Probiotics and their metabolites are important for piglet growth and development as they exert beneficial effects by enhancing intestinal barrier function and modulating the host immune response. This paper summarized the regulation of intestinal barrier functions by probiotics and the impact of probiotic metabolites on intestinal homeostasis in piglets, and the effects and mechanisms of probiotics and their metabolites on the regulation of intestinal homeostasis in piglets were comprehensively discussed, aiming to provide a theoretical reference for the application of probiotics in regulating the intestinal health of piglets.

Probiotics are a class of microorganisms that are beneficial to the health of the host, possessing the roles such as enhancing animal growth performance and improving intestinal health. In the context of a comprehensive ban on the use of growth-promoting antibiotics in animal husbandry, probiotic feed additives can serve as alternatives to antibiotics and provide robust support for health breeding. In this paper, we reviewed the possible mechanisms by which probiotics regulate animal intestinal health. We focused on the digestion and absorption of intestinal nutrients, microbial barrier, chemical barrier, physical barrier and immune barrier, to provide a theoretical basis for the application of probiotics.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of feeding straw-containing fermented feed on the composition and function of the rumen microbiota and metabolic physiology in heifers. A total of 36 healthy heifers aged 8-11 months were randomly divided into two groups, and fed 0 kg/d (control) and 4 kg/d of straw-containing fermented feed (the straw accounted for 16.0% of diet dry matter; treatment group) for eight weeks. The daily gain was measured every two weeks; the samples of rumen contents and coccygeal vein blood were collected at week eight to analyze the differences in phenotype and rumen microbiota between the two groups in heifers. The daily gain was significantly lower in the heifers in the straw-containing fermented feed group than in the control group (0.091 kg/d vs 1.080 kg/d, p=0.042). The total volatile fatty acid, serum β-hydroxybutyrate and triacylglycerol concentrations were significantly higher in the straw-containing fermented feed group than in the control group (p＜0.05), but with a lower glucose concentration (p＜0.05). The α diversity index of the rumen bacteria, such as the Sobs index and the Shannon index in the straw-containing fermented feed group were significantly higher than those in the control group (p＜0.05). The β diversity showed no significant differences (p＞0.05) between the two groups. The core species associated with the phenotype in the staw-containing fermented feed group was Anaeroplasma. In the microbial function, significant differences existed between the two groups mainly in carbohydrate metabolism and amino acid biosynthesis pathways. In summary, the straw-containing fermented feed promoted rumen fermentation and affected the blood lipid metabolism of heifers to some extents. This study made some breakthroughs in rumen microbial composition and functional differences as well as key microbiota excavation for the efficient utilization of straw feeds, which provides a practical basis for the effective utilization of non-conventional feeds in heifers.

Glucanase is an important additive with significant application value in feed, food, and textile industries. In this study, the IDSGH5-50 gene was amplified from the rumen microbiota cDNA of Hu sheep and heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) to investigate its enzymatic properties and hydrolysis products. The results revealed that IDSGH5-50 encoded 690 amino acids, with a molecular weight of 75.78 kDa and an isoelectric point of 4.75. The optimal reaction conditions for rIDSGH5-50 were 30 ℃ and pH 6.0, and it maintained high activity (＞70%) at temperatures of 4-20 ℃. It exhibited stable activity at pH 5.0-8.0. The active substrate spectrum of rIDSGH5-50 showed that rIDSGH5-50 could catalyze barley β-glucan, lichenin, tamarind xyloglucan, and konjac gum, and the specific activities of them were (10.42±0.16), (7.12±0.08), (7.03±0.38), and (5.94±0.65) U/mg, respectively. Thin layer chromatography analysis showed that barley β-glucan was mainly degraded to cellotetrose and cellopentose, that lichenin was mainly degraded to cellotriose and cellopentose, that konjac gum was mainly degraded to cellopentose, and that tamarind xyloglucan was mainly degraded to oligosaccharides with a degree of polymerization＞5, which was catalyzed by rIDSGH5-50. This study reported a cold-adapted β-1, 4-glucanase IDSGH5-50 from the genus Ruminococcus, establishing the foundation for enzyme preparations used in feed and food enzyme preparation.

A meta-analysis method was used to integrate the results of 112 literatures from 2002 to 2022. Three functional models (polynomial function, power function and Bridges function) were fitted to estimate the daily digested energy intake (DEI) and crude protein intake (CPI) of Chinese growing-finishing pigs, and to predict the functional relationship between the body mass, dietary DEI and CPI, and growth performance indexes. The results showed that all the three functional models provided a reasonable fit for the DEI and CPI, and the polynomial function had a greater goodness of fit than did the power function and Bridges function. The predicted values of the DEI of the polynomial function and Bridges function were slightly higher than those of the Nutrient Requirements of Swine published by the National Research Council (NRC) in 2012 [referred to as NRC (2012)], while the predicted values of the CPI of the three functions were slightly lower than or close to those of NRC (2012). The results of this study can be helpful to develop feeding plans which are more in line with the nutritional requirements of growing-finishing pigs, and to provide reference for the formulation of feed for pigs, so as to improve feed utilization efficiency and reduce the feeding cost of pigs.

Biofilm is the main ecological form of bacteria in the natural environment, which is a three-dimensional structured microbial community. Importantly, biofilms empower the tolerance of encased sessile bacteria to various adverse stresses. In the food industry, foodborne pathogens can form biofilms during food processing and storage, which easily cause disinfection escape and bacterial contamination and lead to toxin accumulation and food spoilage, thus threatening the health of consumers. The prevention, inhibition, and elimination of bacterial biofilms are of great importance for ensuring microbial food safety. Therefore, it is urgent to explore efficient strategies and methods for the detection, prevention, and removal of bacterial biofilms. This review summarized the current advances in biofilm studies in the food science area, including biofilm contamination in the food industry, the mechanisms of biofilm-associated stress tolerance, and elimination strategies, which helps to better understand the food safety risks caused by biofilms and provides a theoretical basis for the development of green and efficient biofilm removal technologies.

The formation and regulation of viable but nonculturable (VBNC) cells in biofilms is a cutting-edge topic in microbiology research. Although there has been controversy over the concept of the VBNC state in the past, its significant impact on ecological balance and public safety cannot be denied. The formation of VBNC cells regulated by multiple factors has gradually been revealed, including pathways such as gene expression and protein synthesis. These studies lay the foundation for analyzing the survival strategies and ecological adaptability of VBNC cells. This review summarized VBNC cells from multiple perspectives, including the discussion of their definition, the presence of VBNC cells in biofilms, their formation triggers and relevant mechanisms, and the regulation and prevention of VBNC cells. The focus of future research will be to explore the function and significance of VBNC cells, intervene in their formation, solve related problems in innovative ways, and reveal the molecular mechanisms and metabolic pathways of VBNC cells in detail.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to pose a serious threat to the lives and health of vulnerable people, such as those who are elderly or immunocompromised. Clarifying and cutting off the various transmission routes of SARS-CoV-2 are key means to scientifically prevent and control the pandemic and protect vulnerable people. In addition to the respiratory route of transmission, the possibility of fecal-oral transmission of SARS-CoV-2 through water or food as a vector has not been definitively confirmed. Filter-feeding shellfish can accumulate a variety of pathogens in water bodies and are important vectors for the spread of foodborne viruses. However, whether filter-feeding shellfish can also enrich and transmit SARS-CoV-2 is controversial. This paper provided a systematic review of the potential transmission routes of SARS-CoV-2 from patient feces through contaminated water, enrichment by filter-feeding shellfish, and eventual infection of the human gastrointestinal tract. The attenuation rate of infectious SARS-CoV-2 in natural waters and the risk of enrichment of SARS-CoV-2 by filter-feeding shellfish were summarized emphatically. Synthesizing the available evidence, it has been concluded that there is potential for fecal-oral transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to populations, and people may become infected through direct contact with patient feces; however, the risk of infecting SARS-CoV-2 through contact with water or through the consumption of filter-feeding shellfish was found to be very low in areas with well-developed sewage treatment systems.

In order to understand the development dynamics of CRISPR technology in the field of food safety, this study conducted a search in the Web of Science Core Collection using the keywords “CRISPR” and “Food safety or Food security”. A total of 415 relevant papers published between 2011 and 2023 were obtained. Using CiteSpace software, a comprehensive analysis was conducted on publication time, publication countries, publication institutions, source publications, keywords, and references of these papers. The results revealed that papers related to CRISPR and food safety research were predominantly concentrated from 2017 to 2022, with a continuous annual increase, and the fastest growth occurred from 2020 to 2022. China had the largest number of published papers. Three institutions had significant academic influence: the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhejiang University, and Indian Council of Agricultural Research. The journal with the largest number of publications was Frontiers in Plant Science. Keywords such as gene editing, CRISPR-Cas9, resistance, interference, yield, mutagenesis, and endonuclease were identified as hotspots in this association field. Research on foodborne pathogen, abiotic stress, crop breeding, and disease resistance has emerged as a forefront area in this field. The application of CRISPR technology in the field of food safety has far-reaching implications for ensuring people’s physical health and enhancing agricultural production and will continue to hold significant development potential in the future.

The ubiquitination pathway of proteins plays an important role in plant responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. In recent years, the E3 ubiquitin ligase BRUTUS (BTS) has gradually attracted extensive attention from scientists worldwide because of its involvement in the regulation of plant growth and development and responses to a variety of stresses. In this paper, the structural characteristics of BTS and its homologous proteins in plants were described in detail, and the mechanisms of BTS in response to biotic and abiotic stresses such as mineral nutrient stress, heavy metal pollution stress, drought stress, high light intensity stress, and pathogen stress were reviewed. At the same time, this paper summarized several problems in current related studies, and it looks forward to other potential functions of BTS and future research directions.

Receptor-like kinase SOBIR1 (suppressor of BIR1-1) plays an important role in plant immune response to diseases. In this study, a StSOBIR1-like gene from potato was cloned and its expression patterns in response to biotic stress and abiotic stress were analyzed. The gene silencing vector of StSOBIR1-like was constructed and its gene-silenced plants were generated by Agrobacterium mediated transformation. After that, a bioassay of the potato tuber moth (Phthorimaea operculella) and the transcriptome sequencing were carried out with these plants to investigate the influence of silencing StSOBIR1-like gene on the potato defense response to the potato tuber moth. The results showed that StSOBIR1-like gene was highly expressed in potato leaves. The simulated herbivory treatment of potato tuber moth, mechanical damage, and exogenous application of methyl jasmonate, salicylic acid and abscisic acid all upregulated the relative expression level of StSOBIR1-like gene, indicating that this gene might be involved in the potato defense response to both biotic stress and abiotic stress. StSOBIR1-like silenced plants and wild type plants showed similar growth phenotypes, whereas the biomass of potato tuber moth larvae was lower after feeding on the former plants, indicating that the growth of potato tuber moth was inhibited by feeding on StSOBIR1-like silenced plants. The transcriptome sequencing results showed that silencing the StSOBIR1-like gene could significantly affect the plant response to herbivory at the gene expression level, and the transcription of genes involved in defense hormone (jasmonic acid or salicylic acid) biosynthetic pathways showed an overall trend of increasing. In summary, StSOBIR1-like gene might negatively regulate potato response to herbivory. This study analyzed the function of StSOBIR1-like gene in potato response to herbivory for the first time, which provides a basis for further exploring the molecular mechanism of this gene in regulating insect resistance of crop.

This study aimed to compare and analyze the major biochemical components and antioxidant activities of four different grades (special-grade 1, special-grade 2, grade 1 and grade 2) of Huoshanhuangya tea. Special-grade 1 Huoshanhuangya tea was chosen to study the effects of Huoshanhuangya tea extract (HTE) on lipid accumulation and proinflammatory cytokines via palmitic acid-induced alpha mouse liver 12 (AML-12), BV-2, human kidney-2 (HK-2), and human gastric adenocarcinoma (AGS) cells. The results revealed that the special-grade 1 Huoshanhuangya tea had the lowest soluble sugar content, the highest caffeine content, catechins content and total free amino acid content, and the strongest antioxidant activity. After treatment with HTE at a certain concentration, the viability of palmitic acid-induced AML-12, BV-2, HK-2 and AGS cells significantly increased; the lipid accumulation induced by palmitic acid was inhibited; and the release levels of proinflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in palmitic acid-induced AML-12, BV-2 and HK-2 cells were significantly decreased. To further explore its mechanism of action, it was found that HTE down-regulated the expression of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and nuclear factor-κB RelA(NF-κB p65) in the inflammatory signaling pathway of BV-2 cells, suggesting that HTE may relieve the palmitic acid-induced inflammatory damage of BV-2 cells by inhibiting the activation of the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway.

The effects of isoorientin (Iso)-zein (Zein)/gum arabic (GA) nanoparticles on wound healing were explored in this study. The nanoparticles were prepared via the anti-solvent method. A back skin wound model of mice was constructed and the mice were randomly separated into the control group and Zein/GA, 0.5 mg/mL Iso, 1.0 mg/mL Iso, 0.5 mg/mL Iso-Zein/GA and 1.0 mg/mL Iso-Zein/GA treatment groups. Except the control group, the wound tissues of mice in other treatment groups were treated with solutions of Zein/GA nanoparticles, Iso and Iso-Zein/GA nanoparticles, respectively. Then, the wound healing and body mass changes of mice were observed. The antioxidant indexes of the wound tissues and the relative expression levels of the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), nitric oxide synthase 2 (NOS2) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were measured, and the histopathological changes, collagen deposition, new blood vessels formation and fibroblast formation of the wound tissues were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining, Masson staining and immunohistochemical staining tests. The results showed that the wound healing rate of each treatment group was significantly higher than that of the control group on the 10th day of the experiment (P＜0.05), and the wound healing rates of the 1.0 mg/mL Iso, 0.5 mg/mL Iso-Zein/GA and 1.0 mg/mL Iso-Zein/GA treatment groups were significantly higher than that of Zein/GA treatment group (P＜0.05). Compared to the control group, the H₂O₂ and malondialdehyde levels significantly reduced (P＜0.05), while the activity of glutathione peroxidase significantly increased (P＜0.05) in each treatment group. In the 1.0 mg/mL Iso-Zein/GA treatment group, the inflammatory cell infiltration was visibly reduced, the granulation tissue was abundant, the new blood vessels and fibroblasts were significantly increased, and collagen deposition was obvious. The relative expression level of TGF-β was significantly increased (P＜0.05), and the relative expression levels of IL-1β, NOS2 and TNF-α were significantly decreased (P＜0.05). In summary, Iso-loaded Zein/GA nanoparticles can effectively improve the wound healing in mice compared to Iso, and there may be a dose-dependent effect.

Hyperuricemia can cause serious harm to the human body, and its incidence has been increasing in recent years. In this study, Pingyanghuangtang tea was used to investigate the effects of different dosages of Pingyanghuangtang tea liquor on serum uric acid levels in hyperuricemic mice and its mechanism. The results showed that different dosages of Pingyanghuangtang tea liquor could reduce the serum uric acid levels in hyperuricemic mice, but there were no significant differences between the different dosages. Through the analysis of uric acid production and decomposition pathways, it was found that different dosages of Pingyanghuangtang tea liquor could significantly inhibit the activity of xanthine oxidase in the liver, thereby reducing the production of uric acid. Additionally, Pingyanghuangtang effectively improved the pathological characteristics of the glomerulus and renal tubules in hyperuricemic mice. It also showed that Pingyanghuangtang modulated the composition and structure of the gut microbiota in hyperuricemic mice. It was speculated that Pingyanghuangtang could promote uric acid excretion by protecting the kidney and modulating the gut microbiota of hyperuricemic mice, thereby reducing the serum uric acid level. This study provides some reference for the efficacy research and product development of yellow tea and the prevention and treatment of hyperuricemia.