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Nutrition and Stress: Integrated Approaches to Assess and Improve Animal Health and Welfare

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A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2020) | Viewed by 30242

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Dr. Jay S. Johnson

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USDA Agricultural Research Service, Livestock Behavior Research Unit, West Lafayette, IN, USA
Interests: animal welfare; bioenergetics; intestinal health; management; nutritional physiology; stress physiology; thermal stress; transport stress; weaning stress

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The interactions between nutrition and stress are multifaceted and complex with each having an influence on the other. Understanding these interactions is a key component to improving the lives of animals in our care and promoting animal agriculture sustainability. Therefore, this Special Issue of Animals addresses the influence of short or long-term animal stressors on aspects of nutritional physiology and/or applied nutrition. Of special interests are studies investigating the influence of prenatal stress and nutrition on the postnatal metabolic response of the offspring, the use of dietary strategies to mitigate the influence of stress on animal health and performance, interactions between early life stress and nutrition, the influence of stress and nutrition on intestinal function and the microbiota, interactions of animal stress and nutrition with immune function and disease resistance, and the use of nutrition to improve behavioral welfare measures in animals. Studies that utilize a multidisciplinary approach are encouraged.

Regards,

Dr. Jay S. Johnson
Guest Editor

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Keywords

behavior
disease
health
immunity
intestinal health
microbiota
nutrition
performance
stress
welfare

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Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 15633 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Zinc Source and Concentration Altered Physiological Responses of Beef Heifers during a Combined Viral-Bacterial Respiratory Challenge

by Paul Rand Broadway, Jeffery Carroll, Nicole Burdick Sanchez, Alyssa Word, Shelby Roberts, Emily Kaufman, John Richeson, Mike Brown and Ken Ridenour

Animals 2021, 11(3), 646; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11030646 - 1 Mar 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2092

Abstract

To determine the effects of zinc supplementation on the immune response to a combined viral-bacterial respiratory disease challenge, thirty-two beef heifers (255 ± 15 kg) were subjected to a 30-d period of Zn depletion, then randomly assigned to one of three treatment diets fed for 30 d before the challenge: (1) supplementation with 100 mg of Zn from Zn sulfate/kg of DM (Zn100), (2) supplementation with 200 mg of Zn from Zn sulfate/kg of DM (Zn200), and (3) supplementation with 80 mg of Zn/kg of DM from zinc methionine and 20 mg of Zn from Zn sulfate/kg of DM (ZinMet). After the 30-d supplementation period, all heifers were fitted with indwelling vaginal temperature (VT) devices and intra-nasally challenged with 1 × 10⁸ PFU bovine herpesvirus-1 on d -3, and then allowed to rest in outdoor pens for 3 d. On d 0, each heifer was challenged intra-tracheally with an average dose of 2.38 × 10⁷ CFU Mannheimia haemolytica (MH), fitted with an indwelling jugular catheter, and then moved into individual stalls in an environmentally-controlled enclosed barn. Whole blood samples were collected at 1-h (serum) and 2-h (complete blood counts) intervals from 0 to 8 h, and at 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 168, and 360 h relative to MH challenge. Data were analyzed using the MIXED procedure of SAS specific for repeated measures with fixed effects of treatment, time, and their interaction. There was a treatment effect (p < 0.01) for VT such that Zn200 heifers had greater VT than Zn100 and ZinMet heifers. There was a trend (p = 0.10) for a serum cortisol treatment effect with Zn100 heifers having greater cortisol than ZinMet heifers. Total leukocytes and lymphocytes were greater (p ≤ 0.01) in Zn100 heifers than Zn200 and ZinMet heifers, whereas monocytes were less (p = 0.05) in ZinMet heifers than Zn100 and Zn200 heifers. Concentrations of IL-6 were greater (p = 0.02) in ZinMet heifers than Zn100 and Zn200 heifers. Concentrations of IFN-γ were greater in Zn200 heifers than ZinMet heifers at 0 h, and Zn100 heifers from 0 to 12 h post-MH challenge (treatment x time p = 0.02). Serum haptoglobin was not affected by treatment or treatment x time (p ≥ 0.36) but increased over time (p < 0.01) in all groups. There was a trend (p = 0.11) for ZinMet heifers to have less severe nasal lesion scores than Zn100 heifers. The observed differential physiological responses in this study indicate that zinc source and concentration may alter the response to a bovine respiratory challenge in heifers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Stress: Integrated Approaches to Assess and Improve Animal Health and Welfare)

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19 pages, 4352 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Highly Fermentable Fiber Alters Fecal Microbiota and Mitigates Swine Dysentery Induced by Brachyspira hyodysenteriae

by Emma T. Helm, Nicholas K. Gabler and Eric. R. Burrough

Animals 2021, 11(2), 396; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11020396 - 4 Feb 2021

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3449

Abstract

Brachyspira hyodysenteriae is an etiological agent of swine dysentery (SD). Diet fermentability plays a role in development of SD, but the mechanism(s) of action are largely unknown. Thus, this study aimed to determine whether replacing lowly fermentable fiber with highly fermentable fiber would mitigate a 42 d B. hyodysenteriae challenge. Thirty-nine barrows were allocated to dietary treatment groups: (1) 20% corn distillers dried grain with solubles (DDGS), 0% beet pulp (BP) or resistant starch (RS; lowly fermentable fiber (LFF)); (2) 10% DDGS, 5% BP, 5% RS (medium fermentable fiber (MFF)); and (3) 0% DDGS, 10% BP, 10% RS (highly fermentable fiber (HFF)). On day post inoculation 0, pigs were inoculated with B. hyodysenteriae. Overall, 85% LFF pigs developed clinical SD, 46% of MFF pigs developed SD, and 15% of HFF pigs developed SD (p < 0.05). Overall average daily gain (ADG) differed among all treatments (p < 0.001), with LFF pigs having the lowest ADG. For HFF pigs, ADG was 37% greater than LFF pigs (p < 0.001) and 19% greater than MFF pigs (p = 0.037). The LFF diet had greater relative abundance of Shuttleworthia and Ruminococcus torques. Further, microbiota of pigs that developed SD had enriched Prevotellaceae. Collectively, replacing DDGS with highly fermentable fiber reduced clinical SD, improved performance, and modulated fecal microbiota during B. hyodysenteriae challenge. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Stress: Integrated Approaches to Assess and Improve Animal Health and Welfare)

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15 pages, 1090 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Feed Removal during Acute Heat Stress on the Cytokine Response and Short-Term Growth Performance in Finishing Pigs

by Kouassi R. Kpodo, Alan W. Duttlinger, Jacob M. Maskal, Betty R. McConn and Jay S. Johnson

Animals 2021, 11(1), 205; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11010205 - 15 Jan 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2195

Abstract

The study objective was to evaluate the effects of feed removal during acute heat stress (HS) on the cytokine response and its short-term effect on growth performance in finishing pigs. Thirty-two pigs (93.29 ± 3.14 kg initial body weight; 50% barrows and 50% gilts) were subjected to thermoneutral (TN; 23.47 ± 0.10 °C; n = 16 pigs) or HS (cycling of 25 to 36 °C; n = 16 pigs) conditions for 24 h. Within each temperature treatment, 50% of the pigs were provided with feed (AF; n = 8 pigs/temperature treatment) and 50% of the pigs had no feed access (NF; n = 8 pigs/temperature treatment). Following the 24 h temperature and feeding treatment (TF) period, all pigs had ad libitum access to feed and water and were maintained under TN conditions for 6 d. During the first 12 h of the TF period, gastrointestinal (T_GI) and skin (T_sk) temperatures were recorded every 30 min. Serum cytokines were determined at 0, 4, 8, 12, and 24 h during the TF period and on Days 3 and 6 of the post-TF period. Average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake were measured on Days 1, 3, and 6 of the post-TF period. Behavioral data were collected from Days 1 to 6 of the post-TF period. Heat stress increased (p < 0.02) the T_GI and T_sk. During the post-TF period, interleukin-1α was greater (p < 0.01) in HS + NF compared to HS + AF and TN + NF pigs. From Days 1 to 2 of the post-TF period, the ADG was reduced (p < 0.01) in TN + AF compared to HS + AF, HS + NF, and TN + NF pigs. In conclusion, feed removal during an acute HS challenge did not reduce the cytokine response or improve short-term growth performance in finishing pigs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Stress: Integrated Approaches to Assess and Improve Animal Health and Welfare)

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12 pages, 253 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Milk Production and Energetic Metabolism of Heat-Stressed Dairy Goats Supplemented with Propylene Glycol

by Soufiane Hamzaoui, Gerardo Caja, Xavier Such, Elena Albanell and Ahmed A. K. Salama

Animals 2020, 10(12), 2449; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10122449 - 21 Dec 2020

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3410

Abstract

Heat-stressed dairy animals increase their reliance on glucose. This elevated glucose demand is partially met by increasing the conversion of glucogenic amino acids (AA) in the liver. Propylene glycol (PG) is a glucogenic precursor and was not tested in dairy goats under thermoneutral (TN) and heat stress (HS) conditions simultaneously. We hypothesize that if HS-goats are fed with PG, they would get more glucose and consequently spare more glucogenic AA for milk protein synthesis rather than gluconeogenesis. Eight multiparous dairy goats (40.8 ± 1.1 kg body weight; 84 ± 1 days in milk) were used in a replicated 4 × 4 Latin square design of 4 periods; 21 d each (14 d adaptation, 5 d for measurements, and 2 d of transition). Goats were allocated to one of 4 treatments in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement. Factors were control (CO) without PG or 5% of PG, and thermoneutral (TN; 15 to 20 °C) or heat stress (HS; 12 h/d at 37 °C and 12 h/d at 30 °C) conditions. Feed intake, rectal temperature, respiratory rate, milk yield, milk composition, and blood metabolites were measured. Compared to TN, HS goats had lower (p < 0.01) feed intake (–34%), fat-corrected milk (–15%), and milk fat (–15%). Heat-stressed goats also tended (p < 0.10) to produce milk with lower protein (–11%) and lactose (–4%) contents. Propylene glycol increased blood glucose (+7%; p < 0.05), blood insulin (+37%; p < 0.10), and body weight gain (+68%; p < 0.05), but decreased feed intake (–9%; p < 0.10) and milk fat content (–23%; p < 0.01). Furthermore, blood non-esterified fatty acids (–49%) and β-hydroxybutyrate (–32%) decreased (p < 0.05) by PG. In conclusion, supplementation of heat-stressed dairy goats with propylene glycol caused milk fat depression syndrome, but reduced body weight loss that is typically observed under HS conditions. Supplementation with lower doses of PG would avoid the reduced feed intake and milk fat depression, but this should be tested. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Stress: Integrated Approaches to Assess and Improve Animal Health and Welfare)

12 pages, 236 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Oxidative and Epigenetic Changes and Gut Permeability Response in Early-Treated Chickens with Antibiotic or Probiotic

by Katarzyna Ognik, Paweł Konieczka, Anna Stępniowska and Jan Jankowski

Animals 2020, 10(12), 2204; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10122204 - 25 Nov 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2387

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare the effect of the use of enrofloxacin and a probiotic containing Enterococcus faecium and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strains in the first week of life of chickens on oxidative and epigenetic changes in molecules and intestinal integrity. The three treatments were as follows: the control group received no additive in the drinking water (GC); the second group (GP) received a probiotic preparation in the drinking water during the first five days of life, providing E. faecium strain 4a1713 at 1.0 × 10⁷ CFU/L water and B. amyloliquefaciens 4b1822 at 1.0 × 10⁷ CFU/L water, the third group (GA) received an antibiotic (enrofloxacin 0.5 mL/L water) in the drinking water during the first five days of life. The use of both enrofloxacin and a probiotic containing E. faecium and B. amyloliquefaciens strains in chickens’ first week of life improved intestinal integrity and reduced inflammation and oxidative and epigenetic changes in the small intestine. This effect was evident both at 6 days of age and at the end of the rearing period. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Stress: Integrated Approaches to Assess and Improve Animal Health and Welfare)

15 pages, 764 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Zinc Oxide and Arginine on the Intestinal Microbiota and Immune Status of Weaned Pigs Subjected to High Ambient Temperature

by Se Young Yoon, Soo Jin Sa, Eun Seok Cho, Han Seo Ko, Jung Woo Choi and Jin Soo Kim

Animals 2020, 10(9), 1537; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10091537 - 31 Aug 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3241

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effect of the l-arginine (Arg) inclusion and different doses of ZnO on the growth performance, intestinal microbiota and integrity, and immune status of weaned pigs. A total of 180 pigs (28-day-old) were randomly allotted to six treatments with six replicate pens in each treatment and five pigs per pen. The dietary treatments were Con (1.1% Arg); P-Zn (1.1% Arg + 2500 mg Zn as ZnO/kg diet); ARG (1.6% Arg); ZnArg1 (500 mg of Zn as ZnO/kg diet + 1.6% Arg); ZnArg2 (1000 mg of Zn as ZnO/kg diet + 1.6% Arg); ZnArg3 (2500 mg of Zn as ZnO/kg diet + 1.6% Arg). The overall result showed that the inclusion of ZnArg3 significantly improved the average daily gain of pigs compared with the Con treatment. There was a reduction in feed intake in pigs fed the Con diet compared with pigs fed the ZnArg3 diet at phase 1 and overall. At phase 1, pigs fed the ZnArg3 diet and P-Zn diet showed a decreased population of Clostridium spp. in the ileum compared with those of the Con treatment. In addition, a lower ileal Clostridium spp. population was detected in pigs fed the ZnArg2 diet compared with pigs fed the Con diet. The pigs fed ZnArg1 and ZnArg3 diets showed a greater villus height of duodenum compared with the Con and P-Zn treatments. The pigs in the Con treatment showed increased mRNA expression of heat shock protein-27 in the liver compared with the P-Zn, ZnArg1, ZnArg2, and ZnArg3 treatments. When fed the basal diet, mRNA expressions of interleukin-6 were increased in the muscle compared with the ZnArg3 treatment. Dietary supplementation with ZnArg2 decreased the mRNA expressions of interferon-γ in the muscle compared with the Con treatment. Supplementation with P-Zn, ZnArg1, ZnArg2, and ZnArg3 decreased mRNA expressions of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) compared with the Con treatment. The mRNA gene expressions of interleukin-4 were decreased in the jejunum of pigs fed P-Zn, ARG, ZnArg1, ZnArg2, and ZnArg3 diets compared with pigs fed the Con diet. The jejunum gene expression of toll-like receptor-4 was upregulated in the Con and ARG treatments compared with the ZnArg1 and ZnArg3. The ZnArg1, ZnArg2, and ZnArg3 treatments showed lower mRNA expression of TNF-α compared with the Con treatment. In conclusion, there was no difference in growth performance, intestinal microbiota, gene expression of interleukins between ZnArg1 and ZnArg3 treatments. Therefore, the low level of ZnO (500 mg/kg) plus 1.6% dietary Arg may be recommended for pigs during the weaning stress. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Stress: Integrated Approaches to Assess and Improve Animal Health and Welfare)

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15 pages, 2953 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Overfeeding-Induced Obesity Could Cause Potential Immuno-Physiological Disorders in Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

by HyeongJin Roh, Jiyeon Park, Ahran Kim, Nameun Kim, Yoonhang Lee, Bo Seong Kim, Jasna Vijayan, Mu Kun Lee, Chan-Il Park and Do-Hyung Kim

Animals 2020, 10(9), 1499; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10091499 - 25 Aug 2020

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 4476

Abstract

Although over-nutrition from overfeeding-induced obesity is known to be highly associated with metabolic and immunological disorders in humans, little is known about overfeeding-induced obesity in fish farming. The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in immuno-physiological parameters, to better understand the potential risk of overfeeding–induced obesity in fish. Commercial feed was provided to fish in the overfed group until they refuse to eat, but fish in the control group was fed with the feed at 1% bodyweight per day. The hemato-serological, histological, and immunological changes were observed at weeks 2 and 8. Rainbow trout leukocytes were co-incubated with oxidized low-density lipoprotein (OxLDL), and the phagocytes engulfing the OxLDL and the presence of apoptotic cells were evaluated. The body weight, body mass index (BMI), and hepatosomatic index (HSI) index were significantly higher in the overfed group, and high lipid accumulation and fatty changes were also observed in their livers, indicating that the feeding regime used in this study led to overfeeding-induced obesity. Likewise, much higher numbers of and larger vacuoles were observed in overfed fish macrophages, showing unclear boundaries between the cytoplasm and extracellular space. In the overfed group, the expression of IL-10, HSP70, TLR2, and CD36 was significantly higher, and lymphocyte apoptosis was more evident, indicating that overfeeding-induced obese fish might have immunologic disorders. This was the first study to demonstrate that overfeeding-induced obesity could cause an immune-physiological imbalance in rainbow trout, making them more vulnerable to infectious diseases and various stressful conditions. This study will contribute to improvements in fish nutrition, feeding practices, fish nutrition, and disease prevention in the aquaculture industry. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Stress: Integrated Approaches to Assess and Improve Animal Health and Welfare)

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17 pages, 3325 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Immune Responses and Performance Are Influenced by Respiratory Vaccine Antigen Type and Stress in Beef Calves

by Rachel E. Hudson, Dexter J. Tomczak, Emily L. Kaufman, Ashlee M. Adams, Jeffery A. Carroll, Paul R. Broadway, Michael A. Ballou and John T. Richeson

Animals 2020, 10(7), 1119; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10071119 - 30 Jun 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3489

Abstract

The study objective was to determine if a combined weaning and transportation stress model affected performance, antibody, endocrine, or hematological responses to modified-live virus (MLV) or killed virus (KV) respiratory vaccination in beef steers. In total, 48 calves (Day 0 BW = 226 ± 6.2 kg) from a single origin were used in a 2 × 2 factorial to evaluate main effects of stress model, vaccine type, and their interaction, resulting in four treatments (n = 12/treatment) including non-stress control (C) with KV (CKV), C with MLV (CMLV), stress model implementation (S) with KV (SKV), and S with MLV (SMLV). The C calves were weaned at the origin ranch on Day −37 and transported 472 km to the study site on Day −21 to allow acclimation. The S calves were weaned on Day −3, transported 460 km to a research facility on Day −2, held overnight, and transported 164 km to the study site on Day −1 to mimic the beef cattle marketing process. Vaccines were administered on Day 0 and KV was revaccinated on Day 14. The animal was the experimental unit and dependent variables were analyzed using PROC MIXED with repeated measures (day). A stress model effect (p = 0.01) existed for DMI from Day 0 to Day 7 with greater DMI for C (6.19 vs. 4.64 kg/day) when compared to S. The MLV groups had reduced (p = 0.05) ADG from Day 0 to Day 56, compared to KV. There was a vaccine type × day (p < 0.01) interaction with increased (p ≤ 0.01) PI3V- and IBRV-specific antibody titers for KV on Day 21; conversely, MLV had increased (p ≤ 0.01) BVDV titers on Days 14, 28, 35, 42, 49, and 56. Increased (p ≤ 0.05) BRSV titers were observed in a stress model × day (p < 0.01) interaction for S on Days 21, 28, 36, and 42; however, C exceeded S in BVDV-specific antibody concentration on Days 21, 28, and 49. A day effect (p < 0.01) was observed for serum haptoglobin with the greatest (p < 0.01) concentration on Day 3. Serum cortisol concentration was greater (p ≤ 0.04) for C vs. S on Days −2, 0, 1, 3, and 5. Total leukocytes were decreased for C vs. S on Days 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 14, and 21 (p ≤ 0.02). A reduction (p ≤ 0.04) in total leukocytes was observed for MLV on Days 5, 7, and 14 vs. KV. Neutrophils and neutrophil:lymphocyte were markedly increased (p ≤ 0.01) for S on Day −2, whereas neutrophils were decreased (p ≤ 0.01) on Days 1 and 21 for S. Monocytes were decreased on Days 1, 5 and 7 for MLV (p ≤ 0.04) and Days −2 to 14 for S (p ≤ 0.03). Eosinophils were reduced (p = 0.007) for S vs. C on Day −2, yet a distinct rebound response (p = 0.03) was noted for S on Day 0. The results indicate that S and MLV vaccination more profoundly induced immunomodulation in beef calves. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Stress: Integrated Approaches to Assess and Improve Animal Health and Welfare)

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14 pages, 297 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperReview

Influence of Yeast Products on Modulating Metabolism and Immunity in Cattle and Swine

by Nicole C. Burdick Sanchez, Paul R. Broadway and Jeffery A. Carroll

Animals 2021, 11(2), 371; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11020371 - 2 Feb 2021

Cited by 34 | Viewed by 4173

Abstract

Nutritional supplementation has been used by livestock producers for many years in order to increase animal performance, improve animal health, and reduce negative effects associated with enteric and/or respiratory pathogens. Supplements such as yeast and yeast-based products have broad applications across many livestock production systems, including poultry, aquaculture, cattle, and swine and have been shown to benefit animal production at various stages. These benefits include improvement in milk production, weight gain and feed conversion, as well as immune function. Initial research into the mode of action for these effects has focused on stimulation of the immune system by the β-glucan fractions of yeast. However, emerging studies have revealed that some of the beneficial effects of yeast products may stem from altering metabolism, including the availability of glucose and fatty acids. These changes in metabolism, and potentially energy availability, may partially explain differences in immune function observed in yeast-supplemented livestock, as the energy demands of an activated immune system are extremely high. Thus, this paper explores the influence of yeast products on metabolism in cattle and swine, and how changes in metabolism and energy availability may contribute to improvements in immune function in supplemented animals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Stress: Integrated Approaches to Assess and Improve Animal Health and Welfare)

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