Shift of dietary carbohydrate source from milk to various solid feeds reshapes the rumen and fecal microbiome in calves.

ABSTRACT: The transition from milk to solid diets drastically impacts the gut microbiome of calves. We explored the microbial communities of ruminal fluid and feces of Holstein calves when fed milk on d 7 of life, and when fed solid feeds based on either medium- or high-quality hay with or without concentrate inclusion (70% in fresh matter) on d 91. Ruminal fluid and feces had distinct microbial compositions already on d 7, showing that niche specialization in early-life gut is rather diet-independent. Changes between d 7 and d 91 were accompanied by a general increase in microbial diversity. Solid diets differed largely in their carbohydrate composition, being reflected in major changes on d 91, whereby concentrate inclusion was the main driver for differences among groups and strongly decreased mi

SUBMITTER: Hartinger T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9300698 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature