Probiotic Clostridium butyricum Improves the Growth Performance,Immune Function,and Gut Microbiota of Weaning Rex Rabbits

Probiotics could promote animal growth and enhance immune function. This study investigated the effects of Clostridium butyricum (CB) on the growth performance, intestinal immune, and gut microbiota of weaning rex rabbits. A total of 60 healthy female rabbits (5-month-old) were divided equally into four groups and mated on the same day: control group (CTRL, fed with basal feed), low-dose group (LDG, fed with basal feed + 1.0 × 10³ CFU/g CB), middle-dose group (MDG, fed with basal feed + 1.0 × 10⁴ CFU/g CB), and high-dose group (HDG, fed with basal feed + 1.0 × 10⁵ CFU/g CB). Then, 30 weaning rex rabbits (35-day-old) were collected from each group for this experiment, and they were offered the same feeds as their mother. The results demonstrated that high-dose CB treatment significantly increased average daily weight gain of weaning rex rabbits. Further studies suggested that CB enhanced small intestinal digestive enzyme activity and improved mucosal morphology and antioxidant status. Supplemented with CB, small intestinal barrier function was maintained with the upregulation of mRNA levels of ZO-1, claudin, and occludin as well as the increase of sIgA production. Moreover, the relative expressions of MyD88, TLR2, and TLR4 were elevated in HDG; simultaneously, pro-inflammatory cytokines including IL-6, INF-γ, and TNF-α were decreased after CB administration. In addition, CB showed beneficial effects in improving weaning rex rabbit intestinal microflora via increasing the abundance of beneficial bacteria. Therefore, our results indicated CB can promote rex rabbit growth, which is likely to the enhancement of immune function and the improvement of intestinal microbiota.

     

未来气候变化对粤港澳地区杜鹃花适生区的影响

位于我国南方丘陵的粤港澳地区拥有丰富杜鹃花资源,长期以来受杜鹃花不适宜在高温低海拔地区进行开发利用等思想的影响,该区域野生杜鹃花的开发、保护与利用研究寥寥无几,但低海拔野生杜鹃花在气候变化下正面临较高灭绝风险。基于粤港澳地区杜鹃花属(Rhododendron)14个筛选后的野生物种229个标本点位数据,利用最大熵模型(Maxent)模拟粤港澳地区野生杜鹃花在2070年低、中、高3种温室气体排放模式(RCP2.6、RCP4.5、RCP8.5)下的适生区范围大小与方向的变化及其主导环境变量。研究发现未来粤港澳地区野生杜鹃花的适生区范围整体呈缩小趋势,且随着温室气体排放浓度的增加,即从RCP2.6到RCP8.5,越来越多杜鹃花物种适生区呈现向高纬度、高海拔方向迁移的趋势;对杜鹃花分布影响最大的变量为最冷月的最低温、温度季节性和最干月降水量。本研究通过探究气候变化对野生杜鹃花适生区范围的影响,以期为粤港澳地区野生杜鹃花的保护与开发利用提供科学指导。     

Investigation of Lactic Acid Bacteria Isolated from Giant Panda Feces for Potential Probiotics In Vitro

Probiotics and Antimicrobial Proteins - The present study aimed to isolate an optimal lactic acid bacterial strain from the feces of healthy giant pandas. The strain exhibited good stability at low...