TL;DR: The isolation of these bacteria indicates that acetogenic bacteria are inhabitants of the rumen of the bovine fed a typical diet and suggests that they may be participants in the utilization of hydrogen in theRumen ecosystem.
Abstract: Five strains of acetogenic bacteria were isolated by selective enrichment from the rumen of a mature Hereford crossbred steer fed a typical high forage diet. Suspensions of rumen bacteria, prepared from contents collected 7 h postfeeding, blended and strained through cheesecloth, were incubated in a minimal medium containing 10% clarified rumen fluid under either H2:CO2 (80:20) or N2:CO2 (80:20) headspace atmosphere. The selection criterion was an increment of acetate in the enrichments incubated under H2:CO2. Periodically, the enrichment broths were plated onto agar media and presumed acetogenic bacteria subsequently were screened for acetate production. Selected acetogenic bacteria utilized a pressurized atmosphere of H2:CO2 to form acetate in quantities 2 to 8-fold higher than when grown under N2:CO2. All presumptive acetogenic isolates were derived from either the 10-7 or 10-8 dilutions of rumen contents. All 5 strains were Gram-positive rods, and all utilized formate, glucose and CO. One strain required, and all were stimulated by, rumen fluid. No spores were observed with phase-contast microscopy and two strains were motile. No methane was detected in the headspace of pure cultures grown under either gas phase. The isolation of these bacteria indicates that acetogenic bacteria are inhabitants of the rumen of the bovine fed a typical diet and suggests that they may be participants in the utilization of hydrogen in the rumen ecosystem. Strain 139B (= ATCC 43876) is named Acetitomaculum ruminis gen. nov., sp. nov. and is the type strain of this new species.
TL;DR: Dietary energy affects the ruminal microbiota, and further affects ruminal fermentation and IMF FA composition, and Spearman correlation analysis showed high correlations between rumen bacteria and fermentation parameters/IMF FA profiles.
Abstract: The dietary energy level can affect ruminal microbiota, and further can affect rumen fermentation and fatty acid (FA) synthesis. In this study, we investigated the correlations between rumen bacteria and rumen fermentation parameters and intramuscular fat (IMF) FA profiles of Holstein bulls fed different energy diets via using 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing and gas chromatography. The results showed that the improved dietary energy increased propionate, isobutyrate and isovalerate concentrations, and decreased acetate concentration and the acetate/propionate ratio. Increased dietary energy improved beef IMF content and had no effects on cooking loss, Warner-Bratzler shear force, water holding capacity, or drip loss. Increase dietary energy also decreased C18:0, C18:1 trans, C22:0, C20:3n-3, C22:6n-3, and saturated fatty acids, and increased C18:1 cis-9, C18:2n-6 trans, and monounsaturated fatty acids. 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing analysis revealed that dietary energy had no impact on alpha diversity or the relative abundance of most of the major phyla and genera in rumen. In all dietary treatment groups, the dominant microbial phyla were Bacteroidetes (54.91%) and Firmicutes (33.60%), and the major microbial genus was Prevotella_1 (21.75%). Improved dietary energy decreased the abundances of Firmicutes and Tenericutes and increased that of Proteobacteria at the phylum level, while decreasing those of RC9_gut_group, and increased Prevotellaceae_UCG-004, Phocaeicola, Acetitomaculum, Lachnoclostridium_1, Prevotellaceae_UCG-003, and Anaerovibrio at the genus level. Spearman correlation analysis showed high correlations between rumen bacteria and fermentation parameters/IMF FA profiles. Collectively, our data indicated that dietary energy affects the ruminal microbiota, and further affects ruminal fermentation and IMF FA composition.
TL;DR: Repeated rumen fluid inoculation during early life can modulate the establishment of the microbiota in both the rumen and the colon and co-occurrence of some bacteria.
Abstract: Many recent studies have gravitated towards manipulating the gastrointestinal (GI) microbiome of livestock to improve host nutrition and health using dietary interventions. Few studies, however, have evaluated if inoculation with rumen fluid could effectively reprogram the development of GI microbiota. We hypothesized that inoculation with rumen fluid at an early age could modulate the development of GI microbiota because of its low colonization resistance. In this study, we tested the above hypothesis using young lambs as a model. Young lambs were orally inoculated repeatedly (four times before or twice during gradual weaning) with the rumen fluid collected from adult sheep. The oral inoculation did not significantly affect starter intake, growth performance, or ruminal fermentation. Based on sequencing analysis of 16S rRNA gene amplicons, however, the inoculation (both before and during weaning) affected the assemblage of the rumen microbiota, increasing or enabling some bacterial taxa to colonize the rumen. These included operational taxonomic units (OTUs) belonging to Moryella, Acetitomaculum, Tyzzerella 4, Succiniclasticum, Prevotella 1, Lachnospiraceae, Christensenellaceae R-7 group, Family XIII AD3011, and Bacteroidales S24–7 corresponding to inoculation before weaning; and OTUs belonging to Succiniclasticum, Prevotellaceae UCG-003, Erysipelotrichaceae UCG-004, Prevotella 1, Bacteroidales S24–7 gut group uncultured bacterium, and candidate Family XIII AD3011 corresponding to inoculation during weaning. Compared to the inoculation during weaning, the inoculation before weaning resulted in more co-occurrences of OTUs that were exclusively predominant in the inoculum. However, inoculation during weaning appeared to have more impacts on the colonic microbiota than the inoculation before weaning. Considerable successions in the microbial colonization of the GI tracts accompanied the transition from liquid feed to solid feed during weaning. Repeated rumen fluid inoculation during early life can modulate the establishment of the microbiota in both the rumen and the colon and co-occurrence of some bacteria. Oral inoculation with rumen microbiota may be a useful approach to redirect the development of the microbiota in both the rumen and colon.
TL;DR: In conclusion, antibiotic residues stimulated the development of ruminal papillae and increased the production of acetic acid in rumen, which might be caused by the influence of antibiotics on the ruminal microbial community.
TL;DR: The results suggest that host genetics has a major impact on the rumen microbiome and metabolites in hybrid animals.
Abstract: The rumen microbiota plays important roles in nutrient metabolism and absorption of the host. However, it is poorly understood how host genetic variation shapes the community structure of the rumen microbiota and its metabolic phenotype. Here, we used sika deer (Cervus nippon) and elk (Cervus elaphus) to produce the following two types of hybrid offspring: sika deer ♀ × elk ♂ (SEH) and elk ♀ × sika deer ♂ (ESH). Then, we examined the rumen microbiome and metabolites in the parents and their hybrid offspring. The rumen microbiota in the hybrids differed from that in their parents, suggesting a significant effect of host genetics on the rumen microbiome that may have resulted from vertical transmission. The rumen metabolites displayed patterns similar to the structure of the rumen microbiome, with changes in the amounts of volatile fatty acids and metabolites of amino acids. The alanine, arginine, proline and phenylalanine pathways were enriched in the rumen of hybrid animals. The enriched metabolites in the above pathways were positively correlated with the bacteria Prevotella spp., Acetitomaculum spp., Quinella spp., Succinivibrio spp. and Ruminobacter spp. These results suggest that host genetics has a major impact on the rumen microbiome and metabolites in hybrid animals.