This study investigated the effects of disodium fumarate (DF) on methane emission, ruminal fermentation and microbial abundance in goats under different forage (F) : concentrate (C) ratios and fed according to maintenance requirements. Four ruminally fistulated, castrated male goats were used in a 4 × 4 Latin square design with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments and the main factors being the F : C ratios (41 : 59 or 58 : 42) and DF supplementation (0 or 10 g/day). DF reduced methane production (P< 0.05) on average by 11.9%, irrespective of the F : C ratio. The concentrations of total volatile fatty acids, acetate and propionate were greater in the rumen of goats supplemented with DF (P< 0.05), whereas the abundance of methanogens was lower (P< 0.05). In high-forage diets, the abundance ofSelenomonas ruminantium, a fumarate-reducing bacterium, was greater in the rumen of goats supplemented with DF. The abundance of fungi, protozoa,Ruminococus flavefaciensandFibrobacter succinogeneswere not affected by the addition of DF. Variable F : C ratios affected the abundance of methanogens, fungi andR.flavefaciens(P< 0.05), but did not affect methane emission. The result implied that DF had a beneficial effect on thein vivorumen fermentation of the goats fed diets with different F : C ratios and that this effect were not a direct action on anaerobic fungi, protozoa and fibrolytic bacteria, the generally recognized fiber-degrading and hydrogen-producing microorganisms, but due to the stimulation of fumarate-reducing bacteria and the depression of methanogens.
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