Study On Blood Index And Diversity Of Gut Microbiota Of Tongue-Rolling Behavior In Calves And Heifers

In order to study the differences in tongue-rolling behavior and habits of calves and heifers and the correlation with blood biochemical indicators and intestinal flora,the different tongue-rolling behavior and habits of calves and heifers were recorded and analyzed by behavior observation method,and the blood samples and feces samples of calves and heifers who have shown typical tongue-rolling behavior and habits as well as the corresponding control group were analyzed.The purpose of this study was to understand the rules of tongue-rolling behavior and the related physiological mechanisms in beef cattle,so as to provide a theoretical basis for improving the production and welfare level in the process of beef cattle breeding.Experiment 1:(1)24 pairs of calves of 1-2 months old who had never shown any typical tongue-rolling behavior and their mothers(Among them,11 dams have the habit of tongue-rolling behavior)were divided into three groups according to the tongue-rolling behavior of dams.The groupⅠwas specifically composed of 8 dams with typical tongue-rolling behavior and their calves,and the group Ⅱcomprised 3dams with typical tongue-rolling behavior and 5 dams that scarcely showed tongue-rolling behavior and their calves,and NC group comprised 8 dams that scarcely showed tongue-rolling behavior and their calves.The changes of tongue-rolling behavior of the calves were observed and recorded after one month.The results showed that there were significant differences in the incidence of abnormal tongue-rolling among the three groups,with groupⅠ> groupⅡ> NC group(P < 0.05).This indicated that the formation of abnormal tongue-rolling behavior of calves had a significant correlation with the tongue-rolling behavior and habits of the original herd.If there is a large number of cattle in the original herd with typical tongue-rolling behavior,the calves in the herd will most likely imitate and learn abnormal tongue-rolling behavior from those abnormal cattle,and this imitation is not only limited to the parent-child relationship,but also exists between the calf companions.(2)6 heifers with typical tongue-rolling habit and 6 heifers with normal tongue rolling behavior were raised in a centralized way,and the changes of tongue rolling behavior of adult cattle were observed and recorded after one month.The results showed that all the heifers retained the original behavior habit of tongue-rolling behavior,and those heifers which had not shown the abnormal tongue-rolling behavior habit still did not learn this behavior habit.This indicates that properly behaved heifers will not learn to roll due to the unusual rolling behavior of the herd.Experiment 2:(1)6 calves with typical tongue-rolling behavior and 6 calves with normal behavior were randomly selected and the jugular blood samples were collected to determine the relevant biochemical indicators.The results showed that the BDNF content in the tongue-rolling calf group was significantly higher than that in the normal calf group(P < 0.05),and there were no significant differences in other hormone indicators and immune indicators(P > 0.05).(2)The jugular vein blood samples of the tongue-rolling heifers group and the normal heifers group were collected,and the relevant biochemical indicators were measured.The results showed that the concentrations of DA,5-HT,CRH,ACTH,COR,EPI,NE,IL-1β,IL-2,IL-6,TNF-α in the tongue-rolling heifers group were significantly higher than those in the normal heifers group(P > 0.05).The concentration of BDNF in the tongue-rolling heifers group was higher than that in the normal-reared heifers group,but the difference was not significant(P > 0.05).The concentrations of GABA,Ig A,Ig G,SIg A,IL-4,IL-10,IFN-γ in the tongue-rolling heifers group were significantly lower than those in the normal heifers group(P <0.05),and it is speculated that the tongue-rolling behavior of heifers may be related to some psychological diseases caused by negative emotions.Experiment 3:(1)The fecal samples of the tongue-rolling calf group and the normal calf group were collected to determine and analyze the diversity of calf intestinal flora.The results showed that the Simpson index of intestinal flora in the tongue-rolling behavior calves group was significantly lower than that in the normal behavior calves group(P < 0.05),but there were no significant differences in ACE index,Chao1 index and Shannon index between the two groups(P > 0.05).The relative abundance of Firmicutes,Bacteroides,Rumen Bacteroides,Limonitaceae and Clostridiaceae in the tongue-rolling calf group was different from that in the normal calf group but the difference was not significant(P > 0.05)(2)The feces samples of the tongue-rolling bred cattle group and the normal bred cattle group were collected to determine and analyze the diversity of intestinal flora of the bred cattle.The results showed that the ACE index and Chao1 index of intestinal flora in the tongue-rolling heifers group were significantly lower than those in the normal behavior heifers group(P < 0.05),while there was no significant difference in Shannon index and Simpson index between the two groups(P > 0.05).The relative abundance of Firmicutes,Bacteroides,Rumenbacteroides,Limonitaceae and Eumycobacterium stercoralis in the tongue-rolling behavior heifers group was also different from that in the normal behavior heifers group to some extent but the difference was not significant(P > 0.05),and Desulfobacterota,Elusimicrobia and some unknown vulnerable flora showed significant variation(P < 0.05).