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Differently Pre-treated Alfalfa Silages Affect the in vitro Ruminal Microbiota Composition
Thomas Hartinger1, Joan E Edwards2, Ruth Gómez Expósito2
1Institute of Animal Sciences, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Frontiers in Microbiology
|December 19, 2019
Summary
Pre-ensiling treatments, especially sucrose addition, significantly altered the ruminal microbiota composition in alfalfa silage (AS). These changes in microbial communities influenced ruminal fermentation patterns, though did not fully explain observed differences.
Area of Science:
- Ruminant nutrition and microbiology
- Forage preservation and fermentation
- Animal science and feed technology
Background:
- Alfalfa silage (AS) is a key ruminant feed, but its high non-protein nitrogen content can impair nitrogen retention.
- Pre-ensiling treatments (dry matter, wilting, sucrose) improve AS quality and protein preservation, impacting ruminal fermentation.
- The effect of these treatments on ruminal microbiota composition and its link to fermentation remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how pre-ensiling treatments affect the ruminal microbiota composition during AS incubation.
- To determine if changes in microbiota composition explain previously observed differences in ruminal fermentation.
- To analyze the impact of dry matter concentration, wilting, and sucrose addition on microbial communities in AS.
Main Methods:
- Alfalfa silage was incubated in a rumen simulation system, with liquid and solid phases sampled at early (2 days) and late (7 days) time points.
- Quantitative PCR (qPCR) was used to quantify bacteria, archaea, and anaerobic fungi.
- Prokaryotic 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and redundancy analysis were performed to assess microbial community composition and diversity.
Main Results:
- High dry matter and sucrose addition increased archaea (liquid phase) and anaerobic fungi (solid phase) at the early time point.
- Sucrose addition alone increased archaea (liquid) and anaerobic fungi (solid) at the late time point; bacterial concentrations were unaffected.
- Microbial community composition was significantly affected by sucrose addition, time point, and their interaction in both liquid and solid phases.
Conclusions:
- Sucrose addition demonstrated the most significant impact on the ruminal microbiota composition compared to other pre-ensiling treatments.
- Microbiota composition changes, influenced by sucrose and sampling time, occurred in both phases of the rumen simulation.
- While microbiota analysis provided insights into ruminal fermentation patterns, it could not fully account for the observed fermentation differences.
