Effects of fecal microbiota transplantation from yaks on weaning diarrhea, fecal microbiota composition, microbial network structure and functional pathways in Chinese Holstein calves

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from yaks on weaning diarrhea, fecal microbiota composition, microbial network structure and functional pathways in Chinese Holstein Calves. In this study, 50 calves were randomly divided into five groups of 10 each: NC group (no supplementation), Control group (normal saline), low concentration FMT group (LFMT, 1 × 108 CFU/ml), high concentration FMT group (HMFT, 1 × 109 CFU/ml), and sterilized FMT group (SMFT, sterilized bacterial solution). The test lasted for 30 days. We found that FMT reduced the incidence of diarrhea in weaned calves, and the anti-diarrhea effect of LFMT was stronger than those of HFMT and SFMT. Calf feces were collected by rectal palpation on days 5, 10, 15, and 20 post-weaning, and high-throughput sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA and fungal internal transcribed spacer region of fecal microbiota was performed. We observed that the richness and diversity of bacterial microbiota in the LFMT, HFMT, and SFMT groups were higher than those in the NC and Control groups at day 20 after weaning. The treatment had a significant effect on bacterial richness (p < 0.05), but not on fungal diversity or richness. The analysis of gut microbiome showed that Firmicutes and Bacteroides were the main bacterial phyla in the feces of weaned calves, and norank_ f Muribaculaceae, UCG-005, Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group, Bacteroides, and Blautia were the main genera. Ascomycota and Basidiomycota were the main fungal phyla. Compared to abundance parameters in the Control and NC groups, relative abundances of Firmicutes in the FMT groups increased at different time points after weaning. The relative abundance of Blautia and Lactobacillus in the LFMT group increased significantly after weaning. In addition, abundances of Ruminococcus and Romboutsia, which produce short-chain fatty acids, were also increased in different FMT groups. FMT significantly increased the relative abundance of beneficial bacteria, enhanced the complexity of the fecal microbial network, and promoted important metabolic and cellular processes in weaned calves. In conclusion, our study provides a reference and theoretical basis for FMT to prevent calf weaning diarrhea and other intestinal diseases in ruminants.

The Profound Influence of Gut Microbiome and Extracellular Vesicles on Animal Health and Disease

“…However, another study examined the effects of FMT from yaks, whereby it has increased the relative abundance of beneficial bacteria, enhanced microbial network complexity, and promoted essential metabolic and cellular processes in weaned calves. Overall, these findings suggest that FMT could be a valuable strategy for preventing weaning diarrhea and other intestinal diseases in ruminants [121].…”

Effects of two strains of Lactobacillus isolated from the feces of calves after fecal microbiota transplantation on growth performance, immune capacity, and intestinal barrier function of weaned calves

“…Lactobacillus plays a good role in improving intestinal epithelial barrier function, maintaining mucosal integrity, competing with pathogenic bacterial, and ameliorating intestinal mucosal damage ( Wu et al, 2020 ). Our previous studies have shown that low-concentration fecal microbiota transplantation (LFMT) reduces the diarrhea incidence of weaned calves with Xinjiang yaks as the donor of fecal microbiota transplantation and Chinese Holstein calves as the recipient of fecal microbiota transplantation, and Lactobacillus was enriched in the intestine ( Li et al, 2022 ). To develop more effective probiotics to alleviate weaning diarrhea in calves, we screened Lactobacillus in the feces of weaned calves after LFMT treatment in a previous study, and identified two potential probiotics for alleviating weaning diarrhea in calves, Lactobacillus reuteri L81 and Lactobacillus johnsonii L29.…”