Dataset Information

Effects of Dietary Forage and Calf Starter Diet on Ruminal pH and Bacteria in Holstein Calves during Weaning Transition.

ABSTRACT: We investigated the relationship between ruminal pH and bacteria in calves fed calf starter with and without forage during weaning transition. First, 16 Holstein bull calves were obtained from dairy farms and equipped with rumen cannulas by cannulation surgery. Then, calves (73.5 ± 4.2 kg; mean ± SE) were assigned to groups fed calf starter either with forage (HAY, n = 8) or without forage (CON, n = 8), and all calves were weaned at 8 weeks of age. Ruminal pH was measured continuously, and rumen fluid samples were collected at 7, 8, 9, and 11 weeks of age, namely -1, 0, 1, and 3 weeks after weaning, respectively, to assess volatile fatty acid concentrations and bacterial DNA. The 24-h mean ruminal pH was significantly (P < 0.05) different between the two groups. Diurnal changes in the 1-h mean ruminal pH were observed throughout the study in the HAY group; however, they were not observed at 0 and 1 weeks after weaning in the CON group. Moreover, the HAY group had significantly (P < 0.05) higher proportions of acetate and butyrate and lower proportion of propionate, and significantly (P < 0.05) lower ruminal acetate-to-propionate ratios were observed in the CON group. The ruminal bacterial diversity indices decreased after -1 week in both groups and increased at 0 and 1 weeks after weaning in the HAY and CON groups, respectively. From the 454 pyrosequencing analysis, significant differences (P < 0.05) were observed in the relative abundance of several phyla (Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, and Tenericutes) and one genus (Prevotella) between the two groups. From quantitative real-time PCR analysis, the HAY group had the higher copy numbers of cellulolytic bacteria (Ruminococcus flavefaciens and Ruminococcus albus) compared with the CON group. This study demonstrated that feeding of dietary forage alleviates subacute ruminal acidosis due to diurnal changes in ruminal pH. Furthermore, changes in ruminal pH affect the ruminal bacterial diversity and relative abundance, and these changes might have influenced the establishment of fermentative ruminal functions during weaning transition.

SUBMITTER: Kim YH

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5073099 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Effects of Dietary Forage and Calf Starter Diet on Ruminal pH and Bacteria in Holstein Calves during Weaning Transition.

Kim Yo-Han YH Nagata Rie R Ohtani Natsuki N Ichijo Toshihiro T Ikuta Kentaro K Sato Shigeru S

Frontiers in microbiology 20161021

We investigated the relationship between ruminal pH and bacteria in calves fed calf starter with and without forage during weaning transition. First, 16 Holstein bull calves were obtained from dairy farms and equipped with rumen cannulas by cannulation surgery. Then, calves (73.5 ± 4.2 kg; mean ± SE) were assigned to groups fed calf starter either with forage (HAY, <i>n</i> = 8) or without forage (CON, <i>n</i> = 8), and all calves were weaned at 8 weeks of age. Ruminal pH was measured continuou ...[more]

PMID: 27818645

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Project description:A better understanding of global ruminal microbiota and metabolites under extensive feeding conditions is a prerequisite for optimizing rumen function and improving ruminant feed efficiency. Furthermore, the gap between the information on the ruminal microbiota and metabolites needs to be bridged. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a wide range of forage to concentrate ratios (F:C) on changes and interactions of ruminal microbiota and metabolites. Four diets with different F:C (80:20, 60:40, 40:60, and 20:80) were limit-fed to 24 Holstein heifers, and Illumina MiSeq sequencing and gas chromatography time-of-flight/mass spectrometry were used to investigate the profile changes of the ruminal microbes and metabolites, and the interaction between them. The predominant bacterial phyla in the rumen were Bacteroidetes (57.2 ± 2.6%) and Firmicutes (26.8 ± 1.6%), and the predominant anaerobic fungi were Neocallimastigomycota (64.3 ± 3.8%) and Ascomycota (22.6 ± 2.4%). In total, 44, 9, 25, and 2 genera, respectively, were identified as the core rumen bacteria, ciliate protozoa, anaerobic fungi, and archaea communities across all samples. An increased concentrate level linearly decreased the relative abundance of cellulolytic bacteria and ciliates, namely Fibrobacter, Succinimonas, Polyplastron, and Ostracodinium (q < 0.05), and linearly increased the relative abundance of Entodinium (q = 0.04), which is a non-fibrous carbohydrate degrader. Dietary F:C had no effect on the communities of anaerobic fungi and archaea. Rumen metabolomics analysis revealed that ruminal amino acids, lipids, organic acids, and carbohydrates were altered significantly by altering the dietary F:C. With increasing dietary concentrate levels, the proportions of propionate and butyrate linearly increased in the rumen (P ≤ 0.01). Correlation analysis revealed that there was some utilization relationship or productive association between candidate metabolites and affected microbe groups. This study provides a better understanding of ruminal microbiota and metabolites under a wide range of dietary F:C, which could further reveal integrative information of rumen function and lead to an improvement in ruminant production.

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Dataset Information

Effects of Dietary Forage and Calf Starter Diet on Ruminal pH and Bacteria in Holstein Calves during Weaning Transition.

Publications

Effects of Dietary Forage and Calf Starter Diet on Ruminal pH and Bacteria in Holstein Calves during Weaning Transition.

Similar Datasets

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