Abstract
Successful establishment of passive immunity (PIT) and regulation of intestinal microbiota are crucial for ruminants to maintain body health and reduce the risk of disease during the neonatal period. Thus, the objective of this study was to investigate the effects of mannan oligosaccharide (MOS) supplementation on passive transfer of immunoglobulin G (IgG), serum inflammatory cytokines and antioxidant levels as well as bacteria composition in the ileal digesta. A total of 14 healthy neonatal Ganxi black goats with similar birth weight (BW: 2.35 ± 0.55 kg) were selected and allocated into two groups, only fed colostrum and milk replacer (CON, n = 7) and supplemented MOS (0.06% of birth BW) in the colostrum and milk replacer (MOS, n = 7). The results indicated that MOS supplementation significantly reduced (p < 0.05) serum IgG level at 3 and 6 h after colostrum feeding. Serum GLP-1 level of goats in the MOS group was significantly lower (p = 0.001) than that in the CON group. Goats in the MOS group had higher serum CAT and lower MDA level than those in the CON group (p < 0.05). Serum anti-inflammatory cytokine level of interleukin 4 (IL-4) was increased (p < 0.05), while pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6 level was reduced (p < 0.05) in the MOS group when compared with the CON group. In addition, MOS supplementation remarkably increased (p < 0.05) the level of secretory IgA (sIgA) in the ileal digesta. Principal coordinate analysis of 16S rRNA sequence based on Brinary jaccard, Bray curtis, and weighted UniFrac distance of ileal microbiota showed a distinct microbial differentiation between the CON and MOS groups (p < 0.05). The relative abundance of Firmicutes in the MOS group was higher than that in the CON group, while the abundance of Verrucomicrobia was lower in the MOS group than that in the CON group at the phylum level (p < 0.05). The relative abundance of Proteobacteria tended to decrease (p = 0.078) in the MOS group at the phylum level. The results of LEfSe analysis showed that MOS group was characterized by a higher relative abundance of Lactobacillus, while the CON group was represented by a higher relative abundance of Akkermansia and Ruminiclostridium_5. Our findings demonstrated that MOS supplementation during the neonatal period increases antioxidant capacity and reduces the inflammatory response, and promotes IgA secretion and Lactobacillus colonization in the ileum. Thus, MOS induced positive effects are more pronounced in neonatal goats that might be an effective approach to maintain intestinal health and improve the surviving rate of neonatal ruminants.
Highlights
The morbidity and mortality of newborn ruminants is the main factor that largely restricts the development of animal husbandry and farm profitability (Dwyer et al, 2016)
Neonatal goats fed with MOS had significantly lower immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentration at 3 (p = 0.023) and 6 h (p = 0.022) when compared with the CON group (Figure 2A)
Functional oligosaccharides characterized by promoting immunity, suppressing pathogenic bacteria, and maintaining intestinal health have received extensive attention (Guerra-Ordaz et al, 2013; Tran et al, 2018)
Summary
The morbidity and mortality of newborn ruminants is the main factor that largely restricts the development of animal husbandry and farm profitability (Dwyer et al, 2016). Colostrum is rich in immunoglobulin, immune-stimulating peptides, and antimicrobial agents (Micha et al, 2020) It is a crucial vehicle for neonatal ruminants to establish passive immunity (PIT) due to their special synepitheliochorial placenta structure that does not empower the transfer of aforementioned immune factors from the dam to the fetus (Borghesi et al, 2014). Feeding heat-treated colostrum during the first 12 h after birth can enhance the colonization of Bifidobacterium and reduce the prevalence of E. coli in the small intestine of the calve (Malmuthuge et al, 2015). These results indicate the role of heat-treated colostrum in PIT transfer and beneficial bacteria colonization of ruminants, which can be used to maintain intestinal health during the neonatal period
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