Interaction Between Liver Metabolism and Gut Short-Chain Fatty Acids via Liver–Gut Axis Affects Body Weight in Lambs

Abstract

The gut–liver axis and its interactions are essential for host physiology. Thus, we examined the jejunal microbiota, fermentation parameters, digestive enzymes, morphology, and liver metabolic profiles in different growth development lambs to investigate the liver–gut axis’s role in their development. One hundred male Hu lambs of similar birth weight and age were raised under the same conditions until they reached 180 days of age. Subsequently, the eight lambs with the highest (HADG) and lowest (LADG) average daily weight gains were slaughtered for index assessment. The study indicates that the body weight, carcass weight, propanoic acid, butyric acid, propanoic acid ratio, butyric acid ratio, and digestive enzymes (beta-glucosidase, microcrystalline cellulase, xylanase, and carboxymethyl cellulase) were significantly higher in HDAG lambs than in LADG lambs (p < 0.05). Additionally, there were no significant differences in the jejunal microbiota’s structure and function among lambs at different growth development stages (p > 0.05). Overall, our analysis revealed that HADG lambs compared to LADG lambs exhibited an up-regulation of metabolites (such as spermine, cholic acid, succinic acid, betaine, etc.) that were positively correlated with the butyric acid ratio, propanoic acid ratio, propanoic acid, xylanase, microcrystalline cellulase, beta-glucosidase, amylase, carboxymethyl cellulase, carcass weight, and body weight, while these metabolites were negatively correlated with the kidney, acetic acid, acetic acid/ propanoic acid, and acetic acid ratio. Furthermore, there was a significant correlation between liver metabolism and jejunal microbiota. This study revealed significant differences in hepatic metabolites and jejunal fermentation among lambs at different growth stages, which may inform targeted regulation strategies to enhance lamb productivity.