Effects of Colostrum-Period Fecal Microbiota Transplantation on Growth Performance, Immune Function and Gut Microbiota in Pre-Weaned Calves.
- 1College of Animal Science, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, China.
Abstract
Neonatal calf diarrhea caused by intestinal microbial dysbiosis severely restricts rearing efficiency, and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) emerges as a promising antibiotic-free strategy for regulating gut homeostasis. Nevertheless, to the best of our knowledge, the effects of colostrum-period FMT and the functional differences between colonic and colostrum delivery routes remain poorly characterized in pre-weaned dairy calves. We hypothesized that colostrum-period FMT would accelerate gut microbiota maturation, improve immune status and reduce diarrhea incidence in pre-weaned calves, with delivery-route-dependent effects. This study aimed to investigate how two colostrum-phase FMT delivery routes shape growth performance, serum immune profiles and gut microbiota in neonatal Holstein calves. Sixty newborn calves were randomly assigned to three groups (n = 20 per group): control (no FMT), colon-FMT (colonic perfusion), and colostrum-FMT (FMT mixed with colostrum). Donor feces were homogenized with sterile saline at a 1:9 ratio for FMT suspension preparation, and the trial lasted 56 days. For growth performance, the colon-FMT calves exhibited significantly higher average daily gain from D29 to D56 (p < 0.05). In terms of intestinal health, the colostrum-FMT group exhibited lower diarrhea incidence during D15-28 (p < 0.05) but markedly higher diarrhea rates during D29-56 (p < 0.01). For serum immunity, colon-FMT calves had elevated serum IgG at D14 (p < 0.05). At D56, the concentrations of IL-2 (p < 0.01) and IL-4 (p = 0.05) were significantly lower in the colostrum-FMT group than the colon-FMT group; no intergroup differences were detected for other serum cytokines and immunoglobulins. 16S rRNA gene sequencing of D28 fecal samples revealed that the colon-FMT group possessed a significantly higher relative abundance of Lactobacillus compared with the other two treatments (p < 0.05). Collectively, colonic FMT is associated with remodeling intestinal microbiota by enriching beneficial Lactobacillus, improved late-stage growth and sustained long-term intestinal health in pre-weaned calves, whereas colostrum-mediated FMT only provides transient protection against early diarrhea.
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BibTeX
@article{zhang2026effects,
title = {{Effects of Colostrum-Period Fecal Microbiota Transplantation on Growth Performance, Immune Function and Gut Microbiota in Pre-Weaned Calves.}},
author = {Jingkun Zhang and Yaning Sun and Xintong Li and Duo You and Zhanhe Zhang and Ming Xu and Donglin Wu},
journal = {Animals : an open access journal from MDPI},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/ani16193088},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42883057},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Effects of Colostrum-Period Fecal Microbiota Transplantation on Growth Performance, Immune Function and Gut Microbiota in Pre-Weaned Calves.
AU - Jingkun Zhang
AU - Yaning Sun
AU - Xintong Li
AU - Duo You
AU - Zhanhe Zhang
AU - Ming Xu
AU - Donglin Wu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
DO - 10.3390/ani16193088
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42883057
AB - Neonatal calf diarrhea caused by intestinal microbial dysbiosis severely restricts rearing efficiency, and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) emerges as a promising antibiotic-free strategy for regulating gut homeostasis. Nevertheless, to the best of our knowledge, the effects of colostrum-period FMT and the functional differences between colonic and colostrum delivery routes remain poorly characterized in pre-weaned dairy calves. We hypothesized that colostrum-period FMT would accelerate gut microbiota maturation, improve immune status and reduce diarrhea incidence in pre-weaned calves, with delivery-route-dependent effects. This study aimed to investigate how two colostrum-phase FMT delivery routes shape growth performance, serum immune profiles and gut microbiota in neonatal Holstein calves. Sixty newborn calves were randomly assigned to three groups (n = 20 per group): control (no FMT), colon-FMT (colonic perfusion), and colostrum-FMT (FMT mixed with colostrum). Donor feces were homogenized with sterile saline at a 1:9 ratio for FMT suspension preparation, and the trial lasted 56 days. For growth performance, the colon-FMT calves exhibited significantly higher average daily gain from D29 to D56 (p < 0.05). In terms of intestinal health, the colostrum-FMT group exhibited lower diarrhea incidence during D15-28 (p < 0.05) but markedly higher diarrhea rates during D29-56 (p < 0.01). For serum immunity, colon-FMT calves had elevated serum IgG at D14 (p < 0.05). At D56, the concentrations of IL-2 (p < 0.01) and IL-4 (p = 0.05) were significantly lower in the colostrum-FMT group than the colon-FMT group; no intergroup differences were detected for other serum cytokines and immunoglobulins. 16S rRNA gene sequencing of D28 fecal samples revealed that the colon-FMT group possessed a significantly higher relative abundance of Lactobacillus compared with the other two treatments (p < 0.05). Collectively, colonic FMT is associated with remodeling intestinal microbiota by enriching beneficial Lactobacillus, improved late-stage growth and sustained long-term intestinal health in pre-weaned calves, whereas colostrum-mediated FMT only provides transient protection against early diarrhea.
SN - 2076-2615
ER -