Affiliation:
1. College of Animal Science and Food Engineering, Jinling Institute of Technology, Nanjing, China
2. Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Microbiology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Nutrition and Animal Health, College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
3. National Center for International Research on Animal Gut Nutrition, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
4. College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Ruminal microbiota is gradually established after birth, while microbiota maturation could be highly diverse because of varied solid dietary accessibility. However, how the ruminal microbiota accreted from postnatal hay diets alters rumen epithelial development, and how this affects animal health remains largely unknown. Here, neonatal lambs were introduced to starchy corn-soybean starter or corn-soybean starter + alfalfa hay (AH) to investigate the influences of early life ruminal microbiome on rumen epithelial development using integrated 16s rRNA sequencing-metagenome-transcriptome approaches. The results showed that AH introduction elevated average daily weight gain, rumen weight and volume, rumen epithelial papillae length, and rumen muscle layer thickness. Meanwhile, the relative abundance of fibrolytic bacteria (
Christensenellaceae
R-7 group,
Prevotellaceae
UCG-001, and
Succinivibrio
), acetate producer (
Acetitomaculum
and
Mitsuokella),
and propionate producer
Succiniclasticum
was increased in the rumen content by AH supplementation (
P
< 0.05). Moreover, AH introduction decreased the relative abundance of total CAZymes, CBM, and GH and increased the abundance of KO genes related to volatile fatty acid (VFA) generation in the rumen content. AH lambs had a higher relative abundance of
Succiniclasticum
,
Megasphaera, Succinivibrio
, and
Suttonella
(
P
< 0.05), while a lower relative abundance of
Cloacibacillus
,
Desulfovibrio
,
Dialister
,
Intestinimonas
,
Parabacteroides
, and
Pseudoscardovia
(
P
< 0.05) in the rumen epithelial samples. Furthermore, these alterations in ruminal microbial structure and function resulted in ruminal epithelial cell proliferation and development pathways activation. In summary, AH introduction benefited ruminal fiber degradation and VFA generation bacteria colonization and promoted ruminal epithelial development. These findings provide new insights into ruminal microbial–host interactions in the early life.
IMPORTANCE
While it is established that a fiber-rich diet promotes rumen development in lambs, further research is needed to investigate the precise response of rumen microbiota and epithelium to high-quality alfalfa hay. Here, we observed that the inclusion of alfalfa hay led to a discernible alteration in the developmental trajectory of the rumen. Notably, there was a favorable shift in the rumen's volume, morphology, and the development of rumen papillae. Furthermore, ruminal microbial structure and function resulted in ruminal epithelial cell proliferation and development pathways activation, collectively provide compelling evidence supporting the capacity of alfalfa hay to enhance rumen development and health through ruminal micrbiota-host crosstalks. Our findings elucidate the functional response of the rumen to alfalfa hay introduction, providing new insights into strategies for promoting healthy development of the rumen in young ruminants.
Funder
MOST | National Key Research and Development Program of China
Resrarch Fund of Jinling Inetitute of Techology
Publisher
American Society for Microbiology
Subject
Computer Science Applications,Genetics,Molecular Biology,Modeling and Simulation,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics,Biochemistry,Physiology,Microbiology