Triadic relationships between pasture exposure, gastrointestinal parasites, and hindgut microbiomes in grazing lambs.

ABSTRACT: Livestock grazing in confined pastures often means grazing on a less diverse diet than under more natural conditions and increased exposure to gastrointestinal parasites prevailing in these pastures. However, how sward composition influences gut microbiome (GM) diversity and its relationship with parasite burden remains poorly understood. In this study, we analysed the faecal GM of weaned lambs grazing on two distinct sward types (perennial ryegrass and a mixed-species sward) over three consecutive months using 16S rRNA sequencing, in order to assess how microbial diversity and composition are related to environmental conditions and the gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) burden in naturally infected lambs. Sward type and sampling time explained some of the variation in GM alpha diversity and

SUBMITTER: Jefferson J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12622837 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature