Rumen microbial diversity of dairy cows

Currently, knowledge on the extent to which rumen microbiota differ in a large population of cattle fed the same diet and whether such differences are associated with animal performance is limited. In the present study, the composition of rumen microbiota was assessed from a large cohort (n = 334) of dairy cows, aiming to identify (1) to what extents rumen microbiota differ when the cows are fed the same diet under the same management regime; and (2) whether the core or pan microbiota contribute to the variation in rumen fermentation measurements and subsequent cow phenotypes. Fundamental knowledge on the rumen core and pan bacteriomes and the relationship between the rumen microbiome and phenotypes will provide novel insights into manipulation of core and non-core bacteriome for improved cattle performance.目前，关于饲喂相同日粮的大规模奶牛群体的瘤胃微生物群（rumen microbiota）差异程度，以及此类差异是否与动物生产性能相关的认知仍较为有限。本研究从包含334头奶牛的大型队列中采集样本以评估瘤胃微生物群的组成，旨在明确两大研究目标：（1）在统一日粮饲喂与标准化管理模式下，奶牛瘤胃微生物群的个体差异程度；（2）核心瘤胃微生物群与泛微生物群是否会影响瘤胃发酵指标及后续奶牛表型的变异。针对瘤胃核心细菌组与泛细菌组的基础认知，以及瘤胃微生物组与表型间的关联机制，将为通过调控核心与非核心细菌组以改善奶牛生产性能提供全新的研究视角。