Gut Microbiota and Their Role in Health and Metabolic Disease of Dairy Cow

Abstract

Ruminants are mostly herbivorous animals that employ rumen fermentation for the digestion of feed materials, including dairy cows. Ruminants consume plant fibre as their regular diet, but lack the machinery for their digestion. For this reason, ruminants maintain a symbiotic relation with microorganisms that are capable of producing enzymes to degrade plant polymers. Various species of microflora including bacteria, protozoa, fungi, archaea, and bacteriophages are hosted at distinct concentrations for accomplishing complete digestion. The ingested feed is digested at a defined stratum. The polysaccharic plant fibrils are degraded by cellulolytic bacteria, and the substrate formed is acted upon by other bacteria. This sequential degradative mechanism forms the base of complete digestion as well as harvesting energy from the ingested feed. The composition of microbiota readily gets tuned to the changes in the feed habits of the dairy cow. The overall energy production as well as digestion is decided by the intactness of the resident communal flora. Disturbances in the homogeneity gastrointestinal microflora has severe effects on the digestive system and various other organs. This disharmony in communal relationship also causes various metabolic disorders. The dominance of methanogens sometimes lead to bloating, and high sugar feed culminates in ruminal acidosis. Likewise, disruptive microfloral constitution also ignites reticuloperitonitis, ulcers, diarrhoea, etc. The role of symbiotic microflora in the occurrence and progress of a few important metabolic diseases are discussed in this review. Future studies in multiomics provides platform to determine the physiological and phenotypical upgradation of dairy cow for milk production.

Effects of Bovine Pichia kudriavzevii T7, Candida glabrata B14, and Lactobacillus plantarum Y9 on Milk Production, Quality and Digestive Tract Microbiome in Dairy Cows

“…The gastrointestinal microbial community of dairy cows is closely associated with host health, nutrient absorption, performance, and feed utilization. Disruption of the microbial balance could lead to digestive tract dysfunction and inflammatory disease, which results in reduced productivity and economic losses [ 17 ]. The constitution and dynamic diversity of digestive tract microbes varies with the factors such as health status, host age, dietary pattern and ambient temperature [ 18 ].…”

Bacillus subtilis Produces Amino Acids to Stimulate Protein Synthesis in Ruminal Tissue Explants via the Phosphatidylinositol-4,5-Bisphosphate 3-Kinase Catalytic Subunit Beta–Serine/Threonine Kinase–Mammalian Target of Rapamycin Complex 1 Pathway

“…These data suggest that bile salt hydrolase enhances the ability of strains to colonize the intestinal tract ( 36 ). Thus, the strong tolerance of B. subtilis IIIVE-4 to bile salts and acids, along with the lack of toxic effects against rumen tissue, underscores the potentially beneficial symbiosis when fed to ruminants ( 37 ).…”

Metagenomic and Metabolomic Insights Into the Mechanism Underlying the Disparity in Milk Yield of Holstein Cows

“…Spironucleus were reported to cause diseases in a wide variety of vertebrates ( Andersson et al, 2007 ; Millet et al, 2011 ) whereas Trichomonas sp. infects the rumen which affects the normal ruminal flora ( Xu et al, 2021 ). A specie of Neospora ( Neospora caninum ) is known to cause abortion in cattle ( De Marez et al, 1999 ).…”