Multi-omics investigation into long-distance road transportation effects on respiratory health and immunometabolic responses in calves

作者：Jiancheng Qi, Fangyuan Huang, Linli Gan, Xueke Zhou, Liping Gou, Yue Xie, Hongrui Guo, Jing Susan Fang, Zhicai Zuo · 发表于：Microbiome · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1186/s40168-024-01962-2 · 被引用次数：12 · 研究领域：Microbial infections and disease research、Animal health and immunology、Indoor Air Quality and Microbial Exposure

BACKGROUND: Long-distance road transportation is a common practice in the beef industry, frequently resulting in bovine respiratory disease (BRD) and compromised growth performance. However, a comprehensive investigation integrating clinical performance, physiological conditions, and nasopharyngeal microflora remains lacking. METHODS: This study aimed to evaluate the respiratory health and immunometabolic status of 54 beef calves subjected to a 3000-km journey. The respiratory health of calves was monitored over 60 days post-arrival using a modified clinical scoring system. Nasopharyngeal microflora and venous blood samples were collected at 3 time points: before transportation (A), 30 days post-arrival (B), and 60 days post-arrival (C), for 16S rRNA microbiomics, whole-blood transcriptomics, serum metabolomics, and laboratory assays. RESULT: Within the first week post-arrival, the appetite and mental scores of calves dropped to zero, while other respiratory-related scores progressively declined over the 60 days. The α-diversity of nasopharyngeal microflora in calves was similar at time points A and B, both significantly higher than at time point C. The structure of these microbial communities varied significantly across different time points, with a notably higher relative abundance of BRD-related genera, such as Pasteurella and Mannheimia, detected at time point A compared to B and C. The composition and gene expression profiles of circulating blood cells at time point A we...