Background and aims Previous study disclosed Fucosyltransferase 2 (Fut2) gene as a IBD risk locus. This study aimed to explore the mechanism of Fut2 in IBD susceptibility and to propose a new strategy for the treatment of IBD. Methods Intestinal epithelium-specific Fut2 knockout (Fut2△IEC) mice was used. Colitis was induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS). The composition and diversity of gut microbiota were assessed via 16S rRNA analysis and the metabolomic findings was obtained from mice feces via metabolite profiling. The fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) experiment was performed to confirm the association of gut microbiota and LPC. WT mice were treated with Lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) to verify its impact on colitis. Results The expression of Fut2 and α-1,2-fucosylation in colonic tissues were decreased in patients with UC (UC vs. control, P = 0.036) and CD (CD vs. control, P = 0.031). When treated with DSS, in comparison to WT mice, more severe intestinal inflammation and destructive barrier functions in Fut2△IEC mice was noted. Lower gut microbiota diversity was observed in Fut2△IEC mice compared with WT mice (p < 0.001). When exposed to DSS, gut bacterial diversity and composition altered obviously in Fut2△IEC mice and the fecal concentration of LPC was increased. FMT experiment revealed that mice received the fecal microbiota from Fut2△IEC mice exhibited more severe colitis and higher fecal LPC concentration. Correlation analysis showed that the concentration of LPC was positively correlated with four bacteria—Escherichia, Bilophila, Enterorhabdus and Gordonibacter. Furthermore, LPC was proved to promote the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and damage epithelial barrier in vitro and in vivo. Conclusion Fut2 and α-1,2-fucosylation in colon were decreased not only in CD but also in UC patients. Gut microbiota in Fut2△IEC mice is altered structurally and functionally, promoting generation of LPC which was proved to promote inflammation and damage epithelial barrier.

Improving the predication efficiency of porcine production performance at early stage will contribute to reducing the breeding and production costs. The intestinal microbiota had received plenty of attention in recent years due to their influence on host health and performance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the fecal microbiota at early growth period and porcine feed efficiency (FE) under a commercial feeding environment. Ninety-one pigs were reordered according to the residual feed intake (RFI) values between day 90 on test and day 160 off test, 9 lowest RFI pigs and 9 highest RFI pigs were selected as the LRFI group and the HRFI group, respectively. Fecal samples from pigs in the early grower phase (day 80) were performed for microbial diversity, composition, and predicted functionality by using 16S rRNA sequencing. The results showed that no significant differences in microbial alpha diversity were observed between two RFI groups, whereas, some RFI-associated compositional differences were revealed. In particular, the microbiota of the LRFI group (more feed-efficient) had significantly higher levels of some members of Clostridiales and Bacteroidales (e.g., g_1_68 and g_norank_f_p_2534_18B5), which may promoted FE through protecting gut barrier function, compared with those of the HRFI pigs. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways analysis found that the LRFI pigs were likely have microbiota with higher levels of amino acid metabolism. Moreover, redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that litter size, parity, and date of birth had significant effects on the bacterial community structure. These results improved our knowledge of the porcine early-life fecal microbiota and its potential link underlying RFI, which would be useful for future development of microbial biomarkers for predicting and improving porcine FE as well as investigation of targets for dietary strategies.

The epigenetic regulation mechanism of porcine skeletal muscle development relies on the openness of chromatin and is also precisely regulated by transcriptional machinery. However, fewer studies have exploited the temporal changes in gene expression and the landscape of accessible chromatin to reveal the underlying molecular mechanisms controlling muscle development. To address this, skeletal muscle biopsy samples were taken from Landrace pigs at days 0 (D0), 60 (D60), 120 (D120), and 180 (D180) after birth and were then analyzed using RNA-seq and ATAC-seq. The RNA-seq analysis identified 8554 effective differential genes, among which ACBD7, TMEM220, and ATP1A2 were identified as key genes related to the development of porcine skeletal muscle. Some potential cis-regulatory elements identified by ATAC-seq analysis contain binding sites for many transcription factors, including SP1 and EGR1, which are also the predicted transcription factors regulating the expression of ACBD7 genes. Moreover, the omics analyses revealed regulatory regions that become ectopically active after birth during porcine skeletal muscle development after birth and identified 151,245, 53,435, 30,494, and 40,911 peaks. The enriched functional elements are related to the cell cycle, muscle development, and lipid metabolism. In summary, comprehensive high-resolution gene expression maps were developed for the transcriptome and accessible chromatin during postnatal skeletal muscle development in pigs.

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