To study the effects of maternal dietary fiber composition during gestation on offspring antioxidant capacity, inflammation, and gut microbiota composition, we randomly assigned 64 gilts to four treatments and administered diets with an insoluble/soluble fiber ratio of 3.89 (R1), 5.59 (R2), 9.12 (R3), and 12.81 (R4). Sow samples (blood and feces at gestation 110) and neonatal samples (blood, liver, and colonic contents) were collected. The results showed that sows and piglets in R1 and R2 had higher antioxidant enzyme activity and lower pro-inflammatory factor levels than those in R3 and R4. Moreover, piglets in R1 and R2 had higher liver mRNA expression of Nrf2 and HO-1 and lower NF-κB than piglets in R4. Interestingly, maternal fiber composition not only affected the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in sow feces but also influenced the concentrations of SCFAs in the neonatal colon. Results of high-throughput sequencing showed that piglets as well as sows in R1 and R2 had microbial community structures distinct from those in R3 and R4. Therefore, the composition of dietary fiber in pregnancy diet had an important role in improving antioxidant capacity and decreasing inflammatory response of mothers and their offspring through modulating the composition of gut microbiota.

The poultry ovary is used as a classic model to study ovarian biology and ovarian cancer. Stress factors induced oxidative stress to cause follicle atresia, which may be a fundamental reason for the reduction in fertility in older laying hens or in aging women. In the present study, we set out to characterize the relationships between oxidative stress and ovarian function. Layers (62 weeks of age; BW = 1.42 ± 0.12 kg) were injected with tert-butyl hydroperoxide (tBHP) at 0 (CON) and 800 μmol/kg BW (oxidative stress group, OS) for 24 days and the role of melatonin (Mel) on tBHP-induced ovary oxidative stress was assessed through ovary culture in vitro. The OS (800 μmol/kg BW tert-butyl hydroperoxide) treatment decreased the reproduction performance and ovarian follicle numbers. OS decreased the expression of SIRT1 and increased the P53 and FoxO1 expression of the ovary. A decreased Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio, enriched Marinifilaceae (family), Odoribacter (genus) and Bacteroides_plebeius (species) were observed in the cecum of the OS group. Using Mel in vitro enhanced the follicle numbers and decreased the ovary cell apoptosis induced by tBHP. In addition, it increased the expression of SIRT1 and decreased the P53 and FoxO1 expression. These findings indicated that oxidative stress could decrease the laying performance, ovarian function and influence gut microbiota and body metabolites in the layer model, while the melatonin exerts an amelioration the ovary oxidative stress through SIRT1-P53/FoxO1 pathway.

Although fiber-rich diets have been positively associated with sperm quality, there have not been any studies that have examined the effects of dietary fiber and its metabolites on sperm quality in young or pre-pubescent animals. In this study, we aimed to explore the effect of dietary fiber supplementation on semen quality and the underlying mechanisms in a boar model. Sixty purebred Yorkshire weaning boars were randomly divided into the four groups (T1–T4). Groups T1, T2, and T3 boars were fed diets with different levels of fiber until reaching 160 days of age and were then fed the same diet, while group T4 boars were fed a basal diet supplemented with butyrate and probiotics. Compared with T1 boars, sperm motility and effective sperm number were significantly higher among T3 boars. Meanwhile, at 240 days of age, the acetic acid and total short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) contents in the sera of T3 and T4 boars were significantly higher than those in T1 boars. The abundance of microbiota in T2 and T3 boars was significantly higher than that in T1 boars (P < 0.01). Moreover, dietary fiber supplementation increased “beneficial gut microbes” such as UCG-005, Rumenococcus, Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group and Lactobacillus and decreased the relative abundance of “harmful microbes” such as Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1, Romboutsia and Turicibacter. Collectively, the findings of this study indicate that dietary fiber supplementation improves gut microbiota and promotes SCFA production, thereby enhancing spermatogenesis and semen quality. Moreover, the effects of dietary fiber are superior to those of derived metabolites.

Background: The feed intake of sows during lactation is often lower than their needs. High-fiber feed is usually used during gestation to increase the voluntary feed intake of sows during lactation. However, the mechanism underlying the effect of bulky diets on the appetites of sows during lactation have not been fully clarified. The current study was conducted to determine whether a high-fiber diet during gestation improves lactational feed intake (LFI) of sows by modulating gut microbiota. Methods: We selected an appropriate high-fiber diet during gestation and utilized the fecal microbial transplantation (FMT) method to conduct research on the role of the gut microbiota in feed intake regulation of sows during lactation, as follows: high-fiber (HF) diet during gestation (n = 23), low-fiber (LF) diet during gestation (n = 23), and low-fiber diet + HF-FMT (LFM) during gestation (n = 23). Results: Compared with the LF, sows in the HF and LFM groups had a higher LFI, while the sows also had higher peptide tyrosine tyrosine and glucagon-like peptide 1 on d 110 of gestation (G110 d). The litter weight gain of piglets during lactation and weaning weight of piglets from LFM group were higher than LF group. Sows given a HF diet had lower Proteobacteria, especially Escherichia-Shigella, on G110 d and higher Lactobacillus, especially Lactobacillus_mucosae_LM1 and Lactobacillus_amylovorus, on d 7 of lactation (L7 d). The abundance of Escherichia-Shigella was reduced by HF-FMT in numerically compared with the LF. In addition, HF and HF-FMT both decreased the perinatal concentrations of proinflammatory factors, such as endotoxin (ET), lipocalin-2 (LCN-2), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin-1β (IL-1β). The concentration of ET and LCN-2 and the abundance of Proteobacteria and Escherichia-Shigella were negatively correlated with the LFI of sows. Conclusion: The high abundance of Proteobacteria, especially Escherichia-Shigella of LF sows in late gestation, led to increased endotoxin levels, which result in inflammatory responses and adverse effects on the LFI of sows. Adding HF during gestation reverses this process by increasing the abundance of Lactobacillus, especially Lactobacillus_mucosae_LM1 and Lactobacillus_amylovorus.

Background: There has been a significant increase, to epidemic levels, of obese and overweight women of reproductive age, causing impairments to reproductive health. Time‐restricted feeding (TRF) including isocaloric intake has shown to be preventive of obesity‐related disorders. However, its therapeutic ability to improve the reproductive function of female remains largely unknown.Methods: Here, we investigated the ability of TRF to improve the reproductive function in wild‐type and liver‐specific FGF21 knockout female mice. To study fertility, a continuous and a short‐term fertility test, gonadotropin releasing‐hormone (GnRH), and Kisspeptin test were performed. Immortalized GnRH neuron was used to examine the direct role of liver fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) on GnRH secretion.Results: We found that TRF rescues female mice from bodyweight gain and glucose intolerance, as well as ovarian follicle loss and dysfunction of estrus cyclicity induced by high‐fat diet. Furthermore, the beneficial effects of the TRF regimen on the reproductive performance were also observed in mice fed both chow and high‐fat diet. However, those beneficial effects of TRF on metabolism and reproduction were absent in liver‐specific FGF21 knockout mice. In vitro, FGF21 directly acted on GnRH neurons to modulate GnRH secretion via extracellular regulated protein kinases (ERK_1/2) pathway.Conclusions: Overall, time‐restricted feeding improves the reproductive function of female mice and liver FGF21 signaling plays a key role in GnRH neuron activity in female mice.