This study aimed to investigate the effects of maternal methyl-donor micronutrient supplementation during gestation on gut microbiota and the fecal metabolic profile in offspring piglets. Forty-three Duroc × Erhualian gilts were assigned to two dietary groups during gestation: control diet (CON) and CON diet supplemented with MET (folic acid, methionine, choline, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12). The body weights of offspring piglets were recorded at birth and weaning. Besides this, fresh fecal samples of offspring piglets were collected at 7, 14, and 21 days. The gut microbiota composition, metabolic profile, and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) profiles in the fecal samples were determined using 16S rDNA sequencing, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry metabolomics, and gas chromatography methods, respectively. The results showed that maternal methyl-donor micronutrient supplementation increased the microbiota diversity and uniformity in feces of offspring piglets as indicated by increased Shannon and Simpson indices at 7 days, and greater Simpson, ACE, Chao1 and observed species indices at 21 days. Specifically, at the phylum level, the relative abundance of Firmicutes and the Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio were elevated by maternal treatment. At the genus level, the relative abundance of SCFA-producing Dialister, Megasphaera, and Turicibacter, and lactate-producing Sharpea as well as Akkermansia, Weissella, and Pediococcus were increased in the MET group. The metabolic analyses show that maternal methyl-donor micronutrient addition increased the concentrations of individual and total SCFAs of 21-day piglets and increased metabolism mainly involving amino acids, pyrimidine, and purine biosynthesis. Collectively, maternal methyl-donor micronutrient addition altered gut microbiota and the fecal metabolic profile, resulting in an improved weaning weight of offspring piglets.

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a prevalent contaminant in feed and food, posing a serious threat to the health of both humans and animals. The pig stands as an ideal subject for the study of DON due to its recognition as the most susceptible animal to DON. In this study, the IPEC-J2 cells were utilized as an in vitro model to explore the potential of SeMet in alleviating the intestinal toxicity and oxidative injury in intestinal epithelial cells when exposed to DON. Cells were treated either with or without 4.0 μM SeMet, in combination with or without a simultaneous treatment with 0.5 μg/mL DON, for a duration of 24 h. Then, cells or related samples were analyzed for cell proliferation, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, reactive oxygen species (ROS) level, gene expressions, and protein expressions. The results showed that SeMet mitigated the cellular toxicity caused by DON, evidenced by elevated cell proliferation and the reduced LDH release of IPEC-J2 cells in the SeMet + DON group vs. the DON group. Moreover, the SeMet treatment markedly promoted antioxidant functions and decreased the oxidative injury in IPEC-J2 cell, which is indicated by the decreased ROS level and up-regulated mRNA levels of GPX1, TXNRD1, Nrf2, and GCLC in IPEC-J2 cells in the SeMet + DON group vs. the DON group. However, in both the absence and presence of exposure to DON, the SeMet treatment did not affect the protein expression of MAPK (JNK, Erk1/2, and P38) and phosphorylated MAPK (p-JNK, p-Erk1/2, and p-P38) in IPEC-J2 cells. Collectively, SeMet alleviated the DON-induced oxidative injury in porcine intestinal epithelial cells independent of the MAPK pathway regulation.

This investigation examines the influence of P. dabryanus density on the growth performance of P. nigromaculatus and the structural and functional dynamics of paddy soil microbial communities within a rice–frog–loach integrated aquaculture system. Field experiments were conducted with five density gradients of P. dabryanus (0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 × 10⁴ individuals/667 m²), designated as RFLS0.5, RFLS1.0, RFLS1.5, RFLS2.0, and RFLS2.5, respectively. Control treatments included rice monoculture (RM) and rice–frog co-culture (RFS). These findings demonstrated that as the density of loach increased, the weight gain ratio of P. nigromaculatus showed a unimodal pattern, reaching its peak in RFLS1. Metagenomic analysis on paddy soil revealed that the RFLS1 facilitated the enrichment of nitrogen-fixing bacteria (Proteobacteria), while concurrently suppressing proliferation of the potential pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa and microbial markers in metal-contaminated environments of Usitatibacter rugosus. Further, functional profiling indicated that RFLS1 group reached a peak activity in amino acid metabolism (14.52 ± 0.09%) and carbohydrate metabolism (14.44 ± 0.06%) and showed a higher proportion of glycosyltransferase (GT) abundance (41.93 ± 0.02%) than other groups. In summary, the optimal stocking density of P. dabryanus in rice–frog–loach integrated systems was determined to be 1.0 × 10⁴ individuals/667 m². This density not only promotes the growth of P. nigromaculatus but also improves the structure of paddy soil microbial communities.

This study was designed to assess the protective efficacy of dihydromyricetin (DHM) against intestinal injury in Chinese soft-shelled turtles (Pelodiscus sinensis) caused by partial replacement of fishmeal (FM) with fermented rapeseed meal (FRM), and to uncover the molecular mechanisms involved. Turtles were fed an FM-based control diet, an FRM-substituted diet, or FRM diets supplemented with DHM at 0.5‰ (DHMT1), 1.0‰ (DHMT2) or 2.0‰ (DHMT3) for 8 weeks. Growth performance, digestive enzyme activities, antioxidant parameters, inflammatory cytokines, and intestinal histomorphology were assessed, and intestinal transcriptomics and metabolomics were also performed. FRM replacement significantly improved growth performance; however, this beneficial effect was accompanied by notable intestinal mucosal oxidative damage, as evidenced by decreased villus height, increased lumen space, and lamina propria edema, along with elevated pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β and TNF-α) and MDA content, alongside reduced GSH and CAT activities. DHM supplementation dose-dependently ameliorated these adverse effects by restoring mucosal integrity, digestive enzyme activities, redox homeostasis, and inflammatory balance, ultimately improving growth performance. Transcriptomic KEGG analysis revealed that DHM enriched pathways related to glycerophospholipid metabolism, glutathione metabolism, drug metabolis-cytochrome P450, and polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolism. Metabolomics further confirmed dose-dependent remodeling of phospholipids and bile acids. Integrated omics demonstrated that DHM likely regulates detoxification, anti-inflammatory, membrane repair, and antioxidant pathways. In conclusion, DHM demonstrates a protective effect against FRM-induced intestinal mucosal oxidative damage in P. sinensis, which may be mediated by a synergistic combination of enhanced detoxification, anti-inflammatory modulation, restoration of phospholipid membrane integrity, and reinforcement of antioxidant defenses.

This study aimed to evaluate rice yield attributes, loach Paramisgurnus dabryanus muscle quality, and soil biochemical composition under rice monoculture (RM), rice–loach coculture (RLC), and loach monoculture (LM). This trial was conducted for 90 days, and then rice, fish muscle and soil were obtained for analyses. The results showed that there were no significant differences in rice yield attributes between the rice–loach coculture (RLC) and rice monoculture (RM) groups. However, rice–loach coculture (RLC) improved muscle quality-related parameters, including increased hardness and springiness of loach muscle. Meanwhile, muscle metabolomic analysis showed that all the differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs) in the significantly enriched pathways of lysine degradation and lysine biosynthesis were up-regulated in the rice–loach coculture (RLC) group compared with the loach monoculture (LM) group. Furthermore, the rice–loach coculture (RLC) improved soil physicochemical properties, including an increase in microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN) content and activities of soil N-acquiring enzymes (NAG and LAP). Moreover, soil microbiome analysis showed that the abundance of Candidatus Koribacter versatilis, Acidobacteria bacterium WX27 and Pseudolabrys taiwanensis was significantly increased in the rice monoculture (RM) and rice–loach coculture (RLC) groups compared with the loach monoculture (LM) group. Pairwise Spearman’s correlation analysis of the top 30 soil microbial species and soil physicochemical properties indicated that Terrimonas sp. H1YJ31 showed a highly significant positive correlation with the soil N-acquiring enzymes (N-acetylglucosaminidase, NAG; leucine aminopeptidase, LAP) and a soil C-acquiring enzyme (exo-β-1,4-glucanase C1), whereas Gaiella occulta, Methyloceanibacter marginalis and Anaerohalosphaera lusitana had a highly significant negative correlation with S-NAG, S-LAP and S-C1. In short, the improved fish muscle quality and soil biochemical composition were ascribed to the increased hardness and springiness of loach muscle and the abundance of soil Terrimonas sp. H1YJ31.