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Weaning age influences the severity of gastrointestinal microbiome shifts in dairy calves.

ABSTRACT: Ruminants microbial consortium is responsible for ruminal fermentation, a process which converts fibrous feeds unsuitable for human consumption into desirable dairy and meat products, begins to establish soon after birth. However, it undergoes a significant transition when digestion shifts from the lower intestine to ruminal fermentation. We hypothesised that delaying the transition from a high milk diet to an exclusively solid food diet (weaning) would lessen the severity of changes in the gastrointestinal microbiome during this transition. ?-diversity of ruminal and faecal microbiota shifted rapidly in early-weaned calves (6 weeks), whereas, a more gradual shift was observed in late-weaned calves (8 weeks) up to weaning. Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes were the most abundant ruminal phyla in pre- and post-weaned calves, respectively. Yet, the relative abundance of these phyla remained stable in faeces (P???0.391). Inferred gene families assigned to KEGG pathways revealed an increase in ruminal carbohydrate metabolism (P???0.009) at 9, compared to 5 weeks. Conversely, carbohydrate metabolism in faeces declined (P???0.002) following a change in weaning status (i.e., the shift from pre- to post-weaning). Our results indicate weaning later facilitates a more gradual shift in microbiota and could potentially explain the negative effects of early-weaning associated with feeding a high-plane of pre-weaning nutrition.

SUBMITTER: Meale SJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5428063 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Weaning age influences the severity of gastrointestinal microbiome shifts in dairy calves.

Meale S J SJ Li S C SC Azevedo P P Derakhshani H H DeVries T J TJ Plaizier J C JC Steele M A MA Khafipour E E

Scientific reports 20170315 1

Ruminants microbial consortium is responsible for ruminal fermentation, a process which converts fibrous feeds unsuitable for human consumption into desirable dairy and meat products, begins to establish soon after birth. However, it undergoes a significant transition when digestion shifts from the lower intestine to ruminal fermentation. We hypothesised that delaying the transition from a high milk diet to an exclusively solid food diet (weaning) would lessen the severity of changes in the gast ...[more]

PMID: 28298634

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Project description:Gastrointestinal disease (GI) is the most common illness in pre-weaned dairy calves. Studies have associated the fecal microbiome composition with health status, but it remains unclear how the microbiome changes across different levels of GI disease and breeds. Our objective was to associate the clinical symptoms of GI disease with the fecal microbiome. Fecal samples were collected from calves (n = 167) of different breeds (Holstein, Jersey, Jersey-cross and beef-cross) from 4-21 d of age. Daily clinical evaluations assessed health status. Calves with loose or watery feces were diagnosed with diarrhea and classified as bright-sick (BS) or depressed-sick (DS) according to behavior. Calves with normal or semiformed feces and no clinical illness were classified as healthy (H). One hundred and three fecal samples were obtained from consistently healthy calves and 64 samples were from calves with diarrhea (n = 39 BS; n = 25 DS). The V3-V4 region of 16S rRNA gene was sequenced and analyzed. Differences were identified by a linear-mixed effects model with a negative binomial error. DS and Jersey calves had a higher relative abundance of Streptococcus gallolyticus relative to H Holstein calves. In addition, DS calves had a lower relative abundance of Bifidobacterium longum and an enrichment of Escherichia coli. Species of the genus Lactobacillus, such as an unclassified Lactobacillus, Lactobacillus reuteri, and Lactobacillus salivarius were enriched in calves with GI disease. Moreover, we created a model to predict GI disease based on the fecal microbiome composition. The presence of Eggerthella lenta, Bifidobacterium longum, and Collinsella aerofaciens were associated with a healthy clinical outcome. Although lactobacilli are often associated with beneficial probiotic properties, the presence of E. coli and Lactobacillus species had the highest coefficients positively associated with GI disease prediction. Our results indicate that there are differences in the fecal microbiome of calves associated with GI disease severity and breed specificities.

Project description:BackgroundCalves undergo nutritional, metabolic, and behavioural changes from birth to the entire weaning period. An appropriate selection of weaning age is essential to reduce the negative effects caused by weaning-related dietary transitions. This study monitored the faecal microbiome and plasma metabolome of 59 female Holstein calves during different developmental stages and weaning times (early vs. late) and identified the potential associations of the measured parameters over an experimental period of 140 days.ResultsA progressive development of the microbiome and metabolome was observed with significant differences according to the weaning groups (weaned at 7 or 17 weeks of age). Faecal samples of young calves were dominated by bifidobacterial and lactobacilli species, while their respective plasma samples showed high concentrations of amino acids (AAs) and biogenic amines (BAs). However, as the calves matured, the abundances of potential fiber-degrading bacteria and the plasma concentrations of sphingomyelins (SMs), few BAs and acylcarnitines (ACs) were increased. Early-weaning at 7 weeks significantly restructured the microbiome towards potential fiber-degrading bacteria and decreased plasma concentrations of most of the AAs and SMs, few BAs and ACs compared to the late-weaning event. Strong associations between faecal microbes, plasma metabolites and calf growth parameters were observed during days 42-98, where the abundances of Bacteroides, Parabacteroides, and Blautia were positively correlated with the plasma concentrations of AAs, BAs and SMs as well as the live weight gain or average daily gain in calves.ConclusionThe present study reported that weaning at 17 weeks of age was beneficial due to higher growth rate of late-weaned calves during days 42-98 and a quick adaptability of microbiota to weaning-related dietary changes during day 112, suggesting an age-dependent maturation of the gastrointestinal tract. However, the respective plasma samples of late-weaned calves contained several metabolites with differential concentrations to the early-weaned group, suggesting a less abrupt but more-persistent effect of dietary changes on host metabolome compared to the microbiome.

Project description:The weaning of dairy calves is a significant stressor which can impact on calf performance and welfare. However, many traditional methods of assessing the effects of stressors can be invasive and impractical for farmers. This study aimed to use a combination of non-invasive monitoring technologies alongside traditional measures of calf performance to examine the impact of two contrasting weaning methods commonly used on dairy farms in the United Kingdom. Ninety group-housed Holstein Friesian calves were allocated to one of two weaning methods: (i) gradual weaning (GW) with volume of milk replacer (MR) stepping down from 36 days of age and complete withdrawal of MR at 57 days of age and (ii) abrupt weaning (AW) with consistent daily volume of milk replacer and complete withdrawal of MR at 50 days of age. Feeding regimes were such that calves from both treatments were offered the same total amount of milk powder. Gradually weaned calves displayed increased solid feed intake at an earlier age when compared with AW calves. Feed conversion efficiency (FCE) was reduced in gradually weaned calves between days 36 and 49. However, there was no difference in live weight (LWT) or average daily gain (ADG) throughout this period. Abrupt weaning at 50 days of age resulted in decreased ADG and FCE between days 50 and 56. However, there were no treatment differences in ADG between days 57 and 62. Live weight tended to be increased by 2.2 kg in GW calves when compared with AW calves at the end of experiment on day 63. Frequency of unrewarded visits to the milk feeder throughout the pre-wean period was consistently increased in GW calves. Daily lying time was reduced in AW compared with GW calves in the days following abrupt weaning (days 50-55). However, these differences did not persist between days 57 and 62. Heart rate variability (HRV) tended to be decreased in GW compared with AW calves in the period following complete withdrawal of milk replacer. Findings from the current study suggest that calves offered the same total amount of milk powder can be weaned either gradually from 36 days of age or abruptly at 50 days of age without significant impact to live weight at 63 days of age. However, both behavioural and physiological data collected using the methods described could suggest that gradual weaning of calves from 36 days of age results in an increase in underlying frustration. This study highlights the potential of using a combination of non-invasive monitoring technologies in assessing calf response to common management practices.

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Weaning age influences the severity of gastrointestinal microbiome shifts in dairy calves.

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Weaning age influences the severity of gastrointestinal microbiome shifts in dairy calves.

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