Alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG), a precursor of glutamate and a critical intermediate in the tricarboxylic acid cycle, shows beneficial effects on intestinal function. However, the influence of AKG on the intestinal innate immune system and intestinal microbiota is unknown. This study explores the effect of oral AKG administration in drinking water (10 g/L) on intestinal innate immunity and intestina...

The mammalian gut microbiota influences various metabolic and physiological processes. Substantial metabolic changes occur during a healthy pregnancy that may be related to microbiota composition dynamics. However, the effect of diet on intestinal microbiota composition and diversity during pregnancy remains unclear. We examined the ileal contents of Huanjiang mini-pigs at two pregnancy stages ...

BACKGROUND Although there are several published estimates of the endogenous amino acid composition of ileal digesta in humans, to our knowledge, there are no systematic studies of ileal digesta endogenous proteins. OBJECTIVES We determined the nature and composition of endogenous nitrogen-containing substances lost from the upper digestive tract of humans. DESIGN Digesta were collected from...

This study examined the effect of permanent swards and bare soil (by repeated herbicide treatment) on soil microbial counts in Australian cool and warm climate vineyards. In both climates, hot water extractable soil C (HWC) in the vine row was increased by 73% after 3 years of sward development. Most of the soil bacterial counts were greatly decreased by the herbicide treatment and principal co...

Broilers are withheld from feed for 8 to 24 h before processing to empty the gastrointestinal tract and reduce potential carcass contamination from gastrointestinal tract contents. Intestinal microbial changes during feed withdrawal (FW) have not been thoroughly defined. Two experiments were conducted to examine the effects of diet and FW on the microbial ecology in the small intestine. In expe...

It has been shown that, although iodinated swimming-pool waters are usually free from coliform bacteria and enterococci, the total counts frequently become relatively high. Pseudomonas alcaligenes and Alcaligenes faecalis have been shown to account for most of these high counts. It was of interest, therefore, to compare the microbial flora of four alternately chlorinated and iodinated swimming ...

MOTIVATION The analysis of differential abundance for features (e.g. species or genes) can provide us with a better understanding of microbial communities, thus increasing our comprehension and understanding of the behaviors of microbial communities. However, it could also mislead us about the characteristics of microbial communities if the abundances or counts of features on different scales a...

AIMS To determine the microbial succession of the dominating taxa and functional groups of microorganisms and the total microbial activity during the composting of biowaste in a monitored process. METHODS AND RESULTS Biowaste (vegetable, fruit and garden waste) was composted in a monitored composting bin system. During the process, taxonomic and functional subpopulations of microorganisms wer...

Synbiotics are synergistic combinations of prebiotics and probiotics. In chickens, synbiotics can be delivered in ovo to expedite colonization of the gut by beneficial bacteria. We therefore aimed to design synbiotics in vitro and validate them in broiler chickens upon in ovo delivery. The probiotic components of the synbiotics were Lactobacillus salivarius and Lactobacillus plantarum. Their gr...

Knowledge concerning the microbial characteristics of natural and post-vacuum extracted ombrotrophic peatlands, as well as peatlands under restoration is limited. In one experiment, microbial comparisons of paired neighboring natural and post-vacuum peatlands in eastern Québec (Canada) were studied to assess the effects of peat mining on microbial indicators and nitrogen (N) cycling. Microbial ...