This study was conducted to investigate the effect of exogenous fecal microbiota transplantation on gut bacterial community structure, gut barrier and growth performance in recipient piglets. Twelve litters of Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire piglets of the same birth and parity were weighed and divided into two groups. One group (recipient piglets) was inoculated orally with fecal microbiota suspe...

The effects of dimethyl fumarate (DMF) on mycotoxins and animal growth performance are well documented. However, its mechanism of anti-mildew effects is still unknown. The current study investigated how DMF detoxified the mycotoxin and improved the growth performance using BALB/c mice model, especially its effects on intestinal barrier function and gut micro-ecology. Our study also compared wit...

The formation of the crypt-villus axis during gut ontogeny requires continued reciprocal interactions between the endoderm and mesenchyme. Epimorphin/syntaxin 2 (epimorphin) is a mesenchymal protein expressed in the fetal gastrointestinal tract during villus morphogenesis. To elucidate its role in gut ontogeny, the epimorphin cDNA was transfected, in sense and antisense orientations, into a rat...

Gastrulation in the sea urchin involves an extensive rearrangement of cells of the archenteron giving rise to secondary mesenchyme at the archenteron tip followed by the foregut, midgut and hindgut. To examine the regulative capacity of this structure, pieces of the archenteron were removed or transplanted at different stages of gastrulation. After removal of any or all parts of the archenteron...

Maternal high-fat or high-salt diets can independently program adverse cardiometabolic outcomes in offspring. However, there is a paucity of evidence examining their effects in combination on metabolic function in adult offspring. Female Sprague Dawley rats were randomly assigned to either: control (CD; 10% kcal from fat, 1% NaCl), high-salt (SD; 10% kcal from fat, 4% NaCl), high-fat (HF; 45% k...

Proanthocyanidins have been suggested as an effective antibiotic alternative, however their mechanisms are still unknown. The present study investigated the effects of grape seed proanthocyanidins on gut microbiota and mucosal barrier using a weaned piglet model in comparison with colistin. Piglets weaned at 28 day were randomly assigned to four groups treated with a control ration, or suppleme...

The rectum has a unique physiological role as a sensory organ and differs in its afferent innervation from other gut organs that do not normally mediate conscious sensation. We compared the central processing of human esophageal, duodenal, and rectal sensation using cortical evoked potentials (CEP) in 10 healthy volunteers (age range 21-34 yr). Esophageal and duodenal CEP had similar morphology...

Species of grasshopper have been divided into three diet classifications based on mandible morphology: forbivorous (specialist on forbs), graminivorous (specialist on grasses), and mixed feeding (broad-scale generalists). For example, Melanoplus bivittatus and Dissosteira carolina are presumed to be broad-scale generalists, Chortophaga viridifasciata is a specialist on grasses, and Melanoplus f...

The effects of an oral neomycin and penicillin regimen on intestinal bacteriology and on morphology and function of the small intestine of mice were investigated. Quantitative and qualitative stool cultures on selective media of the treated animals revealed only growth of yeast organisms. The treated animals developed enlargement of the ceca with fluid contents and watery stools, resembling cha...

Arginine and ornithine are precursors of nitric oxide and polyamines, respectively. These metabolites intimately participate in permeability and adaptive responses of the gut. The liver possesses high arginase activity as an intrinsic part of urea synthesis and would consume most of the portal supply of dietary arginine. The gut reduces this possibility by converting dietary arginine to citrull...