Dietary Energy Level Impacts the Performance of Donkeys by Manipulating the Gut Microbiome and Metabolome

Abstract

Considerable evidence suggests that dietary energy levels and gut microbiota are pivotal for animal health and productivity. However, little information exists about the correlations among dietary energy level, performance, and the gut microbiota and metabolome of donkeys. The objective of this study was to investigate the mechanisms by which dietary energy content dictates the growth performance by modulating the intestinal microbiome and metabolome of donkeys. Thirty-six nine-month-old male Dezhou donkeys with similar body weights were randomly assigned to two groups fed low- or high-energy diets (LE or HE). The results showed that donkeys fed HE had increased (p < 0.05) the average daily gain (ADG) and feed efficiency (G/F) compared with those that received LE diet. The gut microbiota in both groups was dominated by the phyla Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes regardless of the dietary energy level. However, feeding HE to donkeys significantly decreased (p < 0.05) the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes (F/B). Compared to the LE group, feeding HE specifically increased the abundances of unidentified_Prevotellaceae (p = 0.02) while decreasing the richness of unidentified_Ruminococcaceae (p = 0.05). Compared to the LE group, feeding the HE diet significantly (p < 0.05) upregulated certain metabolic pathways involving the aspartate metabolism and the urea cycle. In addition, the increased bacteria and metabolites in the HE-fed group exhibited a positive correlation with improved growth performance of donkeys. Taken together, feeding the HE diet increased the richness of Prevotellaceae and upregulated growth-related metabolic pathways, which may have contributed to the ameliorated growth performance of donkeys. Thus, it is a recommendable dietary strategy to feed HE diets to fattening donkeys for superior product performance and feed efficiency.

The Response of Ruminal Microbiota and Metabolites to Different Dietary Protein Levels in Tibetan Sheep on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

“…Additionally, an association was found between the structure of the rumen microbiota and metabolic profiles. These results were consistent with those in donkeys ( 64 ), yaks ( 65 ), Holstein heifers ( 18 ), mice ( 66 ) and humans ( 67 ), revealing a close relationship between microbiota, metabolites and organismal health. Our study also found significant positive correlations between the dominant bacterial groups and differential metabolites using Spearman correlation analysis.…”

Data_Sheet_1.PDF

“…Additionally, an association was found between the structure of the rumen microbiota and metabolic profiles. These results were consistent with those in donkeys (64), yaks (65), Holstein heifers (18), mice (66) and humans (67), revealing a close relationship between microbiota, metabolites and organismal health. Our study also found significant positive correlations between the dominant bacterial groups and differential metabolites using Spearman correlation analysis.…”

Laminaria Japonica Polysaccharide Improved the Productivities and Systemic Health of Ducks by Mediating the Gut Microbiota and Metabolome

“…The cecal metabolome was quantitatively measured following the procedure described in our previous paper using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) (Novogene Co., Ltd., Beijing, China). In brief, the measurement process contained three main steps: (1) metabolite extraction, (2) metabolites in the chyme were quantified by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC–MS/MS) analysis, and (3) data processing and metabolite identification. , …”

“…In brief, the measurement process contained three main steps: (1) metabolite extraction, (2) metabolites in the chyme were quantified by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatographytandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC−MS/MS) analysis, and (3) data processing and metabolite identification. 13,23 Calculations and Statistical Analysis. Data for growth performance including the BW, ADFI, ADG, and G:F were analyzed by one-way ANOVA according to Dunn's multiple comparisons using the IBM SPSS Statistics 23.…”