Dynamic interplay of immune response, metabolome, and microbiota in cows during high-grain feeding: insights from...

This study explores the dynamics of immune gene expression, ruminal metabolome, and gut microbiota in cows due to the duration of high-grain feeding, shedding light on host response and microbial dynamics in parallel. Cows consumed forage for a week, then gradually transitioned to a high-grain diet, which they consumed for 4 weeks. Immune response was evaluated in ruminal papillae by expression of genes related to the nuclear factor-kappaB (NFkB) pathway and correlated with the microbiota. Rumen metabolome was evaluated with high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry and anion-exchange chromatography. Rumen and fecal microbiota were evaluated with 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. In the rumen, expression of inflammation-associated genes increased with the duration on high grain, indicating activation of pro-inflammatory cascades; microbial diversity decreased with a high-grain diet but stabilized after week 3 on high grain. Changes in microbial relative abundance and metabolite enrichment were observed throughout the 4 weeks on high grain, with increments in propionogenic taxa (i.e., Succinivibrionaceae). Metabolite enrichment analysis showed that at the start of high-grain feeding, simple carbohydrates were enriched; then, these were substituted by their fermentation products. There were correlations between certain ruminal bacterial taxa (i.e., Ruminococcaceae UCG-005) and expression of genes of the NFkB pathway, suggesting the influence of these taxa on host immune response. In feces, microbial diversity and several Ruminococcaceae members initially declined but recovered by weeks 3 and 4. Overall, despite the stabilization of microbial diversity, changes in microbial relative abundance and proinflammatory genes were observed throughout high-grain feeding, suggesting that cows need more than 4 weeks to fully adjust once consuming a high-grain diet.IMPORTANCEDespite the stepwise diet transition typically assumed to serve for animal adaptation, expression of signaling receptors, mediators, and downstream targets of nuclear factor-kappaB pathway were found throughout the 4 weeks on high grain, which correlated with changes in the rumen microbial profile. In addition, although microbial diversity recovered in the feces and stabilized in the rumen in week 3 on high grain, we observed changes in microbial relative abundance throughout the 4 weeks on high grain, suggesting that cows need more than 4 weeks to adjust once consuming this diet. Findings are particularly important to consider when planning experiments involving dietary changes.