Identification of Rumen Microbial Genes Involved in Pathways Linked to Appetite, Growth, and Feed Conversion Efficiency in Cattle.

ABSTRACT: The rumen microbiome is essential for the biological processes involved in the conversion of feed into nutrients that can be utilized by the host animal. In the present research, the influence of the rumen microbiome on feed conversion efficiency, growth rate, and appetite of beef cattle was investigated using metagenomic data. Our aim was to explore the associations between microbial genes and functional pathways, to shed light on the influence of bacterial enzyme expression on host phenotypes. Two groups of cattle were selected on the basis of their high and low feed conversion ratio. Microbial DNA was extracted from rumen samples, and the relative abundances of microbial genes were determined via shotgun metagenomic sequencing. Using partial least squares analyses, we identified

SUBMITTER: Lima J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6694183 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature