Dynamic distribution of gut microbiota in cattle at different breeds and health states. Frontiers in microbiology Weining cattle is a precious species with high tolerance to cold, disease, and stress, and accounts for a large proportion of agricultural economic output in Guizhou, China. However, there are gaps in information about the intestinal flora of Weining cattle. In this study, high-throughput sequencing were employed to analyze the intestinal flora of Weining cattle (WN), Angus cattle (An), and diarrheal Angus cattle (DA), and explore the potential bacteria associated with diarrhea. We collected 18 fecal samples from Weining, Guizhou, including Weining cattle, Healthy Angus, and Diarrheal Angus. The results of intestinal microbiota analysis showed there were no significant differences in intestinal flora diversity and richness among groups ( > 0.05). The abundance of beneficial bacteria (, , , and ) in Weining cattle were significantly higher than in Angus cattle ( < 0.05). The potential pathogens including and were enriched in the DA group. Furthermore, the abundance of was very high in the WN group ( < 0.05), which might explain why Weining cattle are less prone to diarrhea. This is the first report on the intestinal flora of Weining cattle, furthering understanding of the relationship between intestinal flora and health. 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1113730

Ruminant cold stress: effect on production. Young B A Journal of animal science A review is presented of biological issues and practical consequences of the effects of cold stress on ruminant animals. When animals are subjected to extreme cold stress, substantial dietary energy may be diverted from productive functions to the generation of body heat. Failure to produce sufficient heat can result in death. More often, however, cold stress leads to the development of secondary changes and possibly disease. With prolonged exposure to even mildly cold conditions, physiological adaptation occurs in animals resulting in increases in thermal insulation, appetite and basal metabolic intensity, as well as alterations in digestive functions. Much of the reduced productivity, and in particular the reduced nutritional efficiency, observed in ruminant production systems during the colder part of the year, can be accounted for by these adaptive changes. 10.2527/jas1983.5761601x

Impact of Cold Stress on Physiological, Endocrinological, Immunological, Metabolic, and Behavioral Changes of Beef Cattle at Different Stages of Growth. Animals : an open access journal from MDPI The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of cold stress (CS) on the physiological, blood, and behavioral parameters of beef cattle according to their growth stage. Twelve calves in the growing stages (220.4 ± 12.33 kg, male and non-castrated) and twelve steers in the early fattening stages (314.2 ± 18.44 kg) were used in this experiment. The animals were randomly distributed into three homogenized groups (four animals each) for 14 days, namely threshold, mild-moderate cold stress (MCS), and extreme cold stress (ECS), according to the outside ambient temperature. The feed and water intakes were recorded daily. The physiological parameters, blood parameters, and behavioral patterns were measured weekly. All data were analyzed using repeated-measures analysis. The calves exposed to the ECS decreased ( < 0.064, tendency) their dry matter intake compared to the threshold and MCS groups. The HR and RT increased ( < 0.001) in the ECS compared to the threshold in calves and steers. Moreover, increased ( < 0.05) blood cortisol, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), and time spent standing were observed after exposure to ECS in calves and steers. However, the calves exposed to the ECS had decreased ( = 0.018) blood glucose levels compared to the threshold. In conclusion, ECS affects the dry matter intake, HR, RT, blood cortisol, NEFA, and behavioral patterns in beef calves and steers. This phenomenon indicated that beef cattle exposed to CS modulated their behavior and blood parameters as well as their physiological response to maintain homeostasis regardless of the growth stage. 10.3390/ani13061073

Investigating the Short-Term Effects of Cold Stress on Metabolite Responses and Metabolic Pathways in Inner-Mongolia Sanhe Cattle. Hu Lirong,Brito Luiz F,Abbas Zaheer,Sammad Abdul,Kang Ling,Wang Dongsheng,Wu Hongjun,Liu Airong,Qi Guiqiang,Zhao Man,Wang Yachun,Xu Qing Animals : an open access journal from MDPI Inner-Mongolia Sanhe cattle are well-adapted to low-temperature conditions, but the metabolic mechanisms underlying their climatic resilience are still unknown. Based on the H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance platform, 41 metabolites were identified and quantified in the serum of 10 heifers under thermal neutrality (5 °C), and subsequent exposure to hyper-cold temperature (-32 °C) for 3 h. Subsequently, 28 metabolites were pre-filtrated, and they provided better performance in multivariate analysis than that of using 41 metabolites. This indicated the need for pre-filtering of the metabolome data in a paired experimental design. In response to the cold exposure challenge, 19 metabolites associated with cold stress response were identified, mainly enriched in "aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis" and "valine, leucine, and isoleucine degradation". A further integration of metabolome and gene expression highlighted the functional roles of the (dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase), (tryptophanyl-tRNA synthetase), and (arginyl-tRNA synthetase) genes in metabolic pathways of valine and leucine. Furthermore, the essential regulations of (solute carrier family 30 (zinc transporter), member 6) in metabolic transportation for propionate, acetate, valine, and leucine under severe cold exposure were observed. Our findings presented a comprehensive characterization of the serum metabolome of Inner-Mongolia Sanhe cattle, and contributed to a better understanding of the crucial roles of regulations in metabolites and metabolic pathways during cold stress events in cattle. 10.3390/ani11092493

Detection of functional polymorphisms in the hsp70 gene and association with cold stress response in Inner-Mongolia Sanhe cattle. Cell stress & chaperones The genetic mechanisms underlying the cattle resilience to severe cold temperatures are still unknown. In this study, we observed that four blood biochemical parameters were significantly altered, i.e., blood adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4), and potassium (K) after expose to - 32 °C for 3 h. This was observed using 105 healthy Sanhe heifers with similar weight (398.17 ± 34.06 kg) and age (19.30 ± 4.91 months). A total of 20 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified in 5'-flanking region of the hsp70 gene in Sanhe cattle, while only 10 SNPs were segregating when comparing genetic variations between Sanhe cattle and 285 Chinese Holstein samples. Statistically significant associations between the genomic markers SNP-42, SNP-105, SNP-181, and SNP-205 with blood T3 and between SNP-105 and blood T4 were observed by applying the general linear model procedure and Bonferroni t test. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the T alleles of SNP-42 and SNP-205 in the GC box and Kozak sequence of the hsp70 gene, respectively, significantly decreased the green fluorescent proteins activity in vitro GFP reporter assays. These findings suggest that these two SNPs are causative polymorphisms involved in the regulation of hsp70 promoter activity and might contribute to the observed association between the hsp70 gene and T3 and T4 levels in Sanhe cattle. Thus, hsp70 gene is a promising candidate gene to be validated in independent cattle populations and functional studies related to cold stress resilience in cattle. 10.1007/s12192-019-00973-5