Liu Jing, Ahmad Anum Ali, Yang Chen, Zhang Jianbo, Zheng Juanshan, Liang Zeyi, Wang Fang, Zhai Huan, Qin Shuanghong, Yang Feng, Ding Xuezhi
Key Laboratory of Yak Breeding Engineering, Lanzhou Institute of Husbandry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, China.
The Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
Front Microbiol. 2024 Aug 20;15:1369173. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1369173. eCollection 2024.
Postpartum period of dairy cattle is an important phase of their life mainly associated with the changes in physiology, rumen function, and energy metabolism. Studies have shown that gut microbial composition undergoes drastic changes during the postpartum period. However, little is known about the temporal variations in digestive tract microbiota in postpartum Tibetan cattle. The aim of this study was to investigate the temporal variations in blood metabolites, ruminal fermentation, and microbial community of oral, rumen, and gut in lactating Tibetan cattle during postpartum.
We collected blood, saliva, rumen fluid, and fecal samples from lactating Tibetan cattle during 1st week (1 W), the 2nd week (2 W), the 1st month (1 M), and the 2nd month (2 M) of the postpartum period. The microbiota of saliva, rumen fluid, and fecal samples were assessed using 16S rRNA sequencing. The rumen volatile fatty acid and blood parameters were also quantified.
The content of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and blood parameters showed opposite tendency to each other and reached to stability at 2 M. Rumen microbiota showed the highest alpha diversity compared to other two sites. At phylum level, the oral cavity was dominated by Proteobacteria, while most dominant phylum in rumen and feces were Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes, respectively. The dominant genera in oral cavity were Moraxella and Bibersteinia, while genera Prevotella 1 and Ruminococcaceae UCG-005 were dominant in rumen and fecal samples, respectively.
Microbial network analysis revealed that most of the active genera in all networks belonged to phylum Firmicutes, indicating the importance of this phyla during postpartum period of lactating cattle. The functional analysis revealed distinct division of labor among three gastrointestinal sites associated with defense, fatty acid synthesis, and maintaining health of host. All in all, our findings provide insights into the metabolic and microbial changes of lactating Tibetan cattle and help to the improvement of the management strategies.
奶牛的产后时期是其生命中的一个重要阶段，主要与生理、瘤胃功能和能量代谢的变化相关。研究表明，产后时期肠道微生物组成会发生剧烈变化。然而，关于产后牦牛消化道微生物群的时间变化知之甚少。本研究的目的是调查泌乳期牦牛产后血液代谢物、瘤胃发酵以及口腔、瘤胃和肠道微生物群落的时间变化。
我们在产后第1周（1W）、第2周（2W）、第1个月（1M）和第2个月（2M）收集了泌乳期牦牛的血液、唾液、瘤胃液和粪便样本。使用16S rRNA测序评估唾液、瘤胃液和粪便样本的微生物群。还对瘤胃挥发性脂肪酸和血液参数进行了定量分析。
挥发性脂肪酸（VFA）含量和血液参数呈现相反的趋势，并在2M时达到稳定。与其他两个部位相比，瘤胃微生物群的α多样性最高。在门水平上，口腔以变形菌门为主，而瘤胃和粪便中最主要的门分别是厚壁菌门和拟杆菌门。口腔中的优势属是莫拉菌属和拜氏菌属，而普雷沃氏菌属1和瘤胃球菌科UCG-005分别是瘤胃和粪便样本中的优势属。
微生物网络分析表明，所有网络中的大多数活跃属都属于厚壁菌门，这表明该门在泌乳期奶牛产后时期的重要性。功能分析揭示了三个胃肠道部位在防御、脂肪酸合成和维持宿主健康方面存在明显的分工。总而言之，我们的研究结果为泌乳期牦牛的代谢和微生物变化提供了见解，并有助于改进管理策略。
