Microbiological characteristics of feces and rumen fluid of Angus cattle with high and low RFI

Residual Feed Intake (RFI) is the difference between the actual feed intake of an animal and the predicted intake based on weight gain rate and body size. After years of research and practice, RFI has become the main indicator of energy efficiency of livestock. And microorganisms play an important role in the conversion of feed into livestock products such as meat and milk. To investigate the correlation between RFI and its gastrointestinal microorganisms in beef cattle, 10 individuals with extreme high and low RFI were selected for this study, and individual rumen contents and fecal samples were collected for metagenomic sequencing after slaughter.