| Title: | Comparative metabolome analysis of serum changes in sheep under overgrazing or light grazing conditions |
| Author(s): | Zhang J; Gao Y; Guo H; Ding Y; Ren W; |
| Address: | "Key Laboratory of Forage Grass, Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Grassland Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hohhot, 010010, Inner Mongolia, China. College of Animal Science and Technology, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, Jilin, 130018, China. College of Life Sciences, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, 010019, Inner Mongolia, China. School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, 010021, Inner Mongolia, China. rppcaucau@163.com" |
| DOI: | 10.1186/s12917-019-2218-9 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1746-6148 (Electronic) 1746-6148 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "BACKGROUND: Overgrazing is a primary contributor to severe reduction in forage quality and production in Inner Mongolia, leading to extensive ecosystem degradation, sheep health impairment and growth performance reduction. Further studies to identify serum biomarkers that reflect changes in sheep health and nutritional status following overgrazing would be beneficial. We hereby hypothesize that reduced sheep growth performance under overgrazing conditions would be associated with metabolic and immune response alterations. This study used an untargeted metabolomics analysis by conducting ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography combined with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS) of sheep serum under overgrazing and light grazing conditions to identify metabolic disruptions in response to overgrazing. RESULTS: The sheep body weight gains as well as serum biochemical variables associated with immune responses and nutritional metabolism (immunoglobulin G, albumin, glucose, and nonesterified fatty acids) were significantly decreased with overgrazing compared with light grazing condition. In contrast, other serum parameters such as alanine and aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, total bilirubin, blood urea nitrogen, and interleukin-8 were markedly higher in the overgrazing group. Principal component analysis discriminated the metabolomes of the light grazing from the overgrazing group. Multivariate and univariate analyses revealed changes in the serum concentrations of 15 metabolites (9 metabolites exhibited a marked increase, whereas 6 metabolites showed a significant decrease) in the overgrazing group. Major changes of fatty acid oxidation, bile acid biosynthesis, and purine and protein metabolism were observed. CONCLUSIONS: These findings offer metabolic evidence for putative biomarkers for overgrazing-induced changes in serum metabolism. Target-identification of these particular metabolites may potentially increase our knowledge of the molecular mechanisms of altered immune responses, nutritional metabolism, and reduced sheep growth performance under overgrazing conditions" |
| Keywords: | "Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena Animals Biomarkers/blood China Diet/*veterinary Grassland Herbivory Male *Metabolome Sheep, Domestic/blood/immunology/*metabolism Weight Gain Light grazing Overgrazing Serum metabolome Sheep;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineZhang, Jize Gao, Yang Guo, Huiqin Ding, Yong Ren, Weibo eng 31872407/National Natural Science Foundation of China/ 1610332018008/the Fundamental Research Funds for Central Nonprofit Research Institutes/ 2014CB138804/the Chinese National Key Basic Research and Development Program/ England 2019/12/28 BMC Vet Res. 2019 Dec 26; 15(1):469. doi: 10.1186/s12917-019-2218-9" |
