Lee Johnston
University of Minnesota · Animal Science
Active 1981–2026
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About
Lee Johnston is a Professor in the Department of Animal Science at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. He holds a Ph.D. from Michigan State University (1988), an M.S. from Texas Tech University (1984), and a B.S. from Penn State University (1982). His research focuses on swine nutrition and management, including energy and protein nutrition of sows, feedstuff evaluation, management of reproducing sows, nutrition/environment interactions, nutrition of the newly weaned pigs, and the use of renewable energy in pork production systems. Johnston has contributed to numerous publications in the field, advancing understanding of dietary impacts on pig performance, gut microbiota, and environmental sustainability in animal production systems.
Research topics
- Microbiology
- Biology
- Internal medicine
- Immunology
- Medicine
- Biochemistry
Selected publications
Obesity Reviews · 2021-07-18 · 207 citations
reviewOver the past several decades, increasing global prevalence of obesity-related nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been one of main challenges to human health. Recently, increasing evidence has validated connections among short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), a physiologically relevant concentration, the intestinal microbiota, and host metabolism. In this review, we summarized crosstalk between SCFAs and host metabolism in relation to NAFLD pathophysiology, focusing on recent advances. First…
Gut Microbes · 2020-05-13 · 141 citations
reviewOpen accessTryptophan (Trp) is not only a nutrient enhancer but also has systemic effects. Trp metabolites signaling through the well-known aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) constitute the interface of microbiome-gut-brain axis. However, the pathway through which Trp metabolites affect central nervous system (CNS) function have not been fully elucidated. AhR participates in a broad variety of physiological and pathological processes that also highly relevant to intestinal homeostasis and CNS diseases. Via th…
Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · 2025-05-01 · 3 citations
articleOpen accessThis study evaluated the utility of winter hybrid rye as a partial replacement for corn in an organic pig production system. Winter hybrid rye replaced 50% of corn in diets for growing-finishing pigs raised organically to determine pig performance, carcass characteristics, and phosphorus concentrations in fecal samples. A total of 500 pigs (initial body weight = 18.9 ± 2.94 kg) were assigned to either a Control or Rye treatment (50 pigs/pen; 5 pens/treatment) balanced for sex and body weight. Co…
Animal Advances · 2025-01-01 · 2 citations
articleOpen accessTo explore the impacts of yeast-derived postbiotic on growth performance and intestinal microbiota of growing pigs, 192 healthy Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire (initial weights 30 ± 0.6 kg) were subjected to four dietary treatments, with eight replicates per treatment and six pigs per replicate. The diets were: CON: basal diets; YC: CON with 0.5 g/kg yeast-derived postbiotic; RED75–: CON with net energy reduced by 75 kcal/kg; RED75+: RED75– with 0.5 g/kg yeast-derived postbiotic. The results showed…
Sustainability · 2025-02-10 · 1 citations
articleOpen accessThe production of organic meat and dairy products relies on limited organic protein meal supplies. Camelina (Camelina sativa L.) may sustainably increase organic protein meal supplies. Using grain production trial data, research literature, and camelina feeding trial results, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and fossil energy impacts were modeled for inclusion of 10% camelina meal in swine finishing diets using life cycle analysis (LCA). Two key grain production scenarios were examined: field tria…
Frequent coauthors
- 98 shared
G. C. Shurson
University of Minnesota
- 56 shared
Pedro E Urriola
University of Minnesota System
- 50 shared
Xi Ma
China Agricultural University
- 43 shared
Xiangfang Zeng
China Agricultural University
- 40 shared
Xia Hua
- 40 shared
Yuhong Zou
Feed Research Institute
- 40 shared
Yuting Yang
Feed Research Institute
- 38 shared
Haidong Sun
Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine
Labs
Department of Animal SciencePI
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