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

Abstract

In livestock, a comprehensive understanding of the early-life establishment and acquisition of commensal gut microbiota allow us to develop better husbandry management operations and manipulate the gut microbiota for young animals, improving the efficiency of animal production. Here, we collected 123 microbial samples of 11 healthy goat kids and their mothers to investigate the colonization and acquisition of the gut microbiota and their correlations with volatile fatty acids (VFAs) in goat kids from birth to day 56. An age-dependent increasing and more homogeneous diversity were observed for the feces of goat kids. Overall, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria were the predominant phyla in the fecal microbiota of goat kids, but their relative abundance varied considerably with age. Accordingly, the colonization of the fecal microbiota in goat kids was divided into three distinct stages: newborn (day 0), non-rumination stage (days 7–21), and transition stages (days 28–56). LEfSe analysis revealed a total of 49 bacterial biomarkers that are stage-specific (LDA score > 3, P < 0.05). Significant Spearman correlations ( P < 0.05) were observed between the abundances of several bacterial biomarkers and the VFA concentrations. Furthermore, a substantial difference in the fecal microbiota composition was present between 56-day-old goat kids and mothers, whereas there was a moderate difference in the rumen microbiota between them. Among four body sites (i.e., feces, oral cavity, vagina, and breast milk) of mothers, the maternal vaginal and breast milk microbiota were the major source of the fecal microbiota of goat kids in the first 56 days after birth, although their contributions decreased with age and unknown sources increased after day 28. In summary, we concluded that the gut bacterial community in goat kids after birth was mainly acquired from the maternal vagina and breast milk. Its colonization showed three distinct phases with dramatic shifts of composition mainly driven by age and diet changes. Our results provide a framework for a better understanding of the roles of the gut microbiota in young ruminants.

Early feeding strategies in lambs affect rumen development and growth performance, with advantages persisting for two weeks after the transition to fattening diets

“…Rumen pH is essential for rumen development, rumen environment, and even lamb health. The ruminal pH of lambs has been reported to be lower than that of adult sheep ( 59 ), which is similar to our present results. The lambs in the present study showed no signs of metabolic disorders, suggesting that lambs at this age tolerate pH levels that would be detrimental to the health of adult sheep.…”

Effects of Fermented Herbal Tea Residue on Serum Indices and Fecal Microorganisms of Chuanzhong Black Goats

“…We found that adding FHTR to the diet had no adverse effect on the alpha structures of fecal microorganisms and did not change the dominant phylum of the fecal microbiota. At the phylum level, the dominant bacteria were Bacteroides and Firmicutes, which is consistent with previous research [28,29]. The relative abundance of Phascolarctobacterium notably increased in the L15 group compared with the other groups.…”

Comparative analysis of gut microbial composition and potential functions in captive forest and alpine musk deer

“…Recent studies have demonstrated that gut microbial structure abnormalities are associated with mental disorders, intestinal, metabolic, and other diseases (Dinleyici et al 2018;Qin et al 2012;Fung et al 2017;Valles-Colomer et al 2019). Moreover, various intrinsic and extrinsic factors such as host genetics (Fan et al 2021), genetic background (Korach-Rechtman et al 2019), diet (Wang et al 2019), age (O'Toole et al 2015;Guo et al 2020a), seasonal change (Peddada 2017), and habitat environment (Barelli et al 2020;Xiong et al 2021) greatly affect gut microbial community structure.…”