Air-Dried Brown Seaweed, Ascophyllum nodosum , Alters the Rumen Microbiome in a Manner That Changes Rumen Fermentation Profiles and Lowers the Prevalence of Foodborne Pathogens

Abstract

Maintaining product safety and reducing the carbon footprint of production are two sustainability goals of the livestock industry. The objective of this study was to study the impact of Tasco, a product derived from the brown macroalga Ascophyllum nodosum, on the rumen microbiome and its function. The inclusion of Tasco altered both rumen and fecal microbiota levels without affecting rumen fermentation. Tasco reduced fecal Escherichia coli populations and specifically reduced the prevalence of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O45, O103, O111, and O121 in feces. The findings of this study highlight the application of Tasco as a potential feed additive to reduce pathogen shedding in rams without interfering with ruminal metabolism.

Accessing Dietary Effects on the Rumen Microbiome: Different Sequencing Methods Tell Different Stories

“…Primer bias is an inherent limitation of amplicon sequencing [ 39 ]. Using the same primer set as in the present study, Methanobrevibacter ruminantium and Methanobrevibacter gottschalkii were the dominant archaeal taxa in previous studies [ 2 , 40 ]. However, archaeal diversity is lower in the current study than previously reported [ 2 , 40 ], suggesting that the rumen archaeal community in the rumen of Bulls may be indeed less complicated than that in beef steers/heifers and dairy cows.…”

Seaweed and Seaweed Bioactives for Mitigation of Enteric Methane: Challenges and Opportunities

“…Metagenomics has also been applied to examine the impact of A. nodosum in vivo [ 76 ]. Inclusion of A. nodosum in the diets of rams resulted in a decrease in the total amount of bacteria and archaea in the rumen and an increase in the amount of protozoa.…”

“…Inclusion of A. nodosum in the diets of rams resulted in a decrease in the total amount of bacteria and archaea in the rumen and an increase in the amount of protozoa. Although only small changes in relative abundance of individual taxa were observed, principal component analysis showed statistically significant clustering of rumen samples based on A. nodosum inclusion level [ 76 ]. This result indicates that the composition of the rumen microbial community was significantly altered by the inclusion of A. nodosum and that this effect was concentration dependent.…”

“…This result indicates that the composition of the rumen microbial community was significantly altered by the inclusion of A. nodosum and that this effect was concentration dependent. In addition to changes to the rumen microbial community, Zhou et al [ 76 ] also observed decreased faecal shedding of several serotypes of shiga toxin producing E. coli . This suggests that supplementation of diets with seaweed can alter the microbial community in both the upper and lower gastrointestinal tract.…”

Prebiotics from Seaweeds: An Ocean of Opportunity?

“…Table 11 shows that methanogenic bacteria and methane production were significantly decreased compared to the basal grass substrate control following the in vitro fermentation of sheep rumen with the red seaweed Asparagopsis taxiformis [203]. While sheep given an ad libitum diet of Ascophyllum nodosum brown seaweed (1%, 3%, or 5% w / w ) for 21 days demonstrated a dose-dependent decrease in propionate and butyrate SCFAs and a dose-dependent increase in acetate [204], while several bacteria were significantly decreased, including Prevotella copri , Roseburia, and Coprococcus , while Blautia producta and the family Veillonellaceae were significantly increased compared to the basal diet. Moreover, the specific case of seaweed-fed North Ronaldsay sheep highlights how isolated organisms of the ruminant microbiome, such as Prevotella , Clostridium butyricum , Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens , and Spirochaetes have adapted to hydrolyse alginate laminarin, and fucoidan [205,206].…”