Yating Gan's research while affiliated with Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University and other places

Simple Summary Due to the fact that rabbit meat possesses high levels of proteins and polyunsaturated fatty acids with low contents of fat and cholesterol that can meet the urgent demand for a healthy diet in modern life, the meat rabbit industry in China has been rapidly developed in recent years. However, rabbits are more sensitive to seasonal changes owing to their specific physiological characteristics, such as few sweat glands, thick coats of fur, high metabolic rate, and high growth rate. In this study, we investigated the variations in productivity, health status, and gut microbiota of meat rabbits reared in semi-confined conditions between summer and winter. In the summer season, the relative high ambient temperature and humidity could trigger disturbance of the gut microbiome, potential heat stress, reduced antioxidant defense, and increased inflammation risk, which consequently deteriorated production performance. In the winter season, changes in energy demand, photoperiod, and feeding pattern should be regarded as important factors that affect the productivity of meat rabbits. Based on our findings, we not only proposed several realistic strategies to alleviate the unfavorable influences of seasonal alterations on the productivity and well-being of meat rabbits but also pointed out the future directions for this study of molecular mechanisms in adaptation physiology. Abstract In this study, we investigated the variations in production performance, health status, and gut microbiota of meat rabbits raised in the semi-confined barn during summer and winter. Compared to summer, rabbits reared in winter possessed significantly higher slaughter weight and carcass weight. Rabbits fed in the summer were more vulnerable to different stressors, which led to increased protein levels of HSP90, IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-2, and concentrations of MDA, but declined GSH and SOD activities. Additionally, significant differences in gut microbial communities were observed. Compared to the winter, rabbits fed in the summer had significantly lower and higher alpha and beta diversity. Both Firmicutes and Verrucomicrobiota were the dominant phyla, and they accounted for greater proportions in the winter than in the summer. At lower microbial taxa levels, several seasonal differentially enriched microbes were identified, such as Akkermansia muciniphila, the Oscillospiraceae NK4A214 group, the Christensenellaceae R-7 group, Alistipes, and Muribaculaceae. Functional capacities linked to microbial proliferation, nutrient metabolism, and environmental adaptive responses exhibited significantly different abundances between summer and winter. Moreover, strong interactions among different indicators were presented. Based on our findings, we not only proposed several potential strategies to ameliorate the undesirable effects of seasonal changes on the productivity and health of meat rabbits but also underscored the directions for future mechanistic studies of adaptation physiology.

Background The epididymis is a highly regionalized tubular organ possesses vectorial functions of sperm concentration, maturation, transport, and storage. The epididymis-expressed genes and proteins are characterized by regional and developmental dependent pattern. However, a systematic and comprehensive insight into the postnatal development dependent changes in gene and protein expressions of porcine epididymis is still lacking. Here, the RNA and protein of epididymis of Duroc pigs at different postnatal development stages were extracted by using commercial RNeasy Midi kit and extraction buffer (7 M Urea, 2 M thiourea, 3% CHAPS, and 1 mM PMSF) combined with sonication, respectively, which were further subjected to transcriptomic and proteomic profiling. Results Transcriptome analysis indicated that 198 and 163 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were continuously up-regulated and down-regulated along with postnatal development stage changes, respectively. Most of the up-regulated DEGs linked to functions of endoplasmic reticulum and lysosome, while the down-regulated DEGs mainly related to molecular process of extracellular matrix. Moreover, the following key genes INSIG1, PGRMC1, NPC2, GBA, MMP2, MMP14, SFRP1, ELN, WNT-2, COL3A1, and SPARC were highlighted. A total of 49 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) corresponding to postnatal development stages changes were uncovered by the proteome analysis. Several key proteins ACSL3 and ACADM, VDAC1 and VDAC2, and KNG1, SERPINB1, C3, and TF implicated in fatty acid metabolism, voltage-gated ion channel assembly, and apoptotic and immune processes were emphasized. In the integrative network, the key genes and proteins formed different clusters and showed strong interactions. Additionally, NPC2, COL3A1, C3, and VDAC1 are located at the hub position in each cluster. Conclusions The identified postnatal development dependent genes and proteins in the present study will pave the way for shedding light on the molecular basis of porcine epididymis functions and are useful for further studies on the specific regulation mechanisms responsible for epididymal sperm maturation.

The intestinal epithelium barrier serves as a highly dynamic immunologic frontier in the defense against invading pathogenic bacteria and viruses. Hence, understanding of the complicated underlying relationship between enteric pathogens and the intestinal epithelium barrier is vital for developing strategies to improve the intestinal health of farm animals. To this end, Caco-2 cells were stimulated by 1 µg/ml lipopolysaccharide (LPS) for 24 h and 5 µg/ml polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (ploy(I:C)) for 4 h to imitate bacterial and viral infection processes, respectively. The specific alterations in gene expression of Caco-2 cells after stimulation were characterized by transcriptome sequencing. Seventy differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified under LPS exposure, and 17 DEGs were observed under ploy(I:C) exposure. We found that most DEGs were specific, and only one common DEG SPAG7 was observed. Gene Ontology (GO) annotation analysis indicated that all DEGs identified in the different treatments were mainly derived from GO terms related to the maintenance of cellular homeostasis. Moreover, specific DEGs such as SLC39A10 , MT2A , and MT1E regulated by LPS treatment, while IFIT2 and RUNX2 mediated by ploy(I:C) treatment, which are derived from immune function modulation related GO terms, were confirmed by both transcriptome sequencing and qRT-PCR. In addition, both transcriptome sequencing and qRT-PCR results verified that LPS specifically down-regulated the DEGs INHBE and ARF6 , which are involved in inflammation responses related to the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway including the TGF-beta signaling pathways and the Ras signaling pathway. Ploy(I:C) uniquely suppressed the DEGs GABARAP and LAMTOR3 , which participated in viral replication-associated pathways including autophagy and mTOR signaling pathway.

Introduction Pollutant gas emissions in the current production system of the livestock industry have negative influences on environment as well as the health of farm staffs and animals. Although ammonia (NH3) is considered as the primary and harmful gas pollutant in the rabbit farm, less investigation has performed to determine the toxic effects of house ammonia exposure on rabbit in the commercial confined barn. Methods In this study, we performed multi-omics analysis on rabbits exposed to high and low concentration of house ammonia under similar environmental conditions to unravel the alterations in nasal and colonic microbiota, pulmonary and colonic gene expression, and muscular metabolic profile. Results and discussion The results showed that house ammonia exposure notably affected microbial structure, composition, and functional capacity in both nasal and colon, which may impact on local immune responses and inflammatory processes. Transcriptome analysis indicated that genes related to cell death ( MCL1, TMBIM6, HSPB1 , and CD74 ) and immune response ( CDC42, LAMTOR5, VAMP8 , and CTSB ) were differentially expressed in the lung, and colonic genes associated with redox state ( CAT, SELENBP1, GLUD1 , and ALDH1A1 ) were significantly up-regulated. Several key differentially abundant metabolites such as L-glutamic acid, L-glutamine, L-ornithine, oxoglutaric acid, and isocitric acid were identified in muscle metabolome, which could denote house ammonia exposure perturbed amino acids, nucleotides, and energy metabolism. In addition, the widespread and strong inter-system interplay were uncovered in the integrative correlation network, and central features were confirmed by in vitro experiments. Our findings disclose the comprehensive evidence for the deleterious effects of house ammonia exposure on rabbit and provide valuable information for understanding the underlying impairment mechanisms.