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ABSTRACT: This study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary sodium butyrate (SB) supplementation on the reproductive performance of female broiler breeders under intensive rearing conditions and to analyze antioxidant capacity, immune function, and intestinal barrier function of the female breeders and their offspring. A total of 96,000 40-wk-old Ross308 female broiler breeders were divided into the control (CON) and SB groups, each with 6 replicates of 8,000 birds. Each house with similar production performance characteristics was considered a replicate. The experiment lasted for 20 wk, whereupon sampling took place. Results showed that SB improved the egg production performance, egg quality of broiler breeders, and hatchability (P < 0.05). Maternal supplementation with SB substantially increased serum immunoglobulin A levels in broiler breeders and offspring (both P = 0.04) and offspring immunoglobulin G (P < 0.001). The levels of interleukin-1β (P < 0.001) and interleukin-4 (P = 0.03) in the offspring were downregulated, while the total superoxide dismutase in the offspring and the eggs increased (P < 0.05). The serum biochemical components in breeders and offspring were altered by SB, as evidenced by the reduction in triglycerides, total cholesterol, and high- and low-density lipoproteins (P < 0.05). The intestinal morphology of broiler breeders and offspring also improved by the SB with the decreasing the jejunal crypt depth (P = 0.04) and increasing villus height in offspring (P = 0.03). Maternal jejunal and ileal intestinal barrier-related genes were also shown to be significantly affected by SB. Furthermore, SB altered the microbial diversity in maternal cecal contents, thus increasing the abundance of Lachnospiraceae (P = 0.004) and Ruminococcaceae (P = 0.03). Dietary SB enhanced the reproductive performance and egg quality of broiler breeders and improved the antioxidant capacity and immune function of broiler breeders and offspring, with the benefits potentially arising from the regulation of the maternal intestinal barrier and gut microbiota by SB.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of essential oils plus dry herbs (PHYTO) and encapsulated sodium butyrate (BUT) supplementation compared with enramycin (ENR), as a growth promoter, on the performance, diarrhoea control and intestinal microbiota in lightly weaned piglets. Two hundred weaned piglets, 20 days old, 4.69 ± 0.56 kg, were submitted during the nursery phase (20 to 69 days of age) to four treatments: control (CTR)-without any additive supplementation; ENR (with 8 ppm of enramycin throughout), BUT (with 2000 ppm between 20 to 34 d, 1500 ppm between 34 to 48 d and 1000 ppm between 48 to 69 d), and PHYTO (150 ppm between 20 to 48 d). At 62 days old, forty piglets (10 replicates per treatment) were slaughtered to perform bacterial identification through 16S rRNA (V3-V4) sequencing of the caecal content. During the second phase of the trial (34 to 48 days), the BUT group showed higher DWG (P = 0.023) and BW (P = 0.039) than the CTR group, and all groups that received additives had better FCR than the CTR group (P = 0.001). In the last phase of the trial (48 to 69 days), the ENR group presented a better FCR (P = 0.054) than the CRT and other groups. In the total period (20 to 69 days), ENR and BUT showed better FCR (P = 0.006) than CRT. Diarrhoea incident data showed differences (P

ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to evaluate two feed additives, one based on encapsulated sodium butyrate (Adimix® Precision) (AD) and the other, a phytogenic (Apex® 5) (AX), associated or not with an antimicrobial growth promoter (tylosin) during the growth and finishing phases on performance, carcass characteristics and health conditions. A total of 300 barrows and females were distributed in six treatments in a randomized block design with ten replicates. The treatments consisted of a negative control (NC), positive control (PC) (tylosin), AD (encapsulated sodium butyrate), AX (phytogenic), PC+AD (tylosin+encapsulated sodium butyrate), and PC+AX (tylosin+phytogenic). The performance (live weight, daily feed intake, average daily gain and feed conversion) and carcass data (carcass weight, backfat thickness, loin depth, lean meat on the carcass) were submitted to ANOVA plus Tukey’s test, and the health conditions (occurrence of diseases, culling, and spontaneous deaths) were analyzed by χ2. Animals of the AD group had the highest average daily gain (ADG) over the evaluation period and the highest live weight at 120, 140, and 164 days of age, in addition to the highest carcass weight compared to NC and PC groups. The AX treatment increased the ADG in growth phase II and the live weight at 120 and 140 days of age in relation to the NC. The PC+AX group had a higher final live weight compared to the NC and PC groups and higher carcass weight in relation to the NC group. There was no difference among treatments for backfat thickness, percentage of lean meat in the carcass, or occurrence of diseases and deaths. The inclusion of encapsulated sodium butyrate (AD treatment) was effective in increasing ADG, final live weight, and carcass weight compared to supplementation with tylosin (PC treatment), as was the inclusion of a phytogenic (AX treatment) on FC compared to the PC.

Antimicrobials have been used in a prophylactic way to decrease the incidence of digestive disorders during the piglet post-weaning period. Nowadays, it is urgent to reduce their consumption in livestock to address the problem of antimicrobial resistance. In this study, the effect of a product on piglet microbiota has been investigated as an alternative to antimicrobials. Three groups of ten post-weaning pigs were sampled at 0, 15 and 30 days one week post-weaning; the control, antibiotic and feed additive group received a standard post-weaning diet without antibiotics or additives, the same diet as the control group but with amoxicillin and colistin sulphate and the same diet as the control group but with a feed additive (Sanacore-EN, Nutriad International N.V.), respectively. The total DNA extracted from faeces was used to amplify the 16S RNA gene for massive sequencing under manufacturer's conditions. Sequencing data was quality filtered and analyzed using QIIME software and suitable statistical methods. In general terms, age modifies significantly the microbiota of the piglets. Thus, the oldest the animal, the highest bacterial diversity observed for the control and the feed additive groups. However, this diversity was very similar in the antibiotic group throughout the trial. Interestingly, a clear increase in abundance of Bacillus and Lactobacillus spp was detected within the feed additive group versus the antibiotic and control groups. In conclusion, the feed additive group had a positive effect in the endogenous microbiota of post-weaning pigs increasing both, the diversity of bacterial families and the abundance of lactic acid bacteria during the post-weaning period.

Correct wiring of the mushroom body neuropil in the Drosophila brain involves appropriate positioning of different axonal lobes, as well as the sister branches that develop from individual axons. This positioning requires the integration of various guidance cues provided by different cell types, which help the axons find their final positions within the neuropil. Semaphorins are well known for their conserved roles in neuronal development and axon guidance. We investigated the role of Sema-1a in mushroom body (MB) development more closely. We show that Sema-1a is expressed in the MBs as well as surrounding structures, including the glial transient interhemispheric fibrous ring (TIFR), throughout development. By loss- and gain-of-function experiments, we show that the MB axons display lobe and sister branch-specific Sema-1a signaling, which controls different aspects of axon outgrowth and guidance. Furthermore, we demonstrate that these effects are modulated by the integration of MB intrinsic and extrinsic Sema-1a signaling pathways involving PlexA and PlexB. Finally, we also show a role for neuronal- glial interaction in Sema-1a dependent β-lobe outgrowth.