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Jing XP, Wang WJ, Degen AA, Guo YM, Kang JP, Liu PP, Ding LM, Shang ZH, Zhou JW, Long RJ. Small intestinal morphology and sugar transporters expression when consuming diets of different energy levels: comparison between Tibetan and small-tailed Han sheep. Animal 2022; 16:100463. [PMID: 35193064 DOI: 10.1016/j.animal.2022.100463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2021] [Revised: 01/12/2022] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Some non-structural carbohydrates, especially starch, escape ruminal fermentation, are converted into glucose, and are absorbed from the small intestine. This glucose provides an important source of energy, and its usage is more efficient than glucose from carbohydrates which are fermented as short chain fatty acids in the rumen and, subsequently, undergo hepatic gluconeogenesis. Tibetan sheep graze on the harsh Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) all year round and their carbohydrate and energy intakes fluctuate greatly with seasonal forage availability. Consequently, a high capacity to absorb glucose from the small intestine would be particularly beneficial for Tibetan sheep to allow them to cope with the inconsistent dietary intakes. This study examined how the small intestinal morphology and sugar transporters' expression of Tibetan and Small-tailed Han (Han) sheep respond to fluctuating energy intakes under the harsh conditions of the QTP. Han sheep graze on the QTP only in summer and are generally raised in feedlots. Twenty-four Tibetan sheep and 24 Han sheep, all wethers, were assigned randomly to four groups (n = 6 per breed/group), with each group offered a diet differing in digestible energy content: 8.21, 9.33, 10.45 and 11.57 MJ/kg DM. After 49 d, all sheep were slaughtered, tissues of the small intestine were collected, and measurements were made of the morphology and glucose transporters and the related regulation gene expressions. At intakes of low energy levels, Tibetan sheep had a greater villus surface area in the duodenum, jejunum and ileum and higher mRNA expression of sodium-dependent glucose transporter 1 in the duodenum and ileum (P < 0.05) than Han sheep. In the glucose transporter 2 (GLUT2) mediated glucose absorption pathway, Tibetan sheep had higher GLUT2 and taste receptor family 1 member 2 and 3 mRNA expressions than Han sheep in the duodenum, jejunum and ileum (P < 0.05). We concluded that the differences between breeds indicated a greater glucose absorption capacity in the small intestine of Tibetan than Han sheep, which would confer an advantage to Tibetan over Han sheep to an inconsistent energy intake on the harsh QTP. These findings suggested that ruminants raised under harsh environmental conditions with highly fluctuating dietary intakes, as is often the case in grazing ruminants worldwide, are able to absorb glucose from the small intestine to a greater extent than ruminants raised under more moderate conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- X P Jing
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China; State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-Ecosystems, International Centre for Tibetan Plateau Ecosystem Management, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China; Laboratory for Animal Nutrition and Animal Product Quality, Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent 9000, Belgium
| | - W J Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-Ecosystems, International Centre for Tibetan Plateau Ecosystem Management, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - A A Degen
- Desert Animal Adaptations and Husbandry, Wyler Department of Dryland Agriculture, Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 8410500, Israel
| | - Y M Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China
| | - J P Kang
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China
| | - P P Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-Ecosystems, International Centre for Tibetan Plateau Ecosystem Management, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - L M Ding
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-Ecosystems, International Centre for Tibetan Plateau Ecosystem Management, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Z H Shang
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-Ecosystems, International Centre for Tibetan Plateau Ecosystem Management, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - J W Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China.
| | - R J Long
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-Ecosystems, International Centre for Tibetan Plateau Ecosystem Management, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
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