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. 2020 May 15:11:625.
doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.00625. eCollection 2020.

Effects of Dietary Energy Levels on Rumen Fermentation, Microbial Diversity, and Feed Efficiency of Yaks (Bos grunniens)

Anum Ali Ahmad  1   2 , Chao Yang  1   3 , Jianbo Zhang  1 , Qudratullah Kalwar  1 , Zeyi Liang  1 , Chen Li  1 , Mei Du  1 , Ping Yan  1 , Ruijun Long  2 , Jianlin Han  4   5 , Xuezhi Ding  1
Affiliations

Effects of Dietary Energy Levels on Rumen Fermentation, Microbial Diversity, and Feed Efficiency of Yaks (Bos grunniens)

Anum Ali Ahmad et al. Front Microbiol. .

Abstract

The microbial community of the yak (Bos grunniens) rumen plays an important role in surviving the harsh Tibetan environment where seasonal dynamic changes in pasture cause nutrient supply imbalances, resulting in weight loss in yaks during the cold season. A better understanding of rumen microbiota under different feeding regimes is critical for exploiting the microbiota to enhance feed efficiency and growth performance. This study explored the impact of different dietary energy levels on feed efficiency, rumen fermentation, bacterial community, and abundance of volatile fatty acid (VFA) transporter transcripts in the rumen epithelium of yaks. Fifteen healthy castrated male yaks were divided into three groups and fed with low (YL), medium (YM), and high energy (YH) levels diet having different NEg of 5.5, 6.2, and 6.9 MJ/kg, respectively. The increase in feed efficiency was recorded with an increase in dietary energy levels. The increase in dietary energy levels decreased the pH and increased the concentrations of acetate, propionate, butyrate, and valerate in yak rumens. The increase in the mRNA abundance of VFA transporter genes (MCT1, DRA, PAT1, and AE2) in the rumen epithelium of yaks was recorded as dietary energy level increased. High relative abundances of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were recorded with the increase in dietary energy levels. Significant population shifts at the genus level were recorded among the three treatments. This study provides new insights into the dietary energy-derived variations in rumen microbial community.

Keywords: dietary energy; feed efficiency; growth performance; rumen microbiota; volatile fatty acid; yak.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
The transcript abundances of VFA transporter genes in the rumen epithelium of yak among three dietary energy treatments. Within a panel, means without a common letter differ (P < 0.05). MCT1, monocarboxylate transporter 1; DRA, downregulated in adenoma; AE2, anion exchanger 2; PAT1, putative anion transporter 1.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Heatmap showing the rumen bacterial composition at genus level in yak fed different dietary energy levels. YL, low energy; YM, medium energy; YH, high energy.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) for three dietary energy treatments. X-axis, first principal component, and Y-axis, second principal component. Different colors represent different groups.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Pearson correlation coefficients for microbial genera with rumen VFA concentrations and transcript abundances of VFA transporter genes in yak. Color intensity represents correlation coefficient. Significant difference (P < 0.05) is represented by an asterisk (*).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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