Cystic echinococcosis, caused by infection with the larval stage of the cestodeEchinococcus granulosus, is a chronic zoonosis. The lifecycle of theE. granulosusparasite includes three consecutive stages that require specific gene regulation or protein expression to survive environmental shifts between definitive hosts and intermediate hosts. The aim of the present study is to screen and analyze the stage differential antigens to be considered for vaccine development againstE. granulosus. By using the iTRAQ (isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification) method, the differentially expressed proteins were selected from the three consecutive developmental stages ofE. granulosus: oncosphere, adult tapeworms, and protoscolex. Through a bioinformatics analysis including Clusters of Orthologous Groups (COG), Gene Ontology (GO), and pathway metabolic annotation, we identified some proteins of interest from each stage. The results showed that a large number of differentially expressed proteins (375: oncosphere vs. adult, 346: oncosphere vs. protoscolex, and 391: adult vs. protoscolex) were identified from the three main lifecycle stages. Analysis of the differential protein pathways showed that these differential proteins are mainly enriched in metabolic pathways, Huntington’s diseases, Alzheimer’s diseases, and ribosome metabolic pathways. Interestingly, among these differential proteins, expression levels of paramyosin, HSP60, HSP70, HSP90, cathepsin L1, cathepsin D, casein kinase, and calmodulin were significantly higher in the oncosphere than in the adult or protoscolex (p < 0.05). We hope our findings will help to identify potential targets for diagnosis or for therapeutic and prophylactic intervention.

Weaning is one of the most stressful periods in yak growth. However, the impact of weaning on microbial diversity, structure, and potential function of yak feces is not clear. In this study, 12 Xinjiang yaks aged 3, 4, 5, and 6 months old were selected to collect fresh feces before and after weaning. Through 16S rRNA and ITS high‐throughput sequencing, the dynamic distribution and potential function of yak fecal, bacterial, and fungal communities in each month were revealed. The study found that the richness of fungi had a significant impact on weaning. At the phylum level, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Ascomycota, and Basidiomycota, and at the genus level, 5-7N15, Oscillospira, Roseburia, Dorea, Preussia, Neoascochyta, Naganishia, and Sporormiella were enriched in yak feces of different months old. The abundance and proportion of bacteria Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, 5-7N15, and fungi Mucoromyceta changed significantly before and after weaning. With the increase of months, Verrucomicrobia and Akkermansia have shown a downward trend. Through the prediction and analysis of fecal microbial function, it was found that at the level of primary pathways, weaning has a significant impact on cellular processes, environmental information processing, genetic information processing, metabolism, and organismal systems. At the level of secondary metabolic pathways, weaning has a significant impact on cell motility, signal transduction, folding, sorting and degradation, translation, amino acid metabolism, glycan biosynthesis and metabolism, metabolism of terpenoids and polyketides, and xenobiotics biodegradation and metabolism. In addition, by analyzing the differences in functional pathways and microbial composition between sample groups of different months, it was found that the differences in functional pathways were related to the abundance differences of some microorganisms. In general, the changes in the composition and structure of yak fecal microflora may reflect the adaptability of the intestinal microbiota.

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a chronic zoonosis caused by infection with the larval stage of the cestodeEchinococcus granulosus. As the intermediate host, sheep are highly susceptible to this disease. Our previous studies have shown that sheep with haplotypeMHC MvaIbc-SacIIab-Hin1I ab were resistant to CE infection, while their counterparts without this haplotype were not. In order to reveal the molecular mechanism of resistance in Kazakh sheep, after selecting the differential miRNA in our previous study, herein, transcriptome analyses were conducted to detect the differential expression genes in the intestinal tissue of Kazakh sheep with resistant and non-resistant MHC haplotypes, after peroral infection withE. granulosuseggs. A total of 3835 differentially expressed genes were identified between the two groups, with 2229 upregulated and 1606 downregulated. Further function analysis showed that the most significant genes were related to both innate immune response and adaptive response participating in the defense againstE.granulosusinfection and the metabolic changes associated with it. The results suggest that genes related to lectin receptors, NK cells activation, chemokines, and tumor necrosis factor, may play important roles in the response of intestinal tissue toE. granulosus.

This study evaluated the effects of sea buckthorn polysaccharides (SBP) on rumen fermentation in Hu sheep through in vitro fermentation. A single-factor randomized design was employed with four treatment groups in which SBP was added to a basal diet at 0, 1%, 2% and 3% of the total ration dry matter (DM). Based on gas production, degradation rates, and fermentation parameters, the control group and the 2% group were selected for 16S rDNA sequencing. The results showed that compared with the control group, the 2% SBP treatment significantly increased gas production rate (p < 0.05). Addition of 2% and 3% SBP significantly increased DM degradability (p < 0.05). SBP supplementation significantly increased fermentation fluid pH (p < 0.05) and altered volatile fatty acid profiles, increasing the acetate/propionate ratio as well as the concentrations of butyrate, isobutyrate and valerate. Compared with the control group, the addition of 2% SBP led to significant changes in the microbial composition of the in vitro rumen fermentation fluid. It significantly increased beneficial bacterial phyla and genera, such as Bacteroidetes, Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group and others, while reducing pathogenic bacteria (p < 0.05). Additionally, functional prediction revealed that the SBP group was significantly enriched in pathways related to carbohydrate metabolism, biosynthesis of amino acid, and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites (p < 0.05). In summary, adding 2% SBP to Hu sheep feed can improve the Rumen fermentation and microbial communities. However, higher doses did not yield additional benefits in these measured indicators.