Heat-treated colostrum feeding promotes beneficial bacteria colonization in the small intestine of neonatal calves

Abstract

The present study investigated the effect of heat-treated colostrum feeding on the bacterial colonization in calf small intestine of neonatal calves within the first 12h of life. Newborn Holstein bull calves (n=32) were assigned to 3 treatment groups and fed with either fresh colostrum (FC, n=12) or heat-treated (60°C, 60 min) colostrum (HC, n=12) soon after birth, whereas the control (NC, n=8) group did not receive colostrum or water. Small intestinal tissues and contents were collected from proximal jejunum, distal jejunum, and ileum at 6 and 12h after birth, following euthanasia. Quantitative real time-PCR was used to explore the colonization of total bacteria, Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, and Escherichia coli. The feeding of colostrum soon after birth increased the colonization of total bacteria in calf gut within the first 12h compared with NC. In contrast, the prevalence of Lactobacillus was lower in HC and FC compared to NC. Remarkable changes in the prevalence of small intestinal tissue-attached Bifidobacterium were observed with the feeding of HC, but not that in small intestinal contents. The prevalence of Bifidobacterium was 3.2 and 5.2 fold higher in HC than FC and NC, respectively, at 6h. Although the feeding of FC did not enhance the prevalence of tissue-attached Bifidobacterium at 6h compared with NC, it displayed a gradual increase over the time that was higher than NC, but similar to that of HC at 12h. Moreover, the colonization of E. coli was drastically reduced in HC calves compared with FC and NC. Thus, the present study suggests that the feeding of HC enhances the colonization of Bifidobacterium but lessens E. coli in the calf small intestine immediately postpartum compared with that of FC and NC. The increased colonization of beneficial bacteria along with the decreased colonization of potential pathogens in calf gut may also diminish the neonatal calf diarrhea when calves are fed heat-treated colostrum soon after birth.

Composition of Ileal Bacterial Community in Grazing Goats Varies across Non-rumination, Transition and Rumination Stages of Life

“…For new born goats, total bacteria copy number was relatively low in the current study, being consistent with previous observation in calf small intestine (Malmuthuge et al, 2015). For bacteria composition, Proteobacteria phylum accounted for a great proportion (23.9%), with Escherichia genus constituted 2.0% of total sequences.…”

“…Another genus needs to be taken into consideration was Bifidobacterium , which constituted 0.19% of total sequences in the ileum at day 0. Malmuthuge et al (2015) has reported the relative higher levels of Bifidobacterium (10.4%) within 30 min after birth in neonatal calves.…”

Colostrum Management for Dairy Calves

“…105,112 In a field study of 1071 newborn calves in 6 Midwest dairy herds, calves fed HT colostrum had higher serum IgG level (18.0 g/L) and reduced risk for diarrhea (30.9%) compared with calves fed fresh colostrum (15.4 g/L; 36.5%). 106 Possibly contributing to these health benefits, Malmuthuge and colleagues 113 reported that feeding HT colostrum enhanced GIT colonization with Bifidobacterium but reduced colonization with E coli within the first 12 hours. If refrigerated in a clean covered container, the shelf life of HT colostrum is at least 8 days.…”

Invited Review: Nutritional regulation of gut function in dairy calves: From colostrum to weaning

“…Although it is well-known that feeding colostrum stimulates the activation of passive immunity, Malmuthuge et al (2015) demonstrated that feeding colostrum also accelerates the bacterial colonization of the calf's small intestine. It was found that calves receiving fresh colostrum after birth had a total bacteria density of 10 10 16S rRNA gene/g of sample when euthanized at 12 h of life, whereas calves that do not receive colostrum only achieved 10 8 16S rRNA gene/g of sample (Malmuthuge et al, 2015). The initiation of a balanced gut microbial community in early life is a key factor influencing calf health and performance.…”