This study adopted an IF feeding method to investigate the effects and mechanisms of this dietary approach on ovarian function in mice， aiming to provide a theoretical basis for livestock reproduction management. In this study， 8-week-old female C57BL/6J mice with similar body weights were randomly divided into two groups： one group served as the normal diet control group （ND）， while the other group was subjected to a cyclic pattern of “1 day of restricted feeding （70% feed intake）-1 day of free feeding” to establish an intermittent mild fasting （IMF） mouse model. The growth performance of the mice was measured， and ovarian function as well as the expression of autophagy-related proteins were detected through Western blot （WB） and immunohistochemistry experiments. The results showed that IMF could significantly reduce the feed-to-gain ratio （82.85±2.68 & 93.02±7.40） and abdominal fat index （1.49±0.11 & 1.72±0.19）. At the same time， the autophagy markers LC3Ⅱ/LC3Ⅰ（1.06±0.12 & 0.89±0.02） and reproductive function proteins BMP-15 （1.05±0.08 & 0.75±0.10） and GDF-9 （0.53±0.02 & 0.44±0.02） were up-regulated. The mechanism study showed that IMF activated autophagy by inhibiting mTOR pathway （p-mTOR/mTOR 0.82±0.10 & 0.97±0.05）， and then improved ovarian function. This study is the first to elucidate the mechanism by which IMF enhances ovarian function through autophagy activation， offering a potential non-pharmaceutical strategy for developing reproductive regulation techniques in livestock.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of dietary rumen-protected fat （RPF） supplementation on fat deposition and related genes expression of fattening yaks. Twenty-four male yaks with similar body weight （275.63±9.84 kg） were randomly assigned to three treatment groups （8 in each group）， which were 1） Control group （CON）： fed a basal diet； 2） 1.5% RPF supplementation group （RPF 1.5）： fed the basal diet supplemented with 1.5% RPF； 3） 3.0% RPF supplementation group （RPF 3.0）： fed the basal diet supplemented with 3.0% RPF， respectively. The experimental period was 90 d. At the end of the trial period， the longissimus dorsi muscle and abdominal adipose tissues were collected for the analysis of nutritients， fatty acid composition， adipose tissue morphology and related genes expression. The results showed that there was no significant difference in the muscle energy and protein content， the intramuscular fat （IMF） content varied significantly and increased with RPF supplementation （P<0.05）. the cis-11，14-eicosenenoic acid in muscular fatty acid composition of RPF3.0 was significantly greater than that of CON group （P<0.05）， in RPF 1.5 group， the cis， cis-8，11，14-eicosatrienoic acid and cis-5，8，11，14，17-eicosapentaoic acid were significantly greater than those in the CON group （P<0.05）. RPF had no significant effect on the proportion of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids in muscle tissue. In terms of the adipose tissue morphology， the number of cells per unit area and mean cell area in IMF and mean cell area in abdominal fat increased gradually with the level of RPF addition. In longissimus dorsi muscle， the expression of transcriptional regulation factors PPARγ， SREBP-1， FABP4 were significantly higher in RPF 1.5 and RPF3.0 group （P<0.05）. Yaks in RPF 3.0 group had significantly lower ACC and FAS genes expression which are key enzymes in de novo fat synthesis compared with CON group. And DGAT-1 and CPT-1 （P<0.05） genes expression in RPF 1.5 and RPF 3.0 group were significantly higher than those in CON group （P<0.05）. The expression of transcriptional regulation factor C/EBPα gene in abdominal adipose tissue increased significantly with the supplemental dose of RPF （P<0.05）， genes expression of PPARγ and FABP4 were significantly higher in the RPF 1.5 and RPF3.0 groups than in the CON group （P<0.05）. The ACC gene expression which is the key enzyme for de novo fat synthesis in the RPF 1.5 and RPF3.0 groups were significantly lower than that in the CON group （P<0.05）. DGAT-1 gene expression increased significantly with the addition of RPF （P<0.05）. Yaks of the RPF 1.5 and RPF3.0 groups had significantly higher gene expression of LPL when compared to CON ones （P<0.05）. It can be seen that dietary RPF supplementation can effectively promote IMF and abdominal fat deposition in fattening yaks， by regulating the gene expression of transcriptional regulation factors and key enzymes involed in fat metabolism， reducing de novo fat synthesis， utilizing directly the fatty acids derived from RPF for fat synthesis. The feeding effect of 3.0% RPF supplementation is better than 1.5%.

This study aims to study the differences in rumen fermentation parameters and microbial communities between Holstein steer and Xiangxi cattle. It provided a reference for exploring the composition and functional characteristics of rumen microbial ecosystems in animals with different genetic backgrounds， and offered a scientific basis for the formulation of breed-specific feeding strategies. Twelve adult Holstein steer （241.3±9.1 kg） and twelve adult Xiangxi cattle （206.0±8.4 kg） with good body condition were selected as experimental subjects and all animals were fed their respective standard diets. The experimental procedure involved the collection of ruminal fluid for the determination of ruminal fermentation parameters. Additionally， 16S rRNA sequencing was applied to analyze the structure and function of the ruminal microbial community. The results showed that： 1） The dry matter digestibility （DMD）， organic matter digestibility （OMD）， neutral detergent fiber digestibility （NDFD）， and acid detergent fiber digestibility （ADFD） in Xiangxi cattle were significantly higher than those in Holstein steer （P<0.001）. 2） The ruminal pH in Xiangxi cattle was significantly higher than that in Holstein steer （P<0.001）. The concentrations of dissolved hydrogen （dH₂）， dissolved methane （dCH₄）， and ammonia nitrogen （NH₃-N） in Xiangxi cattle were significantly lower than those in Holstein steer （P<0.001）， while the dissolved hydrogen to dissolved methane ratio （dH₂/dCH₄） was significantly higher in Xiangxi cattle than Holstein steer （P<0.001）. In rumen fermentation products， the total volatile fatty acid （TVFA） concentration and molar ratios of propionate， butyrate， iso-butyrate， valerate， and iso-valerate were higher in Holstein steer， while the molar ratios of acetate and acetate to propionate ratio were higher in Xiangxi cattle （P<0.001）. 3） The results of α-diversity showed that Xiangxi cattle possessed richer and more diverse rumen microbial communities. In comparison， it was found that Holstein steer were primarily differentially enriched functional bacteria such as Agathobacter， Butyrivibrio and Lachnospira while functional bacteria differentially enriched in Xiangxi cattle included Fibrobacteres， Saccharofermentans， Lentimicrobium， Succiniclasticum and Acetatifactor （P<0.05）. 4） The pathways of carbohydrate metabolism and metabolism of other amino acids were significantly enriched in Holstein steer， and the nucleotide metabolism and biosynthesis of other secondary metabolites pathways were significantly enriched in Xiangxi cattle （P<0.05）.These results showed that there were significant differences in nutrient digestibility， rumen fermentation parameters and microbial communities between Holstein steer and Xiangxi cattle. Specifically， the rumen of Holstein steer was inclined to propionate-type fermentation mode and was more capable of digesting non-fiber plant polysaccharides and proteins， while the rumen of Xiangxi cattle was inclined to acetate-type fermentation mode and was more capable of digesting fiber.

In this experiment， the piglets weaned at 7 days of age were used， and the aim was to determine the effect which hydrolyzed wheat gluten （HWG） replacing different doses of whey protein concentrate （WPC） in artificial milks on growth performance， nutrient metabolism， immune function and antioxidant capacity of piglets. Forty-five healthy crossbred （Duroc×Landrace×Yorkshire） piglets at 7 days of age were randomly allotted into four treatments， including control group （n=15）， 33%HWG group （n=10）， 66%HWG group （n=10）， and 100%HWG group （n=10）， which were fed the artificial milks that HWG replaced 0%， 33%， 66% and 100% WPC for 13 days， respectively. The results showed that HWG replacing WPC in artificial milks could affect growth performance， nitrogen metabolism， lipid metabolism， kidney function， immune function and antioxidant capacity in piglets. Compared with the piglets of control group， HWG replacing 66% and 100% WPC significantly reduced average daily feed intake and average daily gain （P<0.05）， significantly enhanced feed to gain ratio and diarrhea index （P<0.05）， significantly decreased serum creatinine （P<0.05）， and significantly increased serum malondialdehyde concentrations （P<0.05） in piglets. In addition， serum immunoglobulin A and M levels were significantly reduced （P<0.05） when 66% of WPC was replaced by HWG， and serum high density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were significantly increased （P<0.05） when 100% of WPC was replaced by HWG. Compared with the piglets of control group， serum urea and high density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were significantly higher in the piglets fed the artificial milk that HWG replaced 33% WPC （P<0.05）. In summary， HWG replacing different doses of WPC in artificial milks might be not conducive to growth performance， nutrient metabolism， immune function and antioxidant capacity in the early-weaned piglets， but when HWG replacing 33% WPC in artificial milks had not significantly negative effect on piglets.

The study aimed to explore the effects of Pediococcus pentosaceus 368 on Archaea and metabolites in feces of Duroc×Saba pig. Twenty Duroc×Saba pigs which body weight were about 77 kg were randomly divided into 2 groups with 10 pigs per group. The pigs in experimental group drinked water added with Pediococcus pentosaceus 368（10¹⁰ CFU·L^-1）. The experiment lasted for 28 days. On the day at the end of the experiment， slaughterings were conducted. The effects of Pediococcus pentosaceus 368 on Duroc×Saba pig were analyzed through the Archaea in feces and the fecal metabolites. The results showed as follows： 1） PCoA （Principal Coordinates Analysis） analysis found that samples in the experimental group and control group could not be completely separated， and species similarity in the experimental group became consistent after the addition of Pediococcus pentosus 368.2） At the phylum level， the highest relative abundance of the two groups was the Candidatus_Thorarchaeota and at the genus level， the highest relative abundance of the two groups was Methanobrevibacter. When the Linear Discriminant Analysis value was highter than 3.0， the two groups obtained 14 biomarkers. Among them， 14 biomarkers were in the experimental group， and the largest LDA value in the experimental group was the Thermoplasmata_unclassified.3） KEEG metabolic pathway analysis found that when the LDA value was highter than 3.0， the functions of 4 genes were screened out： Folding_sorting_and_degradation， membrane transport，Cell motility and Signal transduction； Analysis of the level function of CAZy （Carbohydrate Active enzyme Database） showed that when the LDA value was highter than 3.0， a total of 21 biomarkers were obtained in the two groups， of which 13 were in the experimental group. The biomarker with the largest LDA value in the experimental group was CBM20. In the control group， the biomarker with the largest LDA value was GT2.4） Fecal short-chain fatty acid analysis showed that the contents of Butyric acid and Isovaleric acid in the experimental group were significantly decreased （P<0.05）. 5） KEGG pathway enrichment analysis of differential metabolites found that there were 12 significantly different terms， which were as follows： Degradation of flavonoids，Linoleic acid metabolism， Cutin， suberine and wax biosynthesis， Arginine biosynthesis， Valine， leucine and isoleucine biosynthesis， Retrograde endocannabinoid signaling， Biosynthesis of phenylpropanoids，Biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids， Autophagy-animal， Fatty acid biosynthesis，Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus infection； Gene Set Enrichment Analysis （GSEA） identified three significant genes： Glycerophosphates metabolism； Glycine， serine and threonine metabolism； and Biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids. （Conclusion） In summary， the addition of Pediococcus pentosaceus 368 can make the species similarity become consistent in the fecal Archaea of Duroc×Saba pigs. Improve the relative abundance of microbial functional genes related to Signal transduction， Cell motility， amino acid and fat metabolism in feces， and improve the probiotic function of bacteria and enzymes related to amino acid and fat metabolism.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary Moutai dried distiller’s grains （MDDG） on growth performance， nutrient apparent total tract digestibility （ATTD）， meat quality， serum immunity and antioxidant function， and intestinal health in growing-finishing pigs. And find out the suitable addition ratio. A total of 389 healthy Duroc × Landrace × Large White growing-finishing pigs with body-weights about 97 kg were randomly assigned to 3 dietary treatments consisting of 4 replicates with 31 to 34 pigs per replicate. The control group was fed a corn-soybean meal basal diet， the other two groups were fed the diet with 5% and 10% MDDG supplementation which replacing a portion of corn， soybean meal and wheat bran， with equal energy and nitrogen to the basal diet. The experiment lasted for 44 d. The results showed as follows： 1） Compared with the control group， the average daily feed intake and average daily gain in 10% MDDG group increased by 5.37% and 4.61%， respectively. In addition， the mortality rate in 10% MDDG group was decreased by 0.78% compared with the control group. The inclusion of 10% MDDG decreased the meat production cost by 0.02 yuan per kg， but the difference is not significant （P>0.05）. 2） A reduction in ATTD of crude protein， crude ash and calcium was observed with 10% MDDG inclusion （P<0.05）. MDDG inclusion up to 10% showed a decreasing trend of ATTD of phosphorus （P<0.1）. MDDG inclusion up to 10% had no significant effect on ATTD of crude fat （P>0.05）. 3） Compared with control group， inclusion of 5% or 10% MDDG significantly decreased the serum levels of endotoxin， diamine oxidase， and interleukin-6 （P<0.05）. The serum content of catalase tended to be increased in the 10% MDDG group （P<0.1）. 4） Compared with the control group， inclusion of 10% MDDG had a tendency （P<0.1） to reduce drip loss， while inclusion MDDG in the diet at 5% significantly increased （P<0.05） the redness a^* value of longissimus dorsi muscle. 5） Dietary inclusion of 5% or 10% MDDG did not adversely affect the jejunum， liver and spleen histology. In conclusion， dietary inclusion of 10% MDDG increases the growth performance， fortifies intestinal barrier function， reduces inflammatory response， improves slaughter traits and meat quality of growing-finishing pigs， which enhances the economic benefits of swine feeding.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of gut microbiota on the production performance of aged laying hens during the late laying period by altering their intestinal microbiota structure through fecal microbiota transplantation （FMT）. Forty 28-week-old and 250 68-week-old hens were observed for 7 weeks to record their laying rate. The hens were divided into three groups based on the laying rate （LR） and age which recorded previously： 35-week-old high-yielding hens （YH， LR>90%， 37 hens）， 75-week-old high-yielding hens （OH， LR>90%， 76 hens）， and 75-week-old low-yielding hens （OL， 30%<LR<60%，104 hens）. FMT was then performed at the 8th week for 4 weeks to remodel the gut microbiota of aged hens： aged high-yielding hens received fecal microbiota suspension from young high-yielding hens （OH_FMT-YH group）， while aged low-yielding hens received fecal microbiota suspension from aged high-yielding hens （OL_FMT-OH group）. Control groups （OH and OL） were established， with each group comprising 5 replicates of 6 hens. The results were showed as follows： Compared to the OH group， aged high-yielding hens transplanted with microbiota from young high-yielding hens （OH_FMT-YH group） exhibited significant decreases （P<0.05） in laying rate， eggshell strength， eggshell thickness， serum sIgA and IL-10 levels， jejunal villus height， mucosal layer thickness， jejunal FOXP3 and ZO-1 mRNA expression， acetate content， and Bacteroidetes abundance. Conversely， yolk weight， serum IL-1β， IL-17A， and IL-6 levels， cecal mucosal layer and intestinal wall thickness， and Firmicutes abundance significantly increased （P<0.05）， the number of OTUs decreased， and the structure of the flora was obviously separated. In the OL_FMT-OH group， compared to the OL group， aged low-yielding hens transplanted with microbiota from aged high-yielding hens showed significant increases （P<0.05） in laying rate， eggshell strength， serum IL-10 levels， jejunal villus height and mucosal layer thickness， FOXP3 and ZO-1 mRNA expression， goblet cell count， cecal mucosal layer thickness， acetate content， and Bacteroidetes abundance. However， egg weight， egg longitudinal diameter， yolk weight， serum IL-1β levels， cecal intestinal wall thickness， jejunal STAT3 mRNA expression， and Firmicutes abundance significantly decreased （P<0.05）. β-diversity showed that the structure of the microbiota had changed. The LEfSe analysis revealed that Firmicutes showed the greatest contribution to the differences in both the OH_FMT-YH and OL groups， while Bacteroidetes were the most significant contributors to the disparities in the OH and OL_FMT-OH groups. In conclusion， FMT from young high-yielding hens to aged high-yielding hens increased Firmicutes abundance in the gut but reduced laying performance. Conversely， enhancing Bacteroidetes abundance in aged low-yielding hens through FMT from aged high-yielding hens improved gut microbiota structure， intestinal health， and laying performance. These findings suggest that modulating gut microbiota composition via FMT may serve as a potential strategy to enhance productivity in aged laying hens during the late laying period.

This experiment aimed to study the effects of anthocyanins from red elephant grass （Pennisetum purpureum Schumab cv. Red） on the growth performance， antioxidant capacity， and cecal microbial microbial structure of white-feathered broilers. A total of 210 healthy and similar-sized Shengze “901” 1-day-old male chicks were randomly divided into 5 groups， with 6 replicates in each group and 7 chicks in each replicate. Each group was fed the same basal diet， and the control group had no anthocyanin added to the drinking water. The drinking water of the treatment groups 1， 2， and 3 contained 50， 100， and 200 mg·kg^-1 of anthocyanin extracted from red elephant grass， respectively， while the drinking water of the treatment group 4 contained 100 mg·kg^-1 of anthocyanin from purple sweet potato （Ipomoea batatas L.）. The treatment period was 42 days. The results showed that： 1） The addition of red elephant grass anthocyanin to the drinking water had no significant effect on the growth performance of white-feathered broilers （P>0.05）. 2） At 21 days of age， the serum and liver malondialdehyde （MDA） content of the treatment group 2 was significantly lower than those of the control group （P<0.05）， and the serum glutathione peroxidase （GSH-Px） content and liver catalase （CAT）， glutathione （GSH）， and superoxide dismutase （SOD） contents were significantly higher than those of the control group （P<0.05）； at 42 days of age， the serum SOD content and liver GSH， GSH-Px content of the treatment group 2 were significantly higher than those of the control group （P<0.05）. 3） Compared with the control group， the relative expressions of SOD1， SOD2， GPX1， and HO-1 mRNA in the treatment groups at 21 days of age and the relative expressions of NQO1， GPX1， SOD1， and HO-1 mRNA in the treatment groups at 42 days of age were significantly increased （P<0.05）. 4） Compared with the control group， the Firmicutes in the treatment group 3 at 21 days of age were significantly reduced （P<0.05）， while the Bacteroidetes and Bacteroidetes were significantly increased （P<0.05）. At 42 days of age， Colidextribacter and Lactobacillus in treatment group 1， as well as Colidextribacter in treatment group 3， were significantly increased （P<0.05）. Conversely， Eisenbergiella in treatment groups 1， 2， and 4 were significantly decreased （P<0.05）. In conclusion， under the condition of the current study， supplementation of red elephant grass anthocyanins can enhance the antioxidant capacity in the serum and liver of white-feathered broilers， modulate the intestinal microbial community structure， and improve their resistance to oxidative stress.

The purpose of this experiment is to investigate the metabolic energy requirements of 1-21-day-old rapid yellow feathered broiler chickens. A total of 900 healthy 1-day-old Xiangjia Yellow Chicken chicks （450 male and 450 female chicks） with similar body weights were randomly allocated into 5 groups for each gender， each consisting of 6 replicates with 15 birds per replicate. A single-factor completely randomized design was employed to feed different levels of metabolic energy diets over an experimental period of 21 days（Male：11.51、11.92、12.34、12.76、13.18 MJ·kg^-1；Female：11.30、11.72、12.13、12.55、12.97 MJ·kg^-1）. The results demonstrated that： 1） Growth performance analysis revealed quadratic patterns （P<0.01） in body weight （BW） and average daily gain （ADG） of male chicks with increasing dietary metabolizable energy （ME） levels during 1-21 days， while females exhibited significant positive linear relationships （P<0.01）. Both gender demonstrated linearly decreasing trends （P<0.01） in average daily feed intake （ADFI） and feed conversion ratio （FCR） as ME levels elevated. 2） Regarding carcass characteristics， dressing percentage， eviscerated yield， and abdominal fat rate in males increased linearly with ME supplementation （P<0.05）. Notably， females demonstrated greater sensitivity to ME stimulation in abdominal fat deposition，the abdominal fat percentage significantly increased （P<0.01）. 3） Serum biochemical profiling identified a unique quadratic fluctuation （P<0.05） in uric acid concentration of male chicks. Based on the relationship between metabolic energy intake and average daily weight gain， the metabolic energy prediction equation for rapid yellow feathered broiler chickens at this developmental stage can be established， which is： Male： Metabolic Energy Requirements （MEr）=1.653 8BW^0.75（g）+12.489ADG（g）； Female： MEr=3.360 5BW^0.75（g）+7.736 4ADG（g）. The corresponding metabolic energy requirement for male chicks is 379.32 kJ·d^-1， while for female chicks， it is 351.66 kJ·d^-1， corresponding to feed metabolic energy levels of 12.50 MJ·kg^-1 for male chicks and 12.47 MJ·kg^-1 for female chicks.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus （PRRSV） is a major pathogen that poses a serious threat to the global swine industry. Its non-structural protein NSP4， as a 3C-like serine protease （3CLSP）， cleaves viral multiproteins at the junctions between other conserved domains， playing a critical role in viral transcription and replication. This study aims to elucidate the structural features and enzymatic activity of the NSP4 protein， providing a theoretical basis for the development of antiviral small-molecule drugs targeting NSP4. This study used the PRRSV NADC30-like strain as the research object. The PRRSV nsp4 gene was cloned into the pGEX-6p vector， induced for expression in Escherichia coli BL21（DE3）， and purified to obtain high-purity protein. Crystallization conditions were screened using the drop-plate method， and the 1.47 Å high-resolution crystal structure of NSP4 was determined using X-ray crystallography. Its enzymatic activity was measured in vitro using fluorescence resonance energy transfer （FRET）. The results showed that PRRSV NSP4 consists of three domains： the N-terminal β-barrel domain （I， residues 12-69）， the middle β-barrel domain （II， residues 89-153）， and the C-terminal α/β domain （III， residues 159-190）. Further active site prediction identified the substrate-binding pocket of NSP4 as composed of Ser-19， Met-20， and His-39， providing a target for structure-based inhibitor design. In vitro enzyme activity experiments showed that the catalytic efficiency of PRRSV NADC30-like strain NSP4 toward the substrate， Kcat/Km， was 411.38 L·（mol·s）^-1， and the substrate affinity， Km， was 23.28 μmol·L^-1. This study reports the high-resolution structure and enzyme kinetic characteristics of the PRRSV NADC30-like strain NSP4， laying an important foundation for structure-based antiviral drug design and screening.