AUTHOR=Peng Hongxin , Chen Pinpin , Guo Rui , Zhou Zheng , Chen Yafei , Xu Ping , Su Huawei , Xiao Yuncai , Jiang Hui TITLE=Regulation of the growth performance and the gastrointestinal microbiota community by the addition of defective pear fermentation to feed of small-tailed Han sheep JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology VOLUME=15 YEAR=2024 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2024.1358033 DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2024.1358033 ISSN=1664-302X ABSTRACT=
This study investigated the effects of defective pear fermentation (DPF) diets on growth performance and gastrointestinal microbial communities in 60 healthy male small-tailed Han sheep, aged 90 days. The sheep were randomly divided into four groups, each consisting of three replicates with five sheep per replicate. Initially, all groups received a basal diet for seven days during the adaptation stage. Subsequently, for 60 days, group C (control) was fed a basal diet, group X received a basal diet with 2% DPF, group Y had a basal diet with 4% DPF, and group Z was fed a basal diet with 6% DPF. The results indicated that group Y experienced a significant increase in average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI). The addition of DPF significantly elevated the levels of GSH-Px and notably reduced MDA content compared to group C. Analysis of gastrointestinal microbiota showed that groups receiving DPF had increased relative abundances of