience metabolic and health challenges due to impaired Ca homeostasis. Therefore, improving Ca metabolism and monitoring functional Ca status are essential during this critical transition phase. The objective was to test the effects of different feeding strategies in the close-up dry period on arterial blood ionised Ca concentration (<strong>iCa</strong>) of periparturient Holstein cows. A total of 28 Holstein dry cows were fed a common far-off dry cow ration (<strong>FAR</strong>; grass silage and barley straw-based, dietary cation–anion difference (<strong>DCAD</strong>) of +300 mEq/kg DM) and randomly allocated to four experimental treatments at the beginning of the close-up period (−21 days relative to expected parturition). The treatments were (1) continuation of FAR ration (FAR; n = 7), (2) high-energy acidifying ration with MgCl₂ (<strong>MGC-70</strong>; maize silage and mechanically expelled rapeseed cake based, DCAD of −70 mEq/kg DM, n = 6), (3) high-energy acidifying ration with MgCl₂ and NH₄Cl (<strong>MGC-100</strong>; maize silage and mechanically expelled rapeseed cake based, DCAD of −100 mEq/kg DM, n = 7), (4) a 7 days transition diet (grass silage:MGC-70 ratio of 20:80 DM basis, DCAD of 0 mEq/kg DM), followed by 14 days of MGC-100 feeding (<strong>OVE</strong>; n = 8). During the close-up period, urine samples were collected weekly. Arterial blood samples were collected on −12, +0.5, +1.5, and +2.5 days relative to parturition by puncturing the arteria auricularis caudalis. On −7 day relative to parturition, urine pH in MGC-70, MGC-100 and OVE was lower than in FAR, indicating metabolic acidosis. Furthermore, MGC-100 and OVE had lower blood pH than FAR on −12 day relative to parturition. Although having higher postpartum arterial blood pH, cows fed acidifying close-up diets had a higher postpartum iCa than FAR. Tendency for an increased arterial iCa was detected in MGC-100 already on +0.5 day postpartum and MGC-70 tended to have an increased iCa on +2.5 day relative to parturition. Plasma total Ca concentration (<strong>tCa</strong>) was greater in cows fed acidifying close-up diets compared with FAR on +2.5 day, but tCa was not affected by treatments on +0.5 day and +1.5 day relative to parturition. Therefore, the present results indicate that the determination of physiologically active Ca status in periparturient dairy cows can differ depending on the chosen biological indicator (iCa vs tCa). Overall, feeding maize silage-based acidifying close-up rations improved iCa status in periparturient cows. Sampling of arterial blood from the arteria auricularis caudalis is a method to be considered in future studies evaluating functional Ca status.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"20 2","pages":"Article 101753"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145999589","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Genetic parameters of lamb leather and wool traits in Lacaune dairy sheep","authors":"H. Largant ,&nbsp;L. Drouilhet ,&nbsp;F. Woloszyn ,&nbsp;F. Plisson-Petit ,&nbsp;S. Lucas ,&nbsp;J.-C. Duchêne ,&nbsp;D. Allain ,&nbsp;H. Larroque","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101750","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101750","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Lacaune lamb skins are well known for their high quality and are widely used in the leather industry and luxury ready-to-wear fashion. However, in France, the quality of this leather has declined over recent decades, primarily due to two major defects: pinhole and straw-like bushiness. The study aimed to estimate the genetic parameters of these defects and wool traits, and to assess the genetic correlations between these traits and traits currently under selection in the Lacaune breed. To investigate the genetic determinism of these defects, around 1 400 Lacaune lambs, from 72 rams, were genotyped using the Illumina OvineSNP50 BeadChip and were phenotyped for both leather defects and four wool traits. Environmental factors affecting each studied trait were determined using ANOVA. Then, heritabilities and genetic correlations were estimated by fitting an animal linear model using an average information REML algorithm. The pinhole defect showed a high heritability (0.59 ± 0.07) and was highly genetically correlated to the wool predicted core bulk (r_g = 0.54 ± 0.09). The straw-like bushiness defect had a lower heritability (0.26 ± 0.07) and was genetically correlated to the mean fibre diameter (r_g = 0.48 ± 0.14). Importantly, neither of the leather defects was highly genetically correlated with the traits currently included in the breed’s total merit index. Therefore, improving leather quality through genetic selection appears feasible and could be pursued alongside the existing breeding objectives for the Lacaune breed in France, and could also be considered in other countries where the Lacaune genetics are exported.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"20 2","pages":"Article 101750"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146013137","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}