This study reports the whole-genome sequence of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum cqf-43 isolated from healthy sow feces. Based on genomic analysis, we performed a comprehensive safety assessment of strain cqf-43, using both in vitro and in vivo experiments, and explored its probiotic potential. The total genome length measures 3,169,201 bp, boasting a GC content of 44.59%. Through phylogenetic analyses, leveraging both 16S rRNA gene and whole-genome sequences, we confidently categorize strain cqf-43 as a member of Lactiplantibacillus. Genome annotation using Prokka unveiled a total of 3141 genes, encompassing 2990 protein-coding sequences, 71 tRNAs, 16 rRNAs, and 1 tmRNA. Functional annotations derived from COG and KEGG databases highlighted a significant abundance of genes related to metabolism, with a notable emphasis on carbohydrate utilization. The genome also revealed the presence of prophage regions and CRISPR-Cas regions while lacking virulence and toxin genes. Screening for antibiotic resistance genes via the CARD database yielded no detectable transferable resistance genes, effectively eliminating the potential for harmful gene transfer. It is worth highlighting that the virulence factors identified via the VFDB database primarily contribute to bolstering pathogen resilience in hostile environments. This characteristic is particularly advantageous for probiotics. Furthermore, the genome is devoid of menacing genes such as hemolysin, gelatinase, and biogenic amine-producing genes. Our investigation also unveiled the presence of three unannotated secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters, as detected by the online tool antiSMASH, suggesting a great deal of unknown potential for this strain. Rigorous in vitro experiments confirmed tolerance of strain cqf-43 in the intestinal environment, its antimicrobial efficacy, sensitivity to antibiotics, absence of hemolysis and gelatinase activity, and its inability to produce biogenic amines. In addition, a 28-day oral toxicity test showed that the strain cqf-43 did not pose a health hazard in mice, further establishing it as a safe strain.

This study aimed to evaluate the digestible energy (DE), metabolizable energy (ME), and standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of amino acids (AA) in fermented soybean meal (FSBM) fed to growing pigs. In experiment 1, twenty-two growing pigs (Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire; 32.0 ± 4.2 kg BW) were fed one of 11 diets in a replicated 11 × 3 incomplete Latin square design to determine the DE and ME of FSBM. The diets included a corn-based diet and 10 experimental diets formulated by replacing the corn with 29.10% FSBM. In experiment 2, eleven growing pigs (Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire; 24.3 ± 2.3 kg BW) were surgically equipped with a T-cannula and arranged in an 11 × 6 incomplete Latin square design with 11 diets and six periods. The diets included an N-free diet and 10 experimental diets containing 40% FSBM as the sole source of AA. The results showed that the contents of dry matter (DM), gross energy, crude protein, crude fiber, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, calcium, and phosphorus averaged 91.83% (ranging from 89.24 to 94.55%), 18.44 MJ/kg (ranging from 18.00 to 18.95 MJ/kg), 50.63% (ranging from 50.00 to 51.81%), 4.51% (ranging from 3.41 to 5.40%), 9.17% (ranging from 7.02 to 10.30%), 6.38% (ranging from 4.97 to 7.45%), 0.32% (ranging from 0.29 to 0.34%), and 0.67% (ranging from 0.61 to 0.84%), respectively. The average DE and ME were 17.55 and 16.33 MJ/kg DM, respectively, with ranges of 15.72 to 18.80 MJ/kg DM and 14.30 to 17.72 MJ/kg DM, respectively. Significant differences were observed in the SID of essential AA (p < 0.05), except for Thr and Arg. The SID of Lys, Met, Trp, and Thr ranged from 68.13 to 83.27% (mean = 76.62%), 62.23 to 89.30% (mean = 75.25%), 72.30 to 90.29% (mean = 80.96%), and 74.17 to 84.41% (mean = 77.90%), respectively. These results indicate significant variability in chemical composition, energy content, and the SID of AA among the selected FSBM samples. The chemical composition of FSBM can be used to predict DE and ME values.

The efficient degradation of lignocellulose is essential for valorizing agricultural waste and reducing environmental pollution. An efficient degradation process requires an enzyme cocktail capable of comprehensively deconstructing lignocellulosic components. In this study, the secretome of Coriolopsis trogii Mafic-2001 induced by rice straw was examined, and the enzymatic composition and reaction conditions of Coriolopsis trogii were optimized. Mafic-2001 secreted an enzyme cocktail that included ligninolytic enzymes, cellulases, and hemicellulases. However, the relative abundances of endoglucanase (EG) and β-glucosidase (βG) were only 64.37% and 10.69%, respectively, compared with the relative abundance of cellobiohydrolase, which indicated a critical bottleneck in degradation efficiency. To overcome this limitation, the recombinant enzymes rEG1 and rβG1 were expressed in Pichia pastoris X-33. A functionally enhanced enzyme cocktail (rEG1–rβG1–Mafic-2001 = 0.05:0.09:0.86) was developed via a mixture design to achieve a reducing sugar yield of 2.77 mg/mL from Chinese distillers’ grains (CDGs). Structural analyses revealed that the optimized enzyme cocktail disrupted the reticulated fiber architecture of CDGs and attenuated the characteristic Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy peaks of lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose. This study elucidates the synergistic lignocellulose deconstruction mechanism of Mafic-2001 and establishes a precision enzyme-supplementation strategy for efficient CDG bioconversion, providing a scalable platform for the valorization of lignocellulosic biomass.