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Animals
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Understanding the Relationship between Microbiome and Health in Animals
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Understanding the Relationship between Microbiome and Health in Animals

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2022) | Viewed by 23235

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Myunghoo Kim

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Animal Science, College of Natural Resources & Life Science, Pusan National University, Busan, Korea
Interests: mucosal immunology; nutritional immunology; microbiome; animal immunology; multi-omics; feed additive; stress

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Recently, an increasing number of studies have suggested that the microbiota is an essential component related to aspects of physiology in animals, for example, it influences disease resistance through the regulation of immunity. The microbiota composition is dynamically shifted by various factors, including diet, stress, and infection. Therefore, manipulation of the microbiota community is considered to be a promising new strategy to improve animal health. Having a beneficial microbiota composition protect animals from disease; however, the effects of the interaction between the host and microbes on animal health are not fully understook. In recent years, a significant body of evidence on the essential connection between animal health (immune) and the microbiome has been accumulated. Thus, the aim of this Special Issue is to publish original research or review articles that cover the links between animal health and the microbiome with a focus on immunity and disease resistance.

Areas of interest: alteration of the gut microbiome by dietary intervention to improve animal health or reduce stress; relationship between microbiota and health in animals (livestock animals; pets); the microbiome as a biomarker for immunity or stress; role of gut microbiota signals (microbe; metabolites) in the regulation of animal immunity

We invite you to share your recent findings through this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Myunghoo Kim
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • animal health
  • microbiome
  • immunity
  • stress
  • feed additive
  • disease resistance

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 1794 KiB  
Article
Effects of Dietary Essential Oils Supplementation on Egg Quality, Biochemical Parameters, and Gut Microbiota of Late-Laying Hens
by Gengsheng Xiao, Liwei Zheng, Xia Yan, Li Gong, Yang Yang, Qien Qi, Xiangbin Zhang and Huihua Zhang
Animals 2022, 12(19), 2561; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12192561 - 25 Sep 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1794
Abstract
The objective of this study was to explore the effects of adding essential oils (EO) to diets on egg quality, biochemical parameters and intestinal flora of late laying hens. The number of 252 Dawu Golden Phoenix laying hens (55 weeks old) were randomly [...] Read more.
The objective of this study was to explore the effects of adding essential oils (EO) to diets on egg quality, biochemical parameters and intestinal flora of late laying hens. The number of 252 Dawu Golden Phoenix laying hens (55 weeks old) were randomly sorted into two groups: the control group (CG) fed a basal diet and the EO group fed a basal diet with 300 mg/kg of essential oils. The average egg weight, feed-to-egg ratio, and egg production rate were determined every week. The trial started at week 55 and lasted for 8 weeks. During the experiment’s last week, 36 eggs out of each group were chosen at random to test. In our study, dietary supplementation with EO considerably decreased the egg breaking rate (p = 0.01) and increased the shell-breaking strength (p = 0.04). The treatment group’s alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels were considerably lower than those of the control group (p = 0.03). The EO group had substantially higher total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) and total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) (p = 0.04 and p =0.03, respectively). However, there were no differences in alpha diversity indicators between the two groups. It is worth noting that Firmicutes were increased considerably (p < 0.05), while Spirochaetota and Proteobacteria were significantly reduced in the EO group. At genus levels, the EO supplementation increased the relative abundance of Intestinimonas (p < 0.05) and Megamonas (p < 0.01). In conclusion, a dietary supplementation of 300 mg/kg EO can improve the production performance of laying hens and the egg quality. It can also regulate the abundance of cecal flora and serum biochemical indicators. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Understanding the Relationship between Microbiome and Health in Animals)
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20 pages, 1351 KiB  
Article
Early Life Fecal Microbiota Transplantation in Neonatal Dairy Calves Promotes Growth Performance and Alleviates Inflammation and Oxidative Stress during Weaning
by Fernanda Rosa, Tainara Cristina Michelotti, Benoit St-Pierre, Erminio Trevisi and Johan S. Osorio
Animals 2021, 11(9), 2704; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11092704 - 15 Sep 2021
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3228
Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate the effects of early life fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) on the health and performance of neonatal dairy calves. The donor was selected based on health and production records and fecal material testing negative for infectious pathogens. Sixteen healthy [...] Read more.
This study aimed to evaluate the effects of early life fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) on the health and performance of neonatal dairy calves. The donor was selected based on health and production records and fecal material testing negative for infectious pathogens. Sixteen healthy newborn Holstein calves were randomized to either a baseline nutritional program (CON) or 1×/d inoculations with 25 g of fecal donor material (FMT) mixed in the milk replacer (n = 8/TRT) from 8 to 12 days of age. Blood and fecal samples were collected weekly, and calves were weaned at 7 weeks of age. A TRT × Week interaction was observed in haptoglobin, which was reflected in a positive quadratic effect in FMT calves but not in CON. A trend for a TRT × Week interaction was observed in the liver function biomarker paraoxonase, which resulted in greater paraoxonase in FMT calves than CON at three weeks of age. Fecal microbial community analysis revealed a significant increase in the alpha-diversity between week 1 and week 5 for the FMT calves. These results suggest that early life FMT in neonatal calves has positive effects in mediating the inflammatory response and gut microbial maturation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Understanding the Relationship between Microbiome and Health in Animals)
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17 pages, 3588 KiB  
Article
Effect of Niacin on Growth Performance, Intestinal Morphology, Mucosal Immunity and Microbiota Composition in Weaned Piglets
by Shilong Liu, Xiaoping Zhu, Yueqin Qiu, Li Wang, Xiuguo Shang, Kaiguo Gao, Xuefen Yang and Zongyong Jiang
Animals 2021, 11(8), 2186; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11082186 - 23 Jul 2021
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3986
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the effects of niacin on growth performance, intestinal morphology, intestinal mucosal immunity, and colonic microbiota in weaned piglets. A total of 96 weaned piglets (Duroc × (Landrace × Yorkshire), 21-d old, 6.65 ± 0.02 kg body weight (BW)) [...] Read more.
This study aimed to investigate the effects of niacin on growth performance, intestinal morphology, intestinal mucosal immunity, and colonic microbiota in weaned piglets. A total of 96 weaned piglets (Duroc × (Landrace × Yorkshire), 21-d old, 6.65 ± 0.02 kg body weight (BW)) were randomly allocated into 3 treatment groups (8 replicate pens per treatment, each pen containing 4 males; n = 32/treatment) for 14 d. Piglets were fed a control diet (CON) or the CON diet supplemented with 20.4 mg/kg niacin (NA) or an antagonist for the niacin receptor GPR109A (MPN). The results showed that NA or MPN had no effect on ADG, ADFI, G/F or diarrhea incidence compared with the CON diet. However, compared with piglets in the NA group, piglets in the MPN group had lower ADG (p = 0.042) and G/F (p = 0.055). In comparison with the control and MPN group, niacin supplementation increased the villus height and the ratio of villus height to crypt depth (p < 0.05), while decreasing the crypt depth in the duodenum (p < 0.05). Proteomics analysis of cytokines showed that niacin supplementation increased the expression of duodenal transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), jejunal interleukin-10 (IL-10) and ileal interleukin-6 (IL-6) (p < 0.05), and reduced the expression of ileal interleukin-8 (IL-8) (p < 0.05) compared with the control diet. Piglets in the MPN group had significantly increased expression of ileal IL-6, and jejunal IL-8 and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) (p < 0.05) compared with those in the control group. Piglets in the MPN group had lower jejunal IL-10 level and higher jejunal IL-8 level than those in the NA group (p < 0.05). The mRNA abundance of duodenal IL-8 and ileal granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) genes were increased (p < 0.05), and that of ileal IL-10 transcript was decreased (p < 0.05) in the MPN group compared with both the control and NA groups. Additionally, niacin increased the relative abundance of Dorea in the colon as compared with the control and MPN group (p < 0.05), while decreasing that of Peptococcus compared with the control group (p < 0.05) and increasing that of Lactobacillus compared with MPN supplementation (p < 0.05). Collectively, the results indicated that niacin supplementation efficiently ensured intestinal morphology and attenuated intestinal inflammation of weaned piglets. The protective effects of niacin on gut health may be associated with increased Lactobacillus and Dorea abundance and butyrate content and decreased abundances of Peptococcus. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Understanding the Relationship between Microbiome and Health in Animals)
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18 pages, 3613 KiB  
Article
Oral Vaccination against Lawsoniaintracellularis Changes the Intestinal Microbiome in Weaned Piglets
by Robin B. Guevarra, Jae Hyoung Cho, Jin Ho Cho, Jun Hyung Lee, Hyeri Kim, Sheena Kim, Eun Sol Kim, Gi Beom Keum, Suphot Watthanaphansak, Minho Song and Hyeun Bum Kim
Animals 2021, 11(7), 2082; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11072082 - 13 Jul 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3833
Abstract
Lawsoniaintracellularis, which causes porcine proliferative enteropathy (PPE), is a common swine intestinal pathogen that is prevalent in pig production sites worldwide. In this study, the alteration in the microbiome composition of weaned pigs was investigated in response to vaccination against L. [...] Read more.
Lawsoniaintracellularis, which causes porcine proliferative enteropathy (PPE), is a common swine intestinal pathogen that is prevalent in pig production sites worldwide. In this study, the alteration in the microbiome composition of weaned pigs was investigated in response to vaccination against L. intracellularis, using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. A total of 64 crossbred (Duroc × [Landrace × Yorkshire]) healthy weanling pigs weaned at 4 weeks of age were randomly assigned to four treatment groups (four pigs/pen; four pens/treatment), using a randomized complete block design for the 42-day trial. Pigs in the treatment groups were orally administered with three different doses (1 dose = 2 mL) of vaccine against L. intracellularis (Enterisol® Ileitis, Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica GmbH), namely the following: LAW1 (0.5 dose), LAW2 (1 dose), LAW3 (2 dose). A non-vaccinated group served as a negative control (CONT). Alpha diversity analysis revealed that vaccination led to significant changes in species evenness but not species richness of the gut microbiota. Beta diversity analysis revealed that vaccination against L. intracellularis caused a significant shift in the microbial community structure. At the genus level, there was a significant increase in Streptococcus and a significant decrease in Clostridium in the fecal microbiota of vaccinated pigs, regardless of dose. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Understanding the Relationship between Microbiome and Health in Animals)
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15 pages, 1712 KiB  
Article
Investigating the Effects of a Phytobiotics-Based Product on the Fecal Bacterial Microbiome of Weaned Pigs
by Anlly Fresno Rueda, Ryan Samuel and Benoit St-Pierre
Animals 2021, 11(7), 1950; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11071950 - 30 Jun 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4008
Abstract
The transition to a solid diet, as well as environmental and social stress, have a direct impact on swine gut physiology during weaning, affecting host gastrointestinal functions, as well as resident symbiotic microbial communities. While plant-derived bioactive products, such as phytobiotics, have shown [...] Read more.
The transition to a solid diet, as well as environmental and social stress, have a direct impact on swine gut physiology during weaning, affecting host gastrointestinal functions, as well as resident symbiotic microbial communities. While plant-derived bioactive products, such as phytobiotics, have shown great potential to mitigate these challenges, providing benefits such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities, their mechanisms of action remain largely unexplored. To gain more insight, a 21 day trial is conducted to investigate the effects of LiveXtract, a commercial plant-based product, using fecal samples as a proxy for gut bacteria in weaned pigs. High-throughput sequencing of amplicons targeting the V1–V3 region of the 16S rRNA gene is used to determine bacterial composition at days 1 (pre-treatment), 4, 10, and 21 postweaning. Our results show that Lactobacillaceae and Peptostreptococcaceae are both higher in the supplemented group at D4 (p < 0.05), while Streptococcaceae are significantly lower in the treated group at D10 and D21. At D10, Erysipelotrichaceae are lower, and Veillonellaceae are higher in the treated samples than the control group (p < 0.05). Of the thirteen abundant Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) that have different representation between treated and control pigs (p < 0.05), six are predicted to be lactate producers (affiliation to Lactobacillus or Streptococcus), and one is predicted to be a lactate utilizer, based on its high identity to Megasphaera elsdenii. Together, these data suggest that phytobiotics may provide a favorable metabolic equilibrium between lactate production and utilization. Lactate is considered a critical microbial end product in gut environments, as it can inhibit pathogens or be metabolized to propionate for utilization by host cells. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Understanding the Relationship between Microbiome and Health in Animals)
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20 pages, 3558 KiB  
Article
Dynamic Changes in Fecal Microbial Communities of Neonatal Dairy Calves by Aging and Diarrhea
by Eun-Tae Kim, Sang-Jin Lee, Tae-Yong Kim, Hyo-Gun Lee, Rahman M. Atikur, Bon-Hee Gu, Dong-Hyeon Kim, Beom-Young Park, Jun-Kyu Son and Myung-Hoo Kim
Animals 2021, 11(4), 1113; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11041113 - 13 Apr 2021
Cited by 34 | Viewed by 4320
Abstract
Microbiota plays a critical role in the overall growth performance and health status of dairy cows, especially during their early life. Several studies have reported that fecal microbiome of neonatal calves is shifted by various factors such as diarrhea, antibiotic treatment, or environmental [...] Read more.
Microbiota plays a critical role in the overall growth performance and health status of dairy cows, especially during their early life. Several studies have reported that fecal microbiome of neonatal calves is shifted by various factors such as diarrhea, antibiotic treatment, or environmental changes. Despite the importance of gut microbiome, a lack of knowledge regarding the composition and functions of microbiota impedes the development of new strategies for improving growth performance and disease resistance during the neonatal calf period. In this study, we utilized next-generation sequencing to monitor the time-dependent dynamics of the gut microbiota of dairy calves before weaning (1–8 weeks of age) and further investigated the microbiome changes caused by diarrhea. Metagenomic analysis revealed that continuous changes, including increasing gut microbiome diversity, occurred from 1 to 5 weeks of age. However, the composition and diversity of the fecal microbiome did not change after 6 weeks of age. The most prominent changes in the fecal microbiome composition caused by aging at family level were a decreased abundance of Bacteroidaceae and Enterobacteriaceae and an increased abundance of Prevotellaceae. Phylogenetic investigation of communities by reconstruction of unobserved states (PICRUSt) analysis indicated that the abundance of microbial genes associated with various metabolic pathways changed with aging. All calves with diarrhea symptoms showed drastic microbiome changes and about a week later returned to the microbiome of pre-diarrheal stage regardless of age. At phylum level, abundance of Bacteroidetes was decreased (p = 0.09) and that of Proteobacteria increased (p = 0.07) during diarrhea. PICRUSt analysis indicated that microbial metabolism-related genes, such as starch and sucrose metabolism, sphingolipid metabolism, alanine aspartate, and glutamate metabolism were significantly altered in diarrheal calves. Together, these results highlight the important implications of gut microbiota in gut metabolism and health status of neonatal dairy calves. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Understanding the Relationship between Microbiome and Health in Animals)
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