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Updated: Mar 7, 2026
Exploring the Root Microbiome: Extracting Bacterial Community Data from the Soil, Rhizosphere, and Root Endosphere
Published on: May 2, 2018
Changes in Metabolically Active Bacterial Community during Rumen Development, and Their Alteration by Rhubarb Root
Zuo Wang1, Chijioke Elekwachi2, Jinzhen Jiao3
1Key Laboratory for Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Hunan Research Center of Livestock and Poultry Sciences, South-Central Experimental Station of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science in Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of SciencesChangsha, China; University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijing, China; Lethbridge Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food CanadaLethbridge, AB, Canada.
Abstract:
The objective of this present study was to explore the initial establishment of metabolically active bacteria and subsequent evolution in four fractions: rumen solid-phase (RS), liquid-phase (RL), protozoa-associated (RP), and epithelium-associated (RE) through early weaning and supplementing rhubarb root powder in 7 different age groups (1, 10, 20, 38, 41, 50, and 60 d) during rumen development. Results of the 16S rRNA sequencing based on RNA isolated from the four fractions revealed that the potentially active bacterial microbiota in four fractions were dominated by the phyla Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes regardless of different ages. An age-dependent increment of Chao 1 richness was observed in the fractions of RL and RE. The principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) indicated that samples in four fractions all clustered based on different age groups, and the structure of the bacterial community in RE was distinct from those in other three fractions. The abundances of Proteobacteria decreased significantly (P < 0.05) with age, while increases in the abundances of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were noted. At the genus level, the abundance of the predominant genus Mannheimia in the Proteobacteria phylum decreased significantly (P < 0.05) after 1 d, while the genera Quinella, Prevotella, Fretibacterium, Ruminococcus, Lachnospiraceae NK3A20 group, and Atopobium underwent different manners of increases and dominated the bacterial microbiota across four fractions. Variations of the distributions of some specific bacterial genera across fractions were observed, and supplementation of rhubarb affected the relative abundance of various genera of bacteria.
