Xu Baoyang, Qin Wenxia, Chen Yuwen, Huang Juncheng, Ma Libao, Yan Xianghua
National Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Frontiers Science Center for Animal Breeding and Sustainable Production, Hubei Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Pig Precision Feeding and Feed Safety, College of Animal Sciences and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, China; Key Laboratory of Applied Technology on Green-Eco-Healthy Animal Husbandry of Zhejiang Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
National Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Frontiers Science Center for Animal Breeding and Sustainable Production, Hubei Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Pig Precision Feeding and Feed Safety, College of Animal Sciences and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
J Nutr. 2025 Apr;155(4):1089-1098. doi: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2025.02.012. Epub 2025 Feb 19.
Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) have emerged as critical modulators of female reproductive function and host gut microbiota.
This study aimed to investigate the impact of dietary SCFAs supplementation on reproductive performance and gut microbiota in gilts, and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms.
Eighty gilts (95 d old) were randomly assigned to either a control group (Ctrl, 40 gilts) receiving a basal diet, or a SCFAs treatment group (SCFAs, 40 gilts) receiving a basal diet supplemented with 0.13% sodium acetate, 0.11% sodium propionate, and 0.09% sodium butyrate. At third estrus, 13 gilts (6 from Ctrl and 7 from SCFAs) were killed for follicular development and gut microbiota analysis, whereas the remaining gilts completed gestation for reproductive performance assessment.
SCFAs group had higher total number born (11.97 compared with 9.44) and total number born alive (11.28 compared with 9.34) compared with Ctrl group (P < 0.05). SCFAs group had increased counts of secondary follicles (36.14 compared with 26.83), antral follicles (10.29 compared with 6.67), and corpus luteum (25.09 compared with 19.33), alongside had reduced atretic follicles (15.32 compared with 20.67) compared with Ctrl group (P < 0.05). Proteomic analysis revealed that SCFAs-induced differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were significantly enriched in the follicular development-related pathways (P < 0.05). Apoptosis-related DEPs positively correlated with follicular development indices (P < 0.05), consistent with the reduced apoptosis observed in ovarian granulosa cells of the SCFAs group. Additionally, SCFAs supplementation improved both the composition and alpha-diversity (P < 0.05) of gilts' gut microbiota. Furthermore, both the SCFAs-enriched bacteria and plasma SCFAs concentrations showed positive associations with gilts' follicular development indices (P < 0.05).
Dietary SCFAs supplementation enhances reproductive performance in gilts by promoting ovarian follicular maturation and optimizing gut microbiota composition.
短链脂肪酸（SCFAs）已成为女性生殖功能和宿主肠道微生物群的关键调节因子。
本研究旨在探讨日粮补充SCFAs对后备母猪繁殖性能和肠道微生物群的影响，并阐明其潜在机制。
将80头95日龄的后备母猪随机分为对照组（Ctrl，40头），饲喂基础日粮；SCFAs处理组（SCFAs，40头），饲喂补充0.13%乙酸钠、0.11%丙酸钠和0.09%丁酸钠的基础日粮。在第三次发情期，处死13头后备母猪（对照组6头，SCFAs组7头）用于卵泡发育和肠道微生物群分析，其余后备母猪完成妊娠以评估繁殖性能。
与对照组相比，SCFAs组的产仔总数（分别为11.97头和9.44头）和产活仔总数（分别为11.28头和9.34头）更高（P < 0.05）。与对照组相比，SCFAs组的次级卵泡数量（分别为36.14个和26.83个）、窦状卵泡数量（分别为10.29个和6.67个）和黄体数量（分别为25.09个和19.33个）增加，闭锁卵泡数量减少（分别为15.32个和20.67个）（P < 0.05）。蛋白质组学分析显示，SCFAs诱导的差异表达蛋白（DEPs）在卵泡发育相关途径中显著富集（P < 0.05）。凋亡相关的DEPs与卵泡发育指数呈正相关（P < 0.05），这与SCFAs组卵巢颗粒细胞中观察到的凋亡减少一致。此外，补充SCFAs改善了后备母猪肠道微生物群的组成和α多样性（P < 0.05）。此外，富含SCFAs的细菌和血浆SCFAs浓度均与后备母猪的卵泡发育指数呈正相关（P < 0.05）。
日粮补充SCFAs通过促进卵巢卵泡成熟和优化肠道微生物群组成来提高后备母猪的繁殖性能。
