Characterization of the Rumen Microbiota and Volatile Fatty Acid Profiles of Weaned Goat Kids under Shrub-Grassland Grazing and Indoor Feeding

Abstract

In this study, we conducted comparative analyses to characterize the rumen microbiota and volatile fatty acid (VFA) profiles of weaned Nanjiang Yellow goat kids under shrub-grassland grazing (GR), shrub-grassland grazing and supplementary feeding (SF), and indoor feeding (IF) systems. We observed significant differences (p < 0.05) in the concentrations of total VFA and the proportions of acetate and butyrate in the rumen fluid among the three groups, whereas the proportions of propionate and the acetate/propionate ratio did not differ substantially. Alpha diversity of the rumen bacterial and archaeal populations in the GR and SF kids was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that in the IF goat kids, and significant differences (p < 0.05) in similarity were observed in the comparisons of GR vs. IF and SF vs. IF. The most predominant bacterial phyla were Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes across the three groups, and the archaeal community was mainly composed of Euryarchaeota. At the genus and species levels, the cellulose-degrading bacteria, including Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae and Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens, were abundant in the GR and SF groups. Furthermore, 27 bacterial and 11 unique archaeal taxa, such as Lachnospiraceae, Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens, and Methanobrevibacter ruminantium, were identified as biomarkers, and showed significantly different (p < 0.05) abundances among the three groups. Significant Spearman correlations (p < 0.05), between the abundances of several microbial biomarkers and the concentrations of VFAs, were further observed. In summary, our results demonstrated that the adaptation to grazing required more rumen bacterial populations due to complex forage types in shrub-grassland, although the rumen fermentation pattern did not change substantially among the three feeding systems. Some microbial taxa could be used as biomarkers for different feeding systems, particularly cellulose-degrading bacteria associated with grazing.

Comparison of microbial diversity in rumen and small intestine of Xinong Saanen dairy goats using 16S rRNA gene high-throughput sequencing

“…Consistently, our findings in Xinong Saanen dairy goats also confirmed that Firmicutes and Bacteroides account for 91.8% of bacterium and are the dominant flora in the rumen. Our results are also in accordance with those of previous studies (Brulc et al 2009;Kim et al 2011;Guo et al 2020), where Firmicutes and Bacteroides were dominant flora in the rumen. Additionally, our findings showed that Firmicutes, Actinomycetes and Tenericutes were identified as the dominant flora/phyla in the jejunum, of which Firmicutes accounted for 73.0% of jejunal microorganisms.…”

Distinct Stage Changes in Early-Life Colonization and Acquisition of the Gut Microbiota and Its Correlations With Volatile Fatty Acids in Goat Kids

“…We obtained rectal feces of the kids on days 0 ( n = 9, sampling within 12 h after birth), 7 ( n = 11), 14 ( n = 11), 21 ( n = 11), 28 ( n = 8), 42 ( n = 10), and 56 ( n = 11) after birth. As described in our previous work ( Guo et al, 2020 ), we also collected ∼30 ml of rumen fluid of each mother goat ( n = 5) and 56-day-old goat kid ( n = 11) using a stomach tube attached to a vacuum pump before the morning feeding.…”

Dietary Concentrate Supplementation Alters Serum Metabolic Profiles Related to Energy and Amino Acid Metabolism in Grazing Simmental Heifers

“…Grazing is a very important production system for the ruminant industry worldwide due to its low cost and benefit to animal welfare ( 1 ). A major challenge of this system is the imbalance between pasture availability and animal nutritional requirements ( 2 ).…”