Combined Omics Analysis Further Unveils the Specific Role of Butyrate in Promoting Growth in Early-Weaning Animals

Abstract

Abnormal mutations in the microbial structure of early-weaning mammals are an important cause of enteritis. Based on the multiple known beneficial functions of butyrate, we hypothesized that butyrate would alleviate the imbalance of intestinal homeostasis induced by early weaning in animals. However, the mechanisms of action between butyrate and intestinal microbes are still poorly explored. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether butyrate exerts beneficial effects on the structure of the intestinal flora of weanling rabbits and their intestinal homeostasis, growth and development, and we attempted to elucidate the potential mechanisms of action through a combined omics analysis. We found that dietary butyrate upregulated the transcription of tight junction-related proteins in the epithelial barrier and improved the intestinal microbial structure by suppressing harmful bacteria and promoting beneficial ones. Intestinal and plasma metabolomes were also altered. The bile acid secretion, α-linolenic acid, apoptotic, and prostate cancer pathways responded to the positive dietary butyrate-induced metabolic changes in the weanling rabbits, resulting in the inhibition of inflammation, improved antioxidant capacity, increased rates of cell proliferation and survival, and decreased levels of apoptosis. Additionally, dietary butyrate suppressed the release of pro-inflammatory factors and enhanced positive appetite regulation, which increased the average daily gain of the rabbits. These results demonstrated that dietary butyrate can help maintain the integrity of the intestinal epithelial barrier, improve the structural composition of the intestinal microflora, enhance organismal metabolism, inhibit inflammation, reduce post-weaning anorexia, and promote growth and development in early-weaning rabbits. These positive effects of dietary butyrate were exerted via the modulation of the microbe–gut–brain axis.

Gut–brain bidirectional determination in regulating the residual feed intake of small-sized meat ducks

“…Studies have indicated that the relationship between the host and gut microbiome is mutualistic, with the host provision of hospitable niches and undigested food for the microbiome, and the feedback of these microorganisms with secondary metabolites and neuroactive components ( Mörkl et al, 2020 ; Berding et al, 2021 ; Zhao et al, 2021 ). Recent studies on bidirectional gut–brain interactions have indicated significant regulatory effects on physiological and gastrointestinal homeostatic functions ( Reyer et al, 2018 ; Mayer et al, 2022 ; Zhang et al, 2023 ). Microbiomes, in either the gastrointestinal tract or skin, combined with their metabolites, have been identified as a major source of information signaling, and influenced the central nervous system either directly through systemic circulation or indirectly by interacting with gut-based enteroendocrine cells ( Agirman et al, 2021 ).…”