Li Bin, Wen Dongxu, Zhou Ziwei, Suolang Quji, Siwang Wangmu, Kangji Lamu, Tang Tuoxian, Liu Zhenjiang, Wang Yachun
School of Animal Science and Technology, Ningxia University, Yinchuan, China.
Xizang Autonomous Region Academy of Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Sciences, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding on Tibetan Plateau, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Lhasa, China.
Front Vet Sci. 2025 Aug 12;12:1654799. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1654799. eCollection 2025.
Milk yield in high-altitude regions such as the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is low due to hypoxic stress and impaired mammary gland function. This study aims to determine whether a fiber-supplemented diet could increase milk yield in plateau dairy cows through modulating rumen microbiota and downstream metabolic signaling. Holstein cows were assigned to diets containing either or an aquatic plant with a high neutral and acid-detergent fiber content. Milk yield and rumen metabolites were analyzed, and additional functional assays were performed using bovine mammary epithelial cells (BMECs) cultured under hypoxic conditions. The supplementation significantly increased milk yield, which was associated with elevated levels of fiber-derived metabolites, including cholesterol valerate and 5-oxoeicosapentaenoic acid. These metabolites activated liver X receptor signaling in mammary cells under hypoxia, as validated by proteomic analysis and LXRα expression. Gene enrichment analysis revealed that LXR signaling was associated with lipid metabolism and cellular adaptation to low oxygen. These results support a fiber-microbiota-mammary axis, showing that fiber supplementation enhances milk yield through metabolic signaling. Moreover, this study presents a sustainable and feasible method to enhance milk production in ruminants under environmental stress.
在青藏高原等高海拔地区，由于缺氧应激和乳腺功能受损，牛奶产量较低。本研究旨在确定补充纤维的饮食是否可以通过调节瘤胃微生物群和下游代谢信号来提高高原奶牛的产奶量。将荷斯坦奶牛分为两组，分别饲喂含有 或一种中性和酸性洗涤纤维含量高的水生植物的日粮。分析了产奶量和瘤胃代谢产物，并使用在缺氧条件下培养的牛乳腺上皮细胞（BMECs）进行了额外的功能测定。补充 显著提高了产奶量，这与纤维衍生代谢产物水平的升高有关，包括胆固醇戊酸酯和5-氧代二十碳五烯酸。蛋白质组学分析和LXRα表达验证了这些代谢产物在缺氧条件下激活了乳腺细胞中的肝X受体信号。基因富集分析表明，LXR信号与脂质代谢和细胞对低氧的适应有关。这些结果支持了纤维-微生物群-乳腺轴，表明补充纤维通过代谢信号提高了产奶量。此外，本研究提出了一种在环境应激下提高反刍动物产奶量可持续且可行的方法。
