Project description:Phytogenic feed additives offer health benefits, improved overall performance and well-being in poultry production and provide an alternative to in-feed antibiotics. In this experiment, post-peak laying hens were fed for a period of 4 weeks either Control or Supplemental diet, a phytogenic feed additive based with essential oils from thyme (Thymus vulgaris) and star anis (Illicium verum) as well as Quillaja bark (Quillaja Saponaria). RNA sequencing was performed in the pancreas, kidney, uterus and large-white follicles of 10 birds from each dietary groups at the end of the trial.
Project description:Individual male broilers (Cobb500; n=16) were allotted to 4 experimental diets containing either no phytogenic feed additives, an essential oil blend, saponin extract or a combination of both phytogenic preparations. Liver samples were used for transcriptome profiling.
Project description:Individual male broilers (Cobb500; n=16) were allotted to 4 experimental diets containing either no phytogenic feed additives, an essential oil blend, saponin extract or a combination of both phytogenic preparations. Jejunum samples were used for transcriptome profiling.
Project description:This study aimed to explore the changes in miRNAome in the rumen epithelium during diet transition from forage to high-grain and the modulation through supplementation with phytogenic feed additives (PHY).
Project description:This study aimed to explore the changes in global gene expression in the epithelial transcriptome during diet transition from forage to high-grain and the modulation through supplementation with phytogenic feed additives (PHY).
Project description:Copper (Cu) is not only one of the essential trace elements for animal body, but also an important nutrient component for normal physiology and metabolism of animal reproductive system. Lack or excess of copper will directly or indirectly affect animal reproductive activities. However, the effect of copper on reproductive performance of boars and sows has not been studied and the effect of excessive Copper addition on reproductive performance of sows is even less, and the molecular mechanism is poorly understood. Here, we document that copper has the negative effects on the oocyte maturation and Organelle function. We show that copper exposure perturbs the porcine oocyte meiotic maturation and impair the spindle/chromosome structure, displaying an obviously defective spindle assembly, and abnormal distribution of actin dynamics and cortical granules. In addition, single-cell transcriptome analysis identifies target effectors of copper in porcine oocytes, which was further demonstrated that copper exposure affects the distribution and function of mitochondria, and high ROS levels, DNA damage, and early apoptosis in porcine oocytes. Collectively, we demonstrate that copper exposure causes abnormalities in mitochondrial function and distribution, resulting in increased oxidative stress ROS levels, DNA damage and apoptosis, ultimately leading to decreased quality of porcine oocytes.
Project description:We have used computational and experimental biology approaches to identify candidate mechanisms of action of a traditional Chinese medicine; Compound Kushen Injection (CKI), in a breast cancer cell line in which CKI has been shown to cause apoptosis. Because CKI is a complex mixture of plant secondary metabolites, we used a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) fractionation and reconstitution approach to define chemical fractions required for CKI to induce apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 cells. Our initial fractionation separated major from minor compounds, and showed that the major compounds accounted for little of the activity of CKI. By systematically perturbing the major compounds in CKI we found that removal of no single major compound could alter the effect of CKI on cell viability and apoptosis. However, simultaneous removal of two major compounds identified oxymatrine and oxysophocarpine as critical compounds with respect to CKI activity. We then used RNA sequencing and transcriptome analysis to correlate compound removal with gene expression and phenotype data. We determined that many compounds in CKI are required for its effectiveness in triggering apoptosis but that significant modulation of its activity is conferred by a small number of compounds. In conclusion, CKI may be typical of many plant based extracts that contain many compounds in that no single compound is responsible for all of the bioactivity of the mixture and that many compounds interact in a complex fashion to influence a network containing many targets.
