Microbial Communities, Metabolites, Fermentation Quality and Aerobic Stability of Whole-Plant Corn Silage Collected from Family Farms in Desert Steppe of North China

Abstract

Whole-plant corn silages on family farms were sampled in Erdos (S1), Baotou (S2), Ulanqab (S3), and Hohhot (S4) in North China, after 300 d of ensiling. The microbial communities, metabolites, and aerobic stability were assessed. Lactobacillusbuchneri, Acinetobacter johnsonii, and unclassified Novosphingobium were present at greater abundances than others in S2 with greater bacterial diversity and metabolites. Lactobacillus buchneri, Lactobacillus parafarraginis, Lactobacillus kefiri, and unclassified Lactobacillus accounted for 84.5%, and 88.2%, and 98.3% of bacteria in S1, S3, and S4, respectively. The aerobic stability and fungal diversity were greater in S1 and S4 with greater abundances of unclassified Kazachstania, Kazachstania bulderi, Candida xylopsoci, unclassified Cladosporium, Rhizopus microspores, and Candida glabrata than other fungi. The abundances of unclassified Kazachstania in S2 and K. bulderi in S3 were 96.2% and 93.6%, respectively. The main bacterial species in S2 were L. buchneri, A. johnsonii, and unclassified Novosphingobium; Lactobacillus sp. dominated bacterial communities in S1, S3, and S4. The main fungal species in S1 and S4 were unclassified Kazachstania, K. bulderi, C. xylopsoci, unclassified Cladosporium, R. microspores, and C. glabrata; Kazachstania sp. dominated fungal communities in S2 and S3. The high bacterial diversity aided the accumulation of metabolites, and the broad fungal diversity improved the aerobic stability.

Bacterial Succession Pattern during the Fermentation Process in Whole-Plant Corn Silage Processed in Different Geographical Areas of Northern China

“…Results were consistent with those of previous studies [9,11,12,14,27]. Moreover, Xu et al [26], Drouin et al [28] and Wang et al [29] revealed that Lactobacillus was the dominant bacterial genus in the final whole-plant corn silage. This showed that Lactobacillus usually dominates bacterial community succession in whole-plant corn silage during fermentation.…”

Dynamics of Bacterial and Fungal Communities and Metabolites During Aerobic Exposure in Whole-Plant Corn Silages With Two Different Moisture Levels

“…The whole-plant corn silage is a microbial fermentation product, analyzing the bacterial and fungal communities is helping to understand the different fermentation quality and aerobic stability among silages (Wang et al, 2021). The key microorganisms are Lactobacillus group during fermentation process in whole-plant corn silage (Sun et al, 2021).…”

“…In the past 5 years, research in this area has primarily focused on the microbial communities in whole-plant corn silages. As the microbial community composition plays a crucial role in the fermentation quality and aerobic stability of silage, it is necessary to assess the bacterial and fungal communities to explain the different fermentation quality and aerobic stability among silages (Wang et al, 2021). Previous studies revealed the microbial community dynamics in whole-plant corn silages inoculated with lactic acid bacteria (LAB) (Keshri et al, 2018;Xu et al, 2020b) and derived from materials obtained from three areas in Iran (Gharechahi et al, 2017).…”

“…Keshri et al (2018) examined the bacterial and fungal communities of whole-plant corn silages at 5 day after aerobic exposure. Drouin et al (2020) and Wang et al (2021) revealed the fact that high fungal diversity can improve aerobic stability of whole-plant corn silage. However, little is known regarding bacterial and fungal community dynamics in whole-plant corn silages during aerobic exposure, especially at the species level.…”

Advances in Microbial Fermentation Processes

“…An interesting evaluation of the differences in microbial communities, metabolites, and the aerobic stability between whole-plant corn silages from different areas of Inner Mongolia in North China has been assessed by Wang et al [15]. Moreover, the same authors investigated the variation of bacterial dynamics during the fermentation process in whole-plant corn silages processed in Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia and Shanxi of North China [16].…”