Influence of periparturient and postpartum diets on rumen methanogen communities in three breeds of primiparous dairy cows

Abstract

BackgroundEnteric methane from rumen methanogens is responsible for 25.9 % of total methane emissions in the United States. Rumen methanogens also contribute to decreased animal feed efficiency. For methane mitigation strategies to be successful, it is important to establish which factors influence the rumen methanogen community and rumen volatile fatty acids (VFA). In the present study, we used next-generation sequencing to determine if dairy breed and/or days in milk (DIM) (high-fiber periparturient versus high-starch postpartum diets) affect the rumen environment and methanogen community of primiparous Holstein, Jersey, and Holstein-Jersey crossbreeds.ResultsWhen the 16S rRNA gene sequences were processed and assigned to operational taxonomic units (OTU), a core methanogen community was identified, consisting of Methanobrevibacter (Mbr.) smithii, Mbr. thaueri, Mbr. ruminantium, and Mbr. millerae. The 16S rRNA gene sequence reads clustered at 3 DIM, but not by breed. At 3 DIM, the mean % abundance of Mbr. thaueri was lower in Jerseys (26.9 %) and higher in Holsteins (30.7 %) and Holstein-Jersey crossbreeds (30.3 %) (P < 0.001). The molar concentrations of total VFA were higher at 3 DIM than at 93, 183, and 273 DIM, whereas the molar proportions of propionate were increased at 3 and 93 DIM, relative to 183 and 273 DIM. Rumen methanogen densities, distributions of the Mbr. species, and VFA molar proportions did not differ by breed.ConclusionsThe data from the present study suggest that a core methanogen community is present among dairy breeds, through out a lactation. Furthermore, the methanogen communities were more influenced by DIM and the breed by DIM interactions than breed differences.

Rumen and Fecal Microbial Community Structure of Holstein and Jersey Dairy Cows as Affected by Breed, Diet, and Residual Feed Intake

“…However, only diet had an effect on methane production when expressed per kg of energy-corrected milk (ECM). Our results are in contrast to Carberry et al [29] and Jeyanathan et al [31], where diet affected the methanogen populations and Cersossimo et al [32], where breed had no effect on methanogen populations. However, our results are in agreement with Kumar at al.…”

Comparison of rumen bacterial communities in dairy herds of different production

“…Information on rumen microbial dynamics in dairy cows is emerging [ 13 – 16 ]. Recent reports include changes in the composition of ruminal microbiota in dairy cows in association with parity [ 15 – 17 ], diet [ 18 , 19 ], breed [ 20 , 21 ], feed efficiency [ 14 , 15 , 22 ], milk yield and composition [ 19 , 23 ] and physiological status [ 16 , 18 , 24 , 25 ]. The consensus of these reports indicates the preponderance of lineages from Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes among the rumen microbiota.…”

Symposium review: Understanding diet–microbe interactions to enhance productivity of dairy cows

“…In TMR diets, concentrations of readily fermentable carbohydrates such as sugars, starches, and pectins can be a significant portion of the diet to meet the increased energy requirements of high-yielding dairy cows (Eastridge, 2006). Information on microbial shifts with changing dietary regimen (Pitta et al, 2014a,b;, physiological status (Wang et al, 2012;Pitta et al, 2014aPitta et al, , 2016aLima et al, 2015;Minuti et al, 2015), lactation age (Jewell et al, 2015;Lima et al, 2015;Pitta et al, 2016a), milk yield and composition (Jami et al, 2014;Rico et al, 2015), dairy breed (Cersosimo et al, 2016), and feed efficiency (Shabat et al, 2016) have emerged in the recent past. However, these studies have only scratched the surface of the many possible rumen microbial interactions in dairy cows, and questions such as the effect of NDF (28-32%; NRC requirements for dairy cows; NRC, 2001) versus starch (26-28%) proportions in the diet, processing methods to alter starch availability, and the effects of different preserved forages (e.g., corn silage, alfalfa silage, small grain silages) on rumen microbiota need further investigation.…”