[en] Early life is a critical period for metabolic and immune development, during which nutritional inputs may influence physiological maturation beyond basic nutrient supply. This study evaluated a milk-based nutritional formulation as an early-life intervention in lambs. The study further examined associations with microbial fermentation, systemic metabolism, immune responses, growth performance, and maternal physiological responses. Synthetic milk supplementation resulted in body weight gain and average daily gain in lambs, together with elevated circulating growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-1 levels. Immune indicators, including IgA and IgM, were increased, while pro-inflammatory cytokines were reduced. Supplemented lambs also exhibited higher serum vitamin D3 concentrations and a tendency toward increased calcium levels. At the microbial level, supplementation altered rumen fermentation profiles, characterized by increased acetate and butyrate concentrations and enhanced activities of microbial-associated digestive enzymes, accompanied by shifts in several fermentation-related bacterial genera. Plasma metabolomic analysis revealed alterations in pathways related to amino acid metabolism, mineral absorption, and protein digestion and absorption. In addition, offspring-directed supplementation accompanied by in maternal body condition, immune indices, and plasma metabolic pathways linked to energy metabolism. Overall, these findings indicate that early-life milk-based nutritional supplementation is associated with coordinated microbial, metabolic, and immune responses in lambs and may influence physiological status within the maternal–offspring unit, supporting further investigation of early-life nutritional strategies in food bioscience.
Disciplines :
Animal production & animal husbandry
Author, co-author :
Xie, Yining ; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre ; State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feeding, Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
Jing, Xiaokang; State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feeding, Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
Wang, Junhong; State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feeding, Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
Zhan, Zhaohan; State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feeding, Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
Yi, Bao; State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feeding, Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
Chen, Liang; State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feeding, Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
Zhang, Hongfu; State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feeding, Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
Language :
English
Title :
Synthetic milk as an early-life functional nutritional intervention modulates rumen microbiota, metabolic pathways and immune function in lambs
This research was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program, China ( 2022YFD1302102 ), Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program, China ( ASTIPIAS07 ) and China Scholarship Council, China ( 202503250014 ).
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