Abstract
Arthrospira platensis (Spirulina) is a microalga with a high content of crude protein. It has a recalcitrant cell wall that limits the accessibility of the animal endogenous enzymes to its intracellular nutrients. Enzymatic supplementation aiming to degrade cell walls could benefit microalgae digestibility. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of dietary Spirulina and lysozyme supplementation over the muscle proteome of piglets during the post-weaning stage. Thirty piglets were randomly distributed among three diets: control (no microalga), SP (10% Spirulina) and SP + L (10% Spirulina +0.01% lysozyme). After 4 weeks, they were sacrificed and samples of the longissimus lumborum muscle were taken. The muscle proteome was analysed using a Tandem Mass Tag (TMT)-based quantitative approach. A total of 832 proteins were identified. Three comparisons were computed: SP vs Ctrl, SP + L vs Ctrl and SP + L vs SP. They had ten, four and twelve differentially abundant proteins. Glycogen metabolism and nutrient reserves utilization are increased in the SP piglets. Structural muscle protein synthesis increased, causing higher energy requirements in SP + L piglets. Our results demonstrate the usefulness of proteomics to disclose the effect of dietary microalgae, whilst unveiling putative mechanisms derived from lysozyme supplementation. Data available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD024083. SignificanceSpirulina, a microalga, is an alternative to conventional crops which could enhance the environmental sustainability of animal production. Due to its recalcitrant cell wall, its use requires additional measures to prevent anti-nutritional effects on the feeding of piglets in the post-weaning period, during which they endure post-weaning stress. One of such measures could be CAZyme supplementation to help degrade the cell wall during digestion. Muscle proteomics provides insightful data on the effect of dietary microalgae and enzyme activity on piglet metabolism.
Highlights
Global population is rapidly increasing, as are living standards, which are expected to greatly increase the demand and price of animal products, such as meat or eggs [1]
Our results demonstrate the usefulness of proteomics to disclose the effect of dietary microalgae, whilst unveiling putative mechanisms derived from lysozyme supplementation
The same relation was found for average daily gain (ADG)
Summary
Global population is rapidly increasing, as are living standards, which are expected to greatly increase the demand and price of animal products, such as meat or eggs [1]. Soybean meal and maize are essentially produced in American countries, like Argentina, Brazil and the United States of America [3], and are exported to major markets for animal production, namely China and the European Union. The production of these crops raises questions on its sustainability [4], given the high transportation costs and resulting green house gas emissions. Animal nutritionists should establish strategies to improve nutrient digestibility when formulating diets including the raw biomass of microalgae One of such strategies is the supplementation of carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) to promote the degradation of the cell wall [6]
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