Lasbela University of Agriculture, Water & Marine Science

Heat stress poses a momentous challenge in poultry production, especially in tropical and subtropical areas, resulting in diminished growth performance, impaired health, and elevated mortality rates. While with the increase in global temperatures, it is imperative to reform effective strategies to alleviate heat stress. Phytase supplementation presents a promising solution, utilizing its enzymatic potential to improve phosphorus availability from plant-derived feed components. This review explores the role of phytase supplementation in alleviating the adverse effects of heat stress in chicken, emphasizing its physiological, metabolic, and immune-modulatory implications. Phytase treatment obviously enhances phosphorus use, facilitates skeletal development, and aids in regulating energy metabolism, essential for maintaining thermoregulation in chicken. Additionally, increased phosphorus bioavailability can enhance bone mineralization, immunological function, and general performance. Besides, phytase supplementation has demonstrated its ability to modulate gut health that can exacerbate heat stress and thus diminishing the hostile effects of heat stress. Recent studies have demonstrated that phytase can beneficially influence physiological parameters, including thermoregulation, feed intake, and water consumption, thereby enhancing poultry welfare during heat stress. This review evaluates the role of phytase in ameliorating adverse impacts of heat stress in chicken and examines the biochemical pathways whereby phytase affects thermal tolerance, including its possible influence on oxidative stress and inflammation.

ABSTRACT Gut microbiome has emerged as a pivotal regulator of host physiology, extending its influence beyond gastrointestinal homeostasis to the coordinated regulation of multiple distant organs. This regulation is mediated through an intricate network of microbial metabolites, immune mediators, neuroactive compounds, and epigenetic modulators that collectively facilitate inter‐organ communication and systemic homeostasis. Among the key microbial‐derived molecules, short‐chain fatty acids (SCFAs), secondary bile acids, and tryptophan metabolites play fundamental roles in modulating host metabolic, immune, and neuroendocrine signaling pathways. In parallel, microbiota‐driven cytokine production and neurotransmitter synthesis contribute to bidirectional gut‐organ axes, including gut‐brain, gut‐liver, gut‐heart, and gut‐kidney axes. Disruption of these tightly regulated signaling networks leads to microbial dysbiosis, which is increasingly implicated in the pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome, neurodegenerative disorders, cardiovascular diseases, and immune‐mediated conditions. Recent advancements in multi‐omics technologies, including metagenomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, and epigenomics, alongside systems biology and computational modeling, have enabled high‐resolution characterization of microbiome–host interactions and mechanistic insights into disease associations. This review consolidates current evidence on systems‐level microbiome signaling, highlighting molecular mediators, inter‐organ communication pathways, and disease relevance. Furthermore, it highlights emerging translational strategies such as microbiome‐based therapeutics, precision nutrition, and biomarker development. By synthesizing findings across microbiology, immunology, neuroscience, and systems biology, this work provides a comprehensive framework for understanding how gut microbial networks interface with host regulatory systems to influence health and disease trajectories.

Goat farming plays a vital role in the rural economy of Pakistan, particularly in Sindh province. Enterotoxemia, caused by Clostridium perfringens type D, is a major bacterial disease affecting goats and leading to significant economic losses. The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence of enterotoxemia and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of C. perfringens isolated from diarrheic goats in district Thatta, Sindh. A total of 100 fecal samples were collected from diarrheic goats across four talukas (Thatta, Gharo, Mirpur Sakro, and Keti Bunder) by the Veterinary Research & Diagnosis team. Samples were processed at Veterinary Research & Diagnosis CVDL Tandojam. Isolation and identification were performed using standard microbiological and biochemical techniques. Out of 100 samples, 48 were confirmed positive for C. perfringens. Highest prevalence was observed in Thatta taluka (37.50%), followed by Mirpur Sakro (27.08%), Gharo (20.83%), and Keti Bunder (14.58%). Antibiogram analysis revealed high sensitivity to Trimethoprim/Sulphamethoxazole (100%), followed by Amoxicillin (95.83%) and Chloramphenicol (93.75%). Limited resistance was observed against Amoxicillin and Chloramphenicol. The study concludes that enterotoxemia is prevalent in Thatta district and proper vaccination and rational antibiotic use are essential for control.

The joint effect of socioeconomic characteristics and environmental concern on public for marine biodiversity conservation in coastal area of Balochistan, Pakistan is investigated in this study. A structured questionnaire was used to collect primary data from 410 respondents from five coastal localities of Balochistan. The data was analyses using descriptive statistics, principal component analysis (PCA), cluster analysis and binary logistic regression. The overall results indicate that concern about the environment is moderate, with significant differences among the age, marital status, beach-visitation groups and household income categories. Three worldviews in relation to the environment were detected: Human domination of Nature, Anti-anthropocentrism and Limits to Growth. The logistic regression shows that a person's age, marital status and household income are the most significant socioeconomic factors influencing WTP, and that environmental attitudes support their financial commitment to conservation after these factors are controlled for. The model has an adequate explanatory power of a significant proportion of the WTP (Nagelkerke R² = 0.742). The study finds that the combination of socioeconomic factors and environmental worldview explains the willingness to pay for the conservation of marine biodiversity in Balochistan and proposes a concept of financing conservation efforts based on income-generating strategies and community-based methods along with targeted environmental education initiatives.

Transition towards circular bioeconomy practices (CBPs) in the agriculture sector is critical for mitigating climate change; however, the adoption of these practices remains a challenge among farmers specifically in developing countries. This analysis underscores the importance of shifting farmers’ behavioural intentions to adopt CBPs. Our study extends theory of planned behaviour (TPB) by integrating anticipated positive and negative emotions, attachment towards traditional farming, pro-environmental attitude, knowledge, and perceived value to provide a comprehensive framework for explaining farmers’ behavioural intentions to adopt CBPs. Employing a partial least squares structural equation modelling to test the hypotheses using a cross-sectional survey of 1,005 farmers in Balochistan, Pakistan. Our findings reveal that attitude is the key determinant to influence farmers’ behavioural intentions (β = 0.425), whereas subjective norms in context of Balochistan have an insignificant impact. Signifying the critical role of tribal structures and landlord-tenant associations on farmers’ behavioural intentions as compared to family and friends influence as traditionally captured by subjective norms. The non-significant impact is also explained by the early stage of transition towards a circular bioeconomy (CBE) model and weak social pressure to adopt CBPs. Most importantly, anticipated positive (β = 0.077), and negative emotions (β = 0.091), both positively influence farmers behavioural intentions signifying the critical role of emotional dimensions in decision making process. Knowledge and pro-environmental attitude influence farmers’ behavioural intentions indirectly through attitude while perceived value has a direct significant impact. The augmented model explains 46.8% of the variance of farmers’ behavioural intentions. These findings highlight the need for multifaceted interventions that extend beyond rational decision-making models by integrating both psychological and emotional engagement strategies.