Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
K. K. Lyderik, J. G. Madsen, C. Larsen, M. L. M. Pedersen, N. J. Kjeldsen, A. R. Williams, M. S. Hedemann, C. Amdi
Summary: Increasing age and providing liquid creep feed could potentially increase the solid feed intake in pre-weaning piglets, promoting gut maturation and post-weaning feed intake. This study aimed to investigate the effect of feeding dry vs. liquid creep feed and weaning age on weight, enzyme activity, and gene expression in the small intestine of piglets. The results showed that weaning age and feeding strategy affected weaning weight and weight gain, but did not affect enzyme activity or gene expression in the small intestine.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Sophie A. Lee, Erica Febery, Pete Wilcock, Michael R. Bedford
Summary: The study found that offering creep feed or supplementing phytase can improve feed efficiency in weaning piglets and help them adapt to weaning, although it does not directly reduce stress.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Kimmie Kyed Lyderik, Xuwen Zhang, Christina Larsen, Niels Jorgen Kjeldsen, Marie Louise Madelung Pedersen, Mette Skou Hedemann, Andrew Richard Williams, Charlotte Amdi, Johannes Gulmann Madsen
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the effects of weaning time (week 4 vs week 5) and feed type (liquid vs dry) on growth performance, disaccharidase activity, and nutrient transporter expression after weaning. The results showed that pigs fed liquid feed had lower maltase activity but higher expression of SGLT-1. Pigs weaned in week 5 were heavier than those weaned in week 4. Overall, liquid feed promoted weight gain during the early post-weaning period and at nine weeks.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Hao Chen, Chunwei Wang, You Wang, Yilin Chen, Meng Wan, Jiadong Zhu, Aixia Zhu
Summary: The study demonstrated that SPCF improved piglet growth performance and intestinal health, particularly showing advantages in the pre-weaning period.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yu Bai, Zhenyu Wang, Xingjian Zhou, Yaowen Zhang, Hao Ye, Haotian Wang, Yu Pi, Shuai Lian, Dandan Han, Junjun Wang
Summary: Ingestion of xylooligosaccharides (Xos) can improve growth performance and feed efficiency in suckling piglets, while xylan (Xyl) ingestion may have negative effects on feed efficiency and hindgut fermentation capacity of weanling piglets.
Review
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Jean-Paul Lalles, Carlos A. Montoya
Summary: Recent studies on alternatives to in-feed antibiotics have focused on the impact on immune response and gut function, with functional nutrients and probiotics showing promising anti-inflammatory properties in young pigs.
ANIMAL FEED SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Bo Deng, Jie Wu, Xuan Liu, Qian Ma, Xin Tao, Keke Qi, Xinping Diao, Ziwei Xu
Summary: This study evaluated the effects of extruded corn with different gelatinization degrees on weaning piglets. It showed that extruded corn can improve feed preference, increase growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and modify gut microbiota. The ideal degree of gelatinization was found to be approximately 41.82-62.60%.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Tz-Shian Liao, Ching-Yi Chen, Chuan-Shun Lin, Cheng-Wei T. Chang, Jon Y. Takemoto, Yuan-Yu Lin
Summary: This study aimed to test the efficacy of mesobiliverdin IXa-enriched microalgae (MBV IXa-enriched microalgae) in promoting intestinal health in weaned piglets without the use of antibiotics. The results showed that MBV IXa-enriched microalgae improved gut health by increasing villus height and reducing the secretion of inflammatory cytokines.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY AND ANIMAL NUTRITION
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Leopoldo Malcorra de Almeida, Vitor Augusto Bernardini Zavelinski, Katiucia Cristine Sonalio, Kariny Fonseca da Silva, Keysuke Muramatsu, Alex Maiorka
Summary: The study evaluated the effect of particle size in pelleted diet on nutrient digestibility and growth performance of weaning piglets, showing that older weaning pigs respond better to increasing particle size. The optimal particle size for pelleted feed is 534 μm for pre-initial phase and 943 μm for initial phase, with finer particle sizes resulting in better feed utilization efficiency during the initial phase.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Md Karim Uddin, Shah Hasan, Md Rayhan Mahmud, Olli Peltoniemi, Claudio Oliviero
Summary: Supplementing sow and piglet diets with resin acid-enriched composition (RAC) can modulate gut microbiota, reduce inflammation, improve growth performance of post-weaning piglets, and prevent post-weaning diarrhea. RAC is a potential natural feed supplement to improve piglet growth performance and is an alternative to antibiotics for preventing post-weaning diarrhea.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Jade M. Sands, Lucas A. Rodrigues, Michael O. Wellington, Josiane C. Panisson, Daniel A. Columbus
Summary: The provision of creep feed, regardless of type, increased the growth of piglets in the final week pre-weaning and immediate week post-weaning, but this effect was not sustained at the end of the nursery period. Piglets showed no preference for creep feed type.
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Martin Lessard, Guylaine Talbot, Nadia Bergeron, Luca Lo Verso, Bruno Morissette, Etienne Yergeau, Jacques J. Matte, Nathalie Bissonnette, Mylene Blais, Joshua Gong, Qi Wang, Sylvain Quessy, Frederic Guay
Summary: This study aimed to evaluate the potential of micronutrients and feed additives to modulate intestinal microbiota and immune responses in weaned pigs infected with Salmonella. The results show that the addition of bovine colostrum, vitamins, and a mixture of feed additives to the weaning diet can mitigate the influence of Salmonella infection on intestinal microbial populations and modulate systemic and intestinal immune defenses.
VETERINARY IMMUNOLOGY AND IMMUNOPATHOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Santi-Devi Upadhaya, In-Ho Kim
Summary: This review focuses on the impact of weaning stress on piglet gut health, as well as the use of feed additives to mitigate production inefficiencies and gut health problems. Weaning stress affects piglets' immune response, digestion, and absorption capacity, leading to reduced growth rates and increased susceptibility to pathogens. Feed additives have been reported to help alleviate the negative effects of weaning stress on piglets.
Article
Toxicology
Janneke Elzinga, Menno Grouls, Guido J. E. J. Hooiveld, Meike van der Zande, Hauke Smidt, Hans Bouwmeester
Summary: There is a need for standardized in vitro models of the human intestinal tract to study intestinal health without using animals. The Caco-2 cell line is a widely accepted and characterized model for studying intestinal drug transport, host-microbe interactions, and toxicity. We investigated the effect of different experimental variables on gene expression using transcriptome analysis of Caco-2 cells grown on permeable membranes. Our analysis revealed a weak association between experimental variables and gene expression, possibly due to heterogeneity in cell culture practice and inadequate reporting. This highlights the need for improved reporting protocols and serves as a template for future comparative studies.
ARCHIVES OF TOXICOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Sara N. Jimenez-Volkerink, Joaquim Vila, Maria Jordan, Cristina Minguillon, Hauke Smidt, Magdalena Grifoll
Summary: Polar biotransformation products have been found to cause an increase in genotoxicity after the bioremediation of PAH-contaminated soils. The microorganisms and mechanisms underlying their further biodegradation have not been fully understood.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
D. J. M. Barnett, M. F. Endika, C. E. Klostermann, F. Gu, C. Thijs, A. Nauta, H. A. Schols, H. Smidt, I. C. W. Arts, J. Penders
Summary: The infant gut microbiota is influenced by antibiotic exposures and prebiotic oligosaccharides found in breast milk. This study analyzed the stool microbiota of 1023 one-month-old infants and found that breastfeeding and antibiotic exposure both decrease gut microbial diversity, but have different effects on microbiota composition. Other factors such as C-section, homebirth, siblings, and exposure to animals also impact microbiota composition. Understanding these factors can help protect and promote a healthy infant gut microbiota.
Article
Agricultural Engineering
M. Atasoy, W. T. Scott Jr., K. van Gijn, J. J. Koehorst, H. Smidt, A. A. M. Langenhoff
Summary: Optimizing bioreactor performance is crucial for sustainable and energy-efficient removal of micropollutants in tertiary treatment. The resident microbial community plays a significant role in bioreactor performance, hence a deeper understanding of community dynamics is essential. By characterizing the microbial communities in three different bioreactors used for organic matter removal, an interdependency between bioreactor performance and microbial community profile was observed. A generalized Lotka-Volterra model was established to understand the interactions in the microbial community and develop strategies for improving bioreactor performance.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Yangwenshan Ou, Clara Belzer, Hauke Smidt, Carolina de Weerth
Summary: The study investigated the development of gut microbiota in children during the first 14 years of life and its relation to mental health problems in puberty. The analysis of fecal microbiota composition revealed the presence of four distinct microbial clusters in puberty. Prevotella 9 and Faecalibacterium were found to be associated with externalizing behavior and social anxiety, respectively. Further studies are needed to validate these findings and explore the underlying mechanisms.
EUROPEAN CHILD & ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Review
Pediatrics
Desiree F. Baaleman, Carrie A. M. Wegh, Tessa J. M. de Leeuw, Faridi S. van Etten-Jamaludin, Elaine E. Vaughan, Margriet H. C. Schoterman, Clara Belzer, Hauke Smidt, Merit M. Tabbers, Marc A. Benninga, Ilan J. N. Koppen
Summary: A systematic review was conducted to estimate normal reference values for defecation frequency and stool consistency in healthy children up to age 4. The results showed that younger infants have a higher frequency of defecation compared to young children, and the type of feeding and age also have an impact on defecation frequency and stool consistency.
JOURNAL OF PEDIATRICS
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Martha F. Endika, David J. M. Barnett, Cynthia E. Klostermann, Henk A. Schols, Ilja C. W. Arts, John Penders, Arjen Nauta, Hauke Smidt, Koen Venema
Summary: Antibiotic exposure disrupts infant gut microbiota, but the ability to recover from this disruption depends on the type of antibiotic. This study investigated the effect of two common infant prebiotics, 2'-fucosyllactose (2'-FL) and galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS), on the resilience of the gut microbiota after exposure to amoxicillin/clavulanate. The results showed that the prebiotics supported the recovery of the microbiota and restored the production of beneficial fatty acids.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Andrea Aldas-Vargas, Jannigje G. G. Kers, Hauke Smidt, Huub H. M. Rijnaarts, Nora B. B. Sutton
Summary: Groundwater in The Netherlands is the main source of drinking water, but pesticide presence threatens its quality. Biodegradation is a natural process that can help remove pesticides. However, the oligotrophic groundwater conditions may limit biodegradation due to the lack of microbial communities capable of degrading pesticides. In this study, bioaugmentation with enriched mixed inocula was used to enhance pesticide biodegradation, and the effect of different redox conditions on biodegradation was observed.
Article
Ecology
Asimenia Gavriilidou, Burak Avci, Anastasia Galani, Michelle A. Schorn, Colin J. Ingham, Thijs J. G. Ettema, Hauke Smidt, Detmer Sipkema
Summary: Using genome-centric metagenomics, researchers revealed the phylogenomic placement of the candidate phylum Dadabacteria and predicted the metabolism of sponge-associated members. The results showed that these strains are aerobic heterotrophs capable of synthesizing amino acids, vitamins and cofactors, degrading complex carbohydrates, and exhibiting host-specific gene adaptations. Additionally, fluorescence in situ hybridization revealed the morphology and lifestyle of a member of Ca. Desulfobacterota.
Review
Microbiology
Angela Sessitsch, Steve Wakelin, Michael Schloter, Emmanuelle Maguin, Tomislav Cernava, Marie-Christine Champomier-Verges, Trevor C. Charles, Paul D. Cotter, Ilario Ferrocino, Aicha Kriaa, Pedro Lebre, Don Cowan, Lene Lange, Seghal Kiran, Lidia Markiewicz, Annelein Meisner, Marta Olivares, Inga Sarand, Bettina Schelkle, Joseph Selvin, Hauke Smidt, Leo van Overbeek, Gabriele Berg, Luca Cocolin, Yolanda Sanz, Wilson Lemos Fernandes, S. J. Liu, Matthew Ryan, Brajesh Singh, Tanja Kostic
Summary: Microbiomes play crucial roles in ecosystem functioning, supporting planetary health through nutrient cycling, climate regulation, and water filtration. They are closely associated with complex multicellular organisms and contribute to the health of their hosts. However, there is still limited understanding of microbiome transfer and connectivity.
MICROBIOLOGY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Taojun Wang, Nils Leibrock, Caroline M. Plugge, Hauke Smidt, Erwin G. Zoetendal
Summary: Methanogens, reductive acetogens, and sulfate-reducing bacteria interact with each other in gut ecosystems, and their interactions may vary depending on environmental conditions.
Article
Environmental Sciences
James M. Tiedje, Yuhao Fu, Zhi Mei, Andreas Schaeffer, Qingyuan Dou, Wulf Amelung, Martin Elsner, Joseph Adu-Gyamfi, Lee Heng, Marko Virta, Xin Jiang, Hauke Smidt, Edward Topp, Fang Wang
Summary: The imprudent use of antibiotics in food production contributes to the spread of antibiotic resistance. This review emphasizes the need for collaborative efforts and preventive measures to mitigate the problem. Strategies such as heightened awareness, strengthened governance, and integrated surveillance systems are proposed to alleviate the burden of antibiotic resistance.
CURRENT OPINION IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Caifang Wen, Mirelle Geervliet, Hugo de Vries, Lluis Faba, Petra J. Roubos-van den Hil, Kerstin Skovgaard, Huub F. J. Savelkoul, Henk A. Schols, Jerry M. Wells, Edwin Tijhaar, Hauke Smidt
Summary: The study found that adding a fermented feed additive - rye overgrown with mycelium of Agaricus subrufescens can modulate gut microbiota and immune system development in pigs. This supplementation may contribute to improving the health of piglets during the weaning transition period and reducing the use of antibiotics.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Sara N. Jimenez-Volkerink, Maria Jordan, Hauke Smidt, Cristina Minguillon, Joaquim Vila, Magdalena Grifoll
Summary: By studying a specific microbial consortium in PAH-contaminated soils, it was discovered that the degradation of the carcinogenic compound BaAQ may occur through the Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenase (BVMOs) pathway, and that horizontal gene transfer may play a significant role in this degradation process.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Yangwenshan Ou, Eline Rots, Clara Belzer, Hauke Smidt, Carolina de Weerth
Summary: An increasing number of studies have shown the connection between gut microbiota and mental health. This study investigated the composition of gut microbiota in low-risk children during early puberty, and explored the behavioral associations with gut microbiota composition and metabolites. The study also explored the potential role of sex in these associations.