Special Issue "The Microbiome in Animal Health and Nutrition"
A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Veterinary Clinical Studies".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 May 2022.
Special Issue Editor
2. Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
3. Department of Microbiology and Veterinary Public Health, Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chattogram, Bangladesh
Interests: microbiome; immunology; microbiology; antimicrobial resistance
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The microbiome is an integral part of human and animal biology. With the advancement of next-generation sequencing technology and the low cost of DNA sequencing, microbiome research has gained attention from all around the globe. The human microbiome has become a leading field in biomedical research in recent years due to an appreciation of the significant connection between human health and the microbiome. However, the progress of animal microbiome research is slow. Identifying the microbiome association with animal health and translating this research into practical applications would bring potential solutions to mitigate many emerging crises such as antimicrobial resistance and food security. In this Special Issue, we want to accumulate animal microbiome research from different aspects of animal biology including animal microbiome surveys, functional microbiome studies, and microbiome–disease association studies. In addition to original research, we also encourage reviews and meta-analysis.
Dr. Md Zohorul IslamGuest 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 papers will be 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 monthly 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 1800 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
- microbiome
- animal health
- nutrition
- metagenomics
- antimicrobial resistance
Planned Papers
The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.
Title: Effect of Bacillus licheniformis-Fermented Products on the Growth Performance and Cecal Microbiota of Broilers under Coccidial Challenge
Authors: Yeong-Hsiang Cheng; Yi-Bing Horng; Wei-Jung Chen; Kuo-Feng Hua; Andrzej Dybus; Yu-Hsiang Yu
Affiliation: Department of Biotechnology and Animal Science, National Ilan University, Yilan 26047, Taiwan
Abstract: This study investigated the effects of Bacillus licheniformis-fermented products (fermented products) on the growth performance and cecal microbiota in broilers in response to the coccidial challenge. A total of 108 one-day-old male broiler chicks (Ross 308) were randomly assigned to 3 dietary treatments, with 6 replicate cages per treatment and 6 birds per cage. The dietary treatments consisted of a basal diet without treatment, basal diet plus coccidial challenge, and basal diet plus the coccidial challenge and 1 g/kg of fermented products. The results indicated that fermented products increased the average daily gain of broilers compared with coccidial challenge alone group at 21 to 35 days of age (P < 0.05). The anti-coccidia index in fermented products-treated group was elevated compared with the coccidial challenge alone group (P < 0.05). Principal coordinate analysis indicated a significant segregation in bacterial community composition in the cecal digesta among the groups. The abundance of the genus Lactobacillus in the cecal digesta increased in broilers fed fermented products compared with the group treated with coccidial oocysts alone (P < 0.05). The average abundance of the genus Lactobacillus in the cecal digesta was positively correlated with the body weight, average daily gain, and average feed intake of broilers. Furthermore, the average abundance of the genus Lactobacillus was positively correlated with the short-chain fatty acid levels (formic acid, acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, and isobutyric acid) in the cecal digesta. These findings indicate that B. licheniformis-fermented products can improve the average daily gain of broilers exposed to coccidial challenge. Bacillus licheniformis-fermented products have anti-coccidial activity and modulate gut microbiota composition in broilers.
Title: The Impacts of Dietary Macronutrient Content on the Gut Microbiota of Domestic Dogs: A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Francis Phimister
Affiliation: Food & Bio-based Products
Abstract: We are proposing a meta-analysis of the literature to evaluate the impact of dietary macronutrients on the gut microbiome in healthy dogs entitled ‘The Impacts of Dietary Macronutrient Content on the Gut Microbiota of Domestic Dogs: A Meta-Analysis’.
Title: IMPACT OF TYPE OF PARTURITION ON COLOSTRUM MICROBIOTA COMPOSITION AND PUPPY SURVIVAL
Authors: Maja Zakošek Pipan 1, Leonida Kajdič 2, Anja Kalin 3, Irena Zdovc 4
Affiliation: 1Clinic for Reproduction and Large Animals, Veterinary faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2Krka d.d., Pharmaceutical industry, Novo Mesto, Slovenia, Veterinary faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 3Small Animal Clinic, Veterinary faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Abstract: The aim of our research was to determine whether the type of parturition has any influence on the microbiota of colostrum and on the growth and survival of the puppies in the first weeks of life. The subjects of our study were 79 newborn puppies from 13 bitches. The puppies were divided into three groups regarding the type of parturition: vaginal parturition, elective C section and emergency C section group. After the puppies were born, swabs of the meconium were taken from the puppies and colostrum was obtained from the bitch. The swabs were analysed with a classical bacteriological examination. We isolated many aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, identified with a mass spectrometry assay (MALDI-TOF MS). We followed the growth of the puppies for the first eight weeks of their lives and tried to establish whether there is a correlation with the colostrum microbiota present at birth. We found a statistically significant difference in relative growth rate of the puppies between the puppies born with vaginal parturition and C section in first seven days after birth. Puppies born with vaginal parturition had the best growth rate, elective C section group had the lowest growth rate. Relative growth rate was monitored until the eight weeks of age, but later no statistically significant differences in relative growth were observed. No significant difference in colostrum microbiota of mothers between puppies born with elective C-section compared to puppies that were vaginally born was noticed. However, in case of emergency C-section there were more bacterial genes present compared to both other groups. Moreover, in vaginally born puppies colostrum microbiota was significantly richer in microorganisms belonging to Streptococcus and Haemophilus genera with a significant lower abundance of Pseudomonas spp., Staphylococcus spp. and Prevotella spp. when compared to emergency C-section colostrum samples. It was also found out that the puppies without meconium microbiota at birth had a slower growth rate compared to puppies with a meconium microbiota at birth, regardless of the type of parturition. Composition of meconium microbiota present at birth in puppies was similar to the colostrum microbiota of their mothers. This is the first study that compares the colostrum microbiota with different types of parturition and the impact of colostrum microbiota on puppy’s growth. Type of parturition had an impact on the microbiota composition of colostrum. Further studies are needed to better define the meaning of the differences we observed between emergency C-section compared to elective C-section and vaginal delivery colostrum microbiota. keywords: Neonatology, birth, puppies, microbiota
Title: Metagenomic characterization of bovine nasal virome with the whole-genome sequence of the first detection bovine parvovirus-3, Egypt
Authors: Abdou Nagy; Fatma Abdallah; Hend M. El Damaty; Ahmed Tariq; Abdallah M. A. Merwad; Bader Alhatlani; Ibrahim Elsohaby
Affiliation: Department of Applied Medical Sciences, Unayzah Community College, Qassim University, Unayzah 51911, Saudi Arabia
Abstract: Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is the costliest complex disease affecting the cattle industry worldwide, with significant economic losses. BRD pathogenesis involves several interactions between microorganisms, such as bacteria and viruses, and management factors. This study aimed to characterize the nasal virome from 43 pooled nasal swab samples collected from Egyptian nonvaccinated feedlot cattle herds with acute BRD from January to February 2020 using metagenomic sequencing. Bovine herpesvirus-1 (BHV-1), first detection bovine herpesvirus-5 (BHV-5), and first detection bovine parvovirus-3 (BPV-3) were the most commonly identified. Moreover, phylogenetic analysis of glycoprotein B revealed that the BHV-1 isolate is closely related to the Cooper reference strain (genotype 1.1), whereas the BHV-5 isolate is closely related to the reference virus GenBank NP_954920.1. Also, the whole-genome sequence of BPV-3 showed 93.02% nucleotide identity with the reference virus GenBank AF406967.1. In this study, several DNA viruses, such as BHV-1, BHV-5, and BPV-3, were associated with acute BRD in nonvaccinated Egyptian feedlot cattle. Taken together, these results illustrated the complexity of BRD and emphasized that further studies are necessary to determine the contribution of other viruses to BRD.