Abstract
ABSTRACTUse of probiotic supplements as a non-chemical approach to promote health has increased in animal production. The present study evaluated the effect of oral probiotic administration on growth and global gene expression profile in dairy cows. Lactating Holstein-Friesian cows received a daily dose (50 ml) of a commercial probiotic (containing Lactobacillus acidophilus, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Enterococcus faecium, Aspergillus oryza and Bacillus subtilis) for 60 days. A microarray experiment was performed with blood collected at day-0 and day-60. Although probiotic supplementation had no effect on body weight, PCV and total protein concentration in plasma (P > 0.05), per cent lymphocyte count increased (P < 0.05), and per cent neutrophil count decreased (P < 0.05) in probiotic-treated animals. Gene expression analysis identified 10,859 differentially expressed genes, 1168 up-regulated and 9691 down-regulated genes, respectively, following probiotic treatment. Single experiment pathway analysis identified 87 bovine pathways impacted by probiotic treatment. These pathways included the Toll-like receptor (TLR), inflammation response and Wingless signalling pathways. Oral administration of probiotics to dairy cows had a systemic effect on global gene expression, such as on genes involved in immunity and homeostasis. The results of this study show that the utilization of probiotics in animal agriculture impacts genes important to dairy cow health and production.
Highlights
Utilization of probiotic supplements to promote health has increased in animal production (Song et al 2012)
The average Body weight (BW) and Packed Cell Volume (PCV) measured at day 0 was 1616 kg and 28%, respectively
Oral supplementation of probiotic had no effect on BW, PCV and total protein concentration in plasma at the end of the study (P > 0.05)
Summary
Utilization of probiotic supplements to promote health has increased in animal production (Song et al 2012). Probiotics enhance growth performance, feed conversion efficiency, microbial ecosystems and immunity (Lee et al 2007; Dhama et al 2008). Several positive influences of probiotics include improvement of production performance, stress reduction, stimulation of host innate immunity and maintenance of a constant lactic acid supply to rumen microbiota (Nocek et al 2002). The positive impact of probiotics is due in part to production of antibacterial substances that are harmful to pathogenic microbes in the gut of animals (Dhama et al 2008). Various multi or monostrains of probiotic microorganisms have been used as feed additives for ruminants (AlZahal et al 2014; Puniya et al 2015) and poultry (Salianeh et al 2011)
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