The day‐to‐day stability of the ruminal and fecal microbiota in lactating dairy cows

Abstract

In this study, we examined differences between the microbiota of the ruminal fluid (DR) and feces (DF) from five lactating dairy cows over three consecutive days using 16S rRNA gene sequence‐based analysis. Results showed significant differences between the microbial communities of the DR and DF. In particular, the relative abundance of the phyla Firmicutes and Actinobacteria was significantly lower (q < 0.001) in DR compared with DF, while the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes was significantly higher in DF than that of DR (q < 0.001). A significantly higher relative abundance of the genera Bifidobacterium, 5‐7N15, Clostridium, Epulopiscium, SMB53, Turicibacter, Dorea, Roseburia, and Akkermansia was observed in the DF, while a higher relative abundance of the genera Prevotella, Butyrivibrio, CF231, RFN20, and Succiniclasticum was observed in the DR. A further analysis using the functional prediction program PICRUSt showed that sequences belonging to the 5‐7N15, Akkermansia, Bifidobacterium, Clostridium, Dorea, Epulopiscium, Roseburia, and Turicibacter were significantly and positively correlated with glycan biosynthesis and metabolism, while CF231, Prevotella, RFN20, and Succiniclasticum were significantly and positively correlated with amino acid, lipid, carbohydrate, other amino acid, cofactors, and vitamins metabolism. No significant differences were observed across the three consecutive days in either the DR or DF ecosystems, with no significant differences in the diversity or abundance at the phylum and genus levels suggested that there is a limited day‐to‐day variability in the gut microbiota.

Dynamic changes of the fecal bacterial community in dairy cows during early lactation

“…Similar to previous pyrosequencing-based studies (Hagey et al 2019 ; Huang et al 2020 ), the most abundant fecal bacteria at the phylum level that were shared across all samples were the Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes . We also found that the fecal bacteria community was dynamic over the lactation period, with large discrepancies were observed at the taxonomic level of the phylum and genus, indicating that the adult fecal microbial community with a fluctuation.…”

“…Similar to previous pyrosequencing-based studies (Hagey et al 2019;Huang et al 2020), the most abundant fecal bacteria at the phylum level that were shared across all samples were the Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes.…”

Potential Role of the Rumen Microbiome in Modulating Milk Protein and Fat in Dairy Cow Using Microgenomic Sequencing

“…In addition, we found the predominant anaerobic fungi was Neocallimastigomycota that was consistent with the result reported by Zhang et al [43]. However, Huang et al found Actinobacteria was one of the most abundant predominant phylum besides Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes in the rumen of lactating Chinese Holstein cows with 16S rRNA sequencing [45]. This was likely due to the different feeding management and environment of the farms where cows were collected from that in this study.…”

Effects of Rumen-Protected Niacin on Dry Matter Intake, Milk Production, Apparent Total Tract Digestibility, and Faecal Bacterial Community in Multiparous Holstein Dairy Cow during the Postpartum Period

“…Gut microbes are closely related to host health [52]. Feces are an easy-to-collect sample that can represent the intestinal microorganisms and illustrate the changes in their microbial communities [53][54][55][56]. As the predominant genus in the feces of cattle, Ruminococcus was a fiber utilizer [57] and Bacteroides was a polysaccharides utilizer [58].…”

“…These findings were consistent with no difference in NDF and ADF digestibility. Genera of Eubacterium_nodatum_group, Dorea, and Escherichia-Shigella were conventional in cattle feces and reported in many studies [55,56,59,60]. Many opportunistic pathogens belong to the genera Eubacterium_nodatum_group and Escherichia-Shigella [61].…”