Variation of Microbial Community and Fermentation Quality in Corn Silage Treated with Lactic Acid Bacteria and Artemisia argyi during Aerobic Exposure

Abstract

Silage, especially whole crop corn silage (WCCS), is an important part of ruminant diets, with its high moisture content and rich nutrient content, which can easily cause contamination by mold and their toxins, posing a great threat to ruminant production, food safety and human health. The objective of this study was to examine effects of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) Lactiplantibacillus (L.) plantarum subsp. plantarum ZA3 and Artemisia argyi (AA) on the fermentation characteristics, microbial community and mycotoxin of WCCS during 60 days (d) ensiling and subsequent 7 d aerobic exposure. The results showed that WCCS treated with LAB and AA both had lower pH value and ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) contents, and higher lactic and acetic acids concentration compared with other groups after 60 d ensiling. In addition, for microbial communities, Acetobacter and Enterobacter were inhibited in all AA group, while higher abundance of Lactobacilli was maintained; besides, Candida, Pichia and Kazachstania abundances were decreased in both 6% and 12% AA groups. The content of five kinds of mycotoxins were all significantly lower after 7 d of aerobic exposure. As for the total flavonoid (TF), which is significantly higher in all AA treated groups, it was positively correlated with Paenibacillus, Weissella and Lactobacilli, and negatively with Acetobacter, Enterobacteria, Kazachstania and Pichia.

Microbial community and fermentation characteristic of whole-crop wheat silage treated by lactic acid bacteria and Artemisia argyi during ensiling and aerobic exposure

“…Contents of acetic acid in all AA-treated groups were significantly higher after ensiling 60 days. For appropriate acetic acid concentration that could inhibit yeast and improve aerobic stability, AA groups could significantly inhibit fungi and improve aerobic stability of silage, which were also consistent with the findings of Ma et al (2022) and Wang et al (2022b) .…”

“…At 2 and 4 days, the number of microorganisms in LB, 20% AA and AA groups were relatively high, and the compositions of microbial community in LB and 20% AA were gradually similar. This might because microbialcommunities in silage treated with LAB and AA changed along with environment from anaerobic to aerobic ( Wang et al, 2022b ).…”

Effects of condensed tannins on bacterial and fungal communities during aerobic exposure in sainfoin silage

“…The fungal richness decreased during aerobic exposure, in accordance with the ndings of previous research [35]. High fungal diversity can improve the aerobic stability of whole-plant corn silage [40]. In the present study, the fungal diversity showed no difference between treatments or between days of aerobic exposure (P > 0.05), indicating that the CTs did not prolong the aerobic stability of sainfoin silage.…”

Characterization of mycotoxins and microbial community in whole-plant corn ensiled in different silo types during aerobic exposure

“…The contents of ammonia-N in all groups increased with prolonged aerobic exposure. This result is probably due to protein hydrolysis, which is typically caused by extensive protease ( Wang et al, 2022 ). Higher contents of ammonia-N and lower CP were observed in the BS group than in the other groups, illustrating that amino acid deamination was relatively active in BS silages.…”