• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.495-504
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• 2017

Objective: Manipulating the fermentation to improve the performance of the ruminant has attracted the attention of both farmers and animal scientists. Propionate salt supplementation in the diet could disturb the concentration of propionate and total volatile fatty acids in the rumen. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of calcium propionate supplementation on the ruminal bacterial community composition in finishing bulls. Methods: Eight finishing bulls were randomly assigned to control group (CONT) and calcium propionate supplementation (PROP) feeding group, with four head per group. The control group was fed normal the total mixed ration (TMR) finishing diet, and PROP group was fed TMR supplemented with 200 g/d calcium propionate. At the end of the 51-day feeding trial, all bulls were slaughtered and rumen fluid was collected from each of the animals. Results: Propionate supplementation had no influence the rumen fermentation parameters (p>0.05). Ruminal bacterial community composition was analyzed by sequencing of hypervariable V3 regions of the 16S rRNA gene. The most abundant phyla were the Firmicutes (60.68%) and Bacteroidetes (23.67%), followed by Tenericutes (4.95%) and TM7 (3.39%). The predominant genera included Succiniclasticum (9.43%), Butyrivibrio (3.74%), Ruminococcus (3.46%) and Prevotella (2.86%). Bacterial community composition in the two groups were highly similar, except the abundance of Tenericutes declined along with the calcium propionate supplementation (p = 0.0078). Conclusion: These data suggest that the ruminal bacterial community composition is nearly unchanged by propionate supplementation in finishing bulls.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.12
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• pp.1726-1735
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• 2014

This study investigated the effects of acarbose addition on changes in ruminal fermentation characteristics and the composition of the ruminal bacterial community in vitro using batch cultures. Rumen fluid was collected from the rumens of three cannulated Holstein cattle fed forage ad libitum that was supplemented with 6 kg of concentrate. The batch cultures consisted of 8 mL of strained rumen fluid in 40 mL of an anaerobic buffer containing 0.49 g of corn grain, 0.21 g of soybean meal, 0.15 g of alfalfa and 0.15g of Leymus chinensis. Acarbose was added to incubation bottles to achieve final concentrations of 0.1, 0.2, and 0.4 mg/mL. After incubation for 24 h, the addition of acarbose linearly decreased (p<0.05) the total gas production and the concentrations of acetate, propionate, butyrate, total volatile fatty acids, lactate and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). It also linearly increased (p<0.05) the ratio of acetate to propionate, the concentrations of isovalerate, valerate and ammonia-nitrogen and the pH value compared with the control. Pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene showed that the addition of acarbose decreased (p<0.05) the proportion of Firmicutes and Proteobacteria and increased (p<0.05) the percentage of Bacteroidetes, Fibrobacteres, and Synergistetes compared with the control. A principal coordinates analysis plot based on unweighted UniFrac values and molecular variance analysis revealed that the structure of the ruminal bacterial communities in the control was different to that of the ruminal microbiota in the acarbose group. In conclusion, acarbose addition can affect the composition of the ruminal microbial community and may be potentially useful for preventing the occurrence of ruminal acidosis and the accumulation of LPS in the rumen.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.9
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• pp.1466-1478
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• 2021

Objective: Ruminants are completely dependent on their microbiota for rumen fermentation, feed digestion, and consequently, their metabolism for productivity. This study aimed to evaluate the rumen bacteria of lactating yaks with different milk protein yields, using high-throughput sequencing technology, in order to understand the influence of these bacteria on milk production. Methods: Yaks with similar high milk protein yield (high milk yield and high milk protein content, HH; n = 12) and low milk protein yield (low milk yield and low milk protein content, LL; n = 12) were randomly selected from 57 mid-lactation yaks. Ruminal contents were collected using an oral stomach tube from the 24 yaks selected. High-throughput sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA gene was used. Results: Ruminal ammonia N, total volatile fatty acids, acetate, propionate, and isobutyrate concentrations were found to be higher in HH than LL yaks. Community richness (Chao 1 index) and diversity indices (Shannon index) of rumen microbiota were higher in LL than HH yaks. Relative abundances of the Bacteroidetes and Tenericutes phyla in the rumen fluid were significantly increased in HH than LL yaks, but significantly decreased for Firmicutes. Relative abundances of the Succiniclasticum, Butyrivibrio 2, Prevotella 1, and Prevotellaceae UCG-001 genera in the rumen fluid of HH yaks was significantly increased, but significantly decreased for Christensenellaceae R-7 group and Coprococcus 1. Principal coordinates analysis on unweighted UniFrac distances revealed that the bacterial community structure of rumen differed between yaks with high and low milk protein yields. Furthermore, rumen microbiota were functionally enriched in relation to transporters, ABC transporters, ribosome, and urine metabolism, and also significantly altered in HH and LL yaks. Conclusion: We observed significant differences in the composition, diversity, fermentation product concentrations, and function of ruminal microorganisms between yaks with high and low milk protein yields, suggesting the potential influence of rumen microbiota on milk protein yield in yaks. A deeper understanding of this process may allow future modulation of the rumen microbiome for improved agricultural yield through bacterial community design.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.62 no.4
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• pp.504-520
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• 2020

Proliferation of shrubs at the expense of native forage in pastures has been associated with large changes in dry-matter intake and dietary components for grazing ruminants. These changes can also affect the animals' physiology and metabolism. However, little information is available concerning the effect of pastoral-shrub grazing on the rumen bacterial community. To explore rumen bacteria composition in grazing yaks and the response of rumen bacteria to increasing shrub coverage in alpine meadows, 48 yak steers were randomly assigned to four pastures with shrub coverage of 0%, 5.4%, 11.3%, and 20.1% (referred as control, low, middle, and high, respectively), and ruminal fluid was collected from four yaks from each pasture group after 85 days. Rumen fermentation products were measured and microbiota composition determined using Ion S5™ XL sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. Principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) and similarity analysis indicated that the degree of shrub coverage correlated with altered rumen bacterial composition of yaks grazing in alpine shrub meadows. At the phyla level, the relative abundance of Firmicutes in rumen increased with increasing shrub coverage, whereas the proportions of Bacteroidetes, Cyanobacteria and Verrucomicrobia decreased. Yaks grazing in the high shrub-coverage pasture had decreased species of the genus Prevotellaceae UCG-001, Lachnospiraceae XPB1014 group, Lachnospiraceae AC2044 group, Lachnospiraceae FCS020 group and Fretibacterium, but increased species of Christensenellaceae R-7 group, Ruminococcaceae NK4A214 group, Ruminococcus 1, Ruminococcaceae UCG-002, Ruminococcaceae UCG-005 and Lachnospiraceae UCG-008. These variations can enhance the animals' utilization efficiencies of cellulose and hemicellulose from native forage. Meanwhile, yaks grazed in the high shrub-coverage pasture had increased concentrations of ammonia nitrogen (NH₃-N) and branched-chain volatile fatty acids (isobutyrate and isovalerate) in rumen compared with yaks grazing in the pasture without shrubs. These results indicate that yaks grazing in a high shrub-coverage pasture may have improved dietary energy utilization and enhanced resistance to cold stress during the winter. Our findings provide evidence for the influence of shrub coverage on the rumen bacterial community of yaks grazing in alpine meadows as well as insights into the sustainable production of grazing yaks on lands with increasing shrub coverage on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.603-615
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• 2008

Dietary fiber is an inevitable component in pig diets. In non-ruminants, it may influence many physiological processes in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) such as transit time as well as nutrient digestion and absorption. Moreover, dietary fiber is also the main substrate of intestinal bacteria. The bacterial community structure is largely susceptible to changes in the fiber content of a pig's diet. Indeed, bacterial composition in the lower GIT will adapt to the supply of high levels of dietary fiber by increased growth of bacteria with cellulolytic, pectinolytic and hemicellulolytic activities such as Ruminococcus spp., Bacteroides spp. and Clostridium spp. Furthermore, there is growing evidence for growth promotion of beneficial bacteria, such as lactobacilli and bifidobacteria, by certain types of dietary fiber in the small intestine of pigs. Studies in rats have shown that both phosphorus (P) and calcium (Ca) play an important role in the fermentative activity and growth of the intestinal microbiota. This can be attributed to the significance of P for the bacterial cell metabolism and to the buffering functions of Ca-phosphate in intestinal digesta. Moreover, under P deficient conditions, ruminal NDF degradation as well as VFA and bacterial ATP production are reduced. Similar studies in pigs are scarce but there is some evidence that dietary fiber may influence the ileal and fecal P digestibility as well as P disappearance in the large intestine, probably due to microbial P requirement for fermentation. On the other hand, fermentation of dietary fiber may improve the availability of minerals such as P and Ca which can be subsequently absorbed and/or utilized by the microbiota of the pig's large intestine.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.65 no.1
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• pp.132-148
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• 2023

Ruminants are the main contributors to methane (CH₄), a greenhouse gas emitted by livestock, which leads to global warming. In addition, animals experience heat stress (HS) when exposed to high ambient temperatures. Organic trace minerals are commonly used to prevent the adverse effects of HS in ruminants; however, little is known about the role of these minerals in reducing enteric methane emissions. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the influence of dietary organic trace minerals on rumen fermentation characteristics, enteric methane emissions, and the composition of rumen bacteria and methanogens in heat-stressed dairy steers. Holstein (n=3) and Jersey (n=3) steers were kept separately within a 3×3 Latin square design, and the animals were exposed to HS conditions (Temperature-Humidity Index [THI], 82.79 ± 1.10). For each experiment, the treatments included a Control (Con) consisting of only basal total mixed rations (TMR), National Research Council (NRC) recommended mineral supplementation group (NM; TMR + [Se 0.1 ppm + Zn 30 ppm + Cu 10 ppm]/kg dry matter), and higher concentration of mineral supplementation group (HM; basal TMR + [Se 3.5 ppm + Zn 350 ppm + Cu 28 ppm]/kg dry matter). Higher concentrations of trace mineral supplementation had no influence on methane emissions and rumen bacterial and methanogen communities regardless of breed (p > 0.05). Holstein steers had higher ruminal pH and lower total volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentrations than Jersey steers (p < 0.05). Methane production (g/d) and yield (g/kg dry matter intake) were higher in Jersey steers than in Holstein steers (p < 0.05). The relative abundances of Methanosarcina and Methanobrevibacter olleyae were significantly higher in Holstein steers than in Jersey steers (p < 0.05). Overall, dietary organic trace minerals have no influence on enteric methane emissions in heat-stressed dairy steers; however, breed can influence it through selective alteration of the rumen methanogen community.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.227-234
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• 2019

This study was performed to investigate the effect of heat-stressed environment on rumen microbial diversity in Holstein cows. Rectal temperature and respiration rate were measured and rumen fluid was collected under normal environment (NE; Temperature humidity index (THI)=64.6) and heat-stressed environment (HE; THI=87.2) from 10 Holstein cows (60±17.7 months, 717±64.4 kg) fed on the basis of dairy feeding management in National Institute of Animal Science. The rumen bacteria diversity was analyzed by using the Illumina HiSeq^TM 4000 platform. The rectal temperature and respiratory rate were increased by 1.5℃ and 53 breaths/min in HE compared to that in NE, respectively. In this study, HE exposure induced significant changes of ruminal microbe. At phylum level, Fibrobacteres were increased in HE. At genus level, Ruminococcaceae bacterium P7 and YAD3003, Butyrivibrio sp. AE2032, Erysipelotrichaceae bacterium NK3D112, Bifidobacterium pseudolongum, Lachnospiraceae bacterium FE2018, XBB2008, and AC2029, Eubacterium celulosolvens, Clostridium hathewayi, and Butyrivibrio hungatei were decreased in HE, while Choristoneura murinana nucleopolyhedrovirus, Calothrix parasitica, Nostoc sp. KVJ20, Anabaena sp. ATCC 33047, Fibrobacter sp. UWB13 and sp. UWB5, Lachnospiraceae bacterium G41, and Xanthomonas arboricola were increased in HE. In conclusion, HE might have an effect to change the rumen microbial community in Holstein cows.