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Dietary Short-Chain Fatty Acids Supplementation Improves Reproductive Performance and Gut Microbiota in Gilts
Baoyang Xu1, Wenxia Qin2, Yuwen Chen2
1National Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Frontiers Science Center for Animal Breeding and Sustainable Production, Hubei Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Pig Precision Feeding and Feed Safety, College of Animal Sciences and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, China; Key Laboratory of Applied Technology on Green-Eco-Healthy Animal Husbandry of Zhejiang Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Background:
Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) have emerged as critical modulators of female reproductive function and host gut microbiota.
Objectives:
This study aimed to investigate the impact of dietary SCFAs supplementation on reproductive performance and gut microbiota in gilts, and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms.
Methods:
Eighty gilts (95 d old) were randomly assigned to either a control group (Ctrl, 40 gilts) receiving a basal diet, or a SCFAs treatment group (SCFAs, 40 gilts) receiving a basal diet supplemented with 0.13% sodium acetate, 0.11% sodium propionate, and 0.09% sodium butyrate. At third estrus, 13 gilts (6 from Ctrl and 7 from SCFAs) were killed for follicular development and gut microbiota analysis, whereas the remaining gilts completed gestation for reproductive performance assessment.
Results:
SCFAs group had higher total number born (11.97 compared with 9.44) and total number born alive (11.28 compared with 9.34) compared with Ctrl group (P < 0.05). SCFAs group had increased counts of secondary follicles (36.14 compared with 26.83), antral follicles (10.29 compared with 6.67), and corpus luteum (25.09 compared with 19.33), alongside had reduced atretic follicles (15.32 compared with 20.67) compared with Ctrl group (P < 0.05). Proteomic analysis revealed that SCFAs-induced differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were significantly enriched in the follicular development-related pathways (P < 0.05). Apoptosis-related DEPs positively correlated with follicular development indices (P < 0.05), consistent with the reduced apoptosis observed in ovarian granulosa cells of the SCFAs group. Additionally, SCFAs supplementation improved both the composition and alpha-diversity (P < 0.05) of gilts' gut microbiota. Furthermore, both the SCFAs-enriched bacteria and plasma SCFAs concentrations showed positive associations with gilts' follicular development indices (P < 0.05).
Conclusions:
Dietary SCFAs supplementation enhances reproductive performance in gilts by promoting ovarian follicular maturation and optimizing gut microbiota composition.
