Metabolome and microbiome analysis revealed the effect mechanism of different feeding modes on the meat quality of Black Tibetan sheep

Abstract

IntroductionBlack Tibetan sheep is one of the primitive sheep breeds in China that is famous for its great eating quality and nutrient value but with little attention to the relationship between feeding regimes and rumen metabolome along with its impact on the muscle metabolism and meat quality.MethodsThis study applies metabolomics-based analyses of muscles and 16S rDNA-based sequencing of rumen fluid to examine how feeding regimes influence the composition of rumen microbiota, muscle metabolism and ultimately the quality of meat from Black Tibetan sheep. Twenty-seven rams were randomly assigned to either indoor feeding conditions (SG, n = 9), pasture grazing with indoor feeding conditions (BG, n = 9) or pasture grazing conditions (CG, n = 9) for 120 days.ResultsThe results showed that, compared with BG and CG, SG improved the quality of Black Tibetan sheep mutton by preventing a decline in pH and increasing fat deposition to enhance the color, tenderness and water holding capacity (WHC) of the Longissimus lumborum (LL). Metabolomics and correlation analyses further indicated that the feeding regimes primarily altered amino acid, lipid and carbohydrate metabolism in muscles, thereby influencing the amino acid (AA) and fatty acid (FA) levels as well as the color, tenderness and WHC of the LL. Furthermore, SG increased the abundance of Christensenellaceae R-7 group, [Eubacterium] coprostanoligenes group, Methanobrevibacter, Ruminococcus 2 and Quinella, decreased the abundance of Lactobacillus, Prevotella 1 and Rikenellaceae RC9 gut group, and showed a tendency to decrease the abundance of Succinivibrio and Selenomonas 1. Interestingly, all of these microorganisms participated in the deposition of AAs and FAs and modified the levels of different metabolites involved in the regulation of meat quality (maltotriose, pyruvate, L-ascorbic acid, chenodeoxycholate, D-glucose 6-phosphate, glutathione, etc.).DiscussionOverall, the results suggest that feeding Black Tibetan sheep indoors with composite forage diet was beneficial to improve the mouthfeel of meat, its color and its nutritional value by altering the abundance of rumen bacteria which influenced muscle metabolism.

The effect of Phyllanthus emblica (Amla) fruit supplementation on the rumen microbiota and its correlation with rumen fermentation in dairy cows

“…The present research indicates a significant positive correlation between the molar proportion of acetate and the relative abundance of the Rikenellaceae RC9 gut group , with negative correlations observed for propionate and total VFA. This finding is consistent with previous studies, which reported a negative correlation between the RC9 gut group and propionate ( Li et al, 2022 ; Zhang et al, 2023 ). The negative correlation could be attributed to the production of acetate by some members of the RC9 gut group , as reported by Su et al (2014) .…”

“…The RC9 gut group is crucial for fiber digestion, rumen fermentation pattern, and epithelial development ( Qiu et al, 2022 ). However, other studies have indicated that it may have a negative impact on the enhancement of ruminal N utilization efficiency ( Zhang et al, 2023 ). Our study revealed that the 400 g/d FAF supplementation group had a significantly lower abundance of the Rikenellaceae RC9 gut group than the other groups, underscoring the importance of this dose in improving nitrogen utilization efficiency.…”

Deciphering the Impact of Nutrient Composition and Tissue Structure on Rumen Microbiome Dynamics in Roughage Degradation

“…At the genus level, Prevotella and Treponema emerged as dominant. The presence of pyruvate oxidation genes in Prevotella equips these species to flourish in nutrient-scarce environments, leading to their abundance during the early feed fermentation stages [56,57,62]. Concurrently, Chytridiomycota, Ascomycota, and Mucoromycota were identified as the primary anaerobic fungi phyla in the rumen for different roughages, consistent with findings for cows and goats [63].…”

“…Moreover, specific bacteria like Rikenellaceae and Porphyromonadaceae are linked to particular roughage types, influencing the degradation rates of nutritional components [55]. These insights emphasize the integral role of rumen microorganisms in processing roughage to extract essential nutrients for the host animal [56,57].…”

Insights into the effects of saline forage on the meat quality of Tibetan sheep by metabolome and multivariate analysis

“…Carcass quality was measured during the splitting process. In this case, the eye muscle area (EMA), rib fat thickness (GR), abdominal fat thickness (AFT) and backfat thickness (BFT) were measured according to previous methods ( Zhang, Han, Gui, et al, 2022 ).…”