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. 2021 Sep 12;9(11):5959-5970.
doi: 10.1002/fsn3.2498. eCollection 2021 Nov.

Effects of total mixed ration with various silage on growth performance, serum parameters, ruminal fermentation, and bacteria community profile in beef cattle

Xia Zhang  1 , Hucheng Wang  1 , Xusheng Guo  2
Affiliations

Effects of total mixed ration with various silage on growth performance, serum parameters, ruminal fermentation, and bacteria community profile in beef cattle

Xia Zhang et al. Food Sci Nutr. .

Abstract

The possibilities of using high-quality forages in incorporation with total mixed ration (TMR) during the fattening period of beef cattle have been investigated. A total of 30 Simmental bulls (438.94 ± 11.45 kg) were selected and randomly divided into two groups, TMR with single corn silage (SS) and TMR with various silage (MS). The whole experiment consisted of 15 days preparation period and 69 days experimental period. Rumen fluid and blood samples were taken from six beef cattle per treatment at the end of the experiment. The results showed that the average daily gain of the MS group (1.56 kg/day) was higher than (p < .05) the SS group (1.30 kg/day), and a decrease of feed conversion ratio in the MS (10.83) group was observed compared with SS group (12.36) (p < .05). The concentration of total volatile fatty acids for MS group was greater than (p < .05) the SS group. The activities of total antioxidant capacity and superoxide dismutase from MS group were also higher than the SS group, but lower urea nitrogen was found in the MS group from serum (p < .05). In addition, the abundances of the Prevotella-1 and Verrucomicrobia were higher in the MS group than the SS group (p < .05). An increase in the flavonoid biosynthesis was detected in the MS group compared with the SS group by Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes analysis. The present findings suggest that it is economical and healthy to substitute high-quality forage +low level of concentrate for a relatively low proportion forage +high level of concentrate in a finishing diet of beef cattle, which was a feasible and healthy strategy in the intensive feeding system.

Keywords: beef cattle; growth performance; microbial community; ruminal fermentation; silage.

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Conflict of interest statement

We certify that there is no conflict of interest with any financial organization regarding the material discussed in the manuscript.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Serum antioxidant and biochemical parameters of beef cattle with different diets treatments. GSH‐Px, glutathione peroxidase; MDA, malondialdehyde; SOD, superoxide dismutase; T‐AOC, total antioxidant capacity; T‐CHO, total cholesterol; TP, total protein; UN, urea nitrogen; β‐HB, β‐Hydroxybutyric acid
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Rarefaction curves obtained from ruminal digesta‐associated microbiome samples of beef cattle fed total mixed ration with various forage silage. CI: Represents the six samples of the SS group; TI: Represents the six samples of the MS group
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Effects of total mixed ration with various forage silage on bacterial abundance in phylum level. CI: Represents the six samples of the SS group; TI: Represents the six samples of the MS group
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Effects of total mixed ration with various forage silage on bacterial abundance in class level. CI: Represents the six samples of the SS group; TI: Represents the six samples of the MS group
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Effects of total mixed ration with various forage silage on bacterial abundance in genus level. CI: Represents the six samples of the SS group; TI: Represents the six samples of the MS group
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6
LEfSe analysis showing the taxonomic differences among the two groups in the rumen of beef cattle. All identified taxonomy was significantly different based on LDA score larger than 2.0. MS group: TMR with various silage (27% corn silage, 10% alfalfa silage, and 15% oat silage), SS group: total mixed ration (TMR) with 40% single corn silage
FIGURE 7
FIGURE 7
Functional profiles of microbial communities with different diets treatments. The extended error bars show significantly different KEGG pathways between the fractions. MS group: TMR with various silage (27% corn silage, 10% alfalfa silage, and 15% oat silage), SS group: total mixed ration (TMR) with 40% single corn silage
FIGURE 8
FIGURE 8
Redundancy analysis of the top 8 known genera in association with six fermentation parameters. Arrows indicate the direction and magnitude of parameters associated with bacterial genera. Ace, Acetate; but, butyrate; pro, propionate; MS group: TMR with various silage (27% corn silage, 10% alfalfa silage, and 15% oat silage), SS group: total mixed ration (TMR) with 40% single corn silage
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