AUTHOR=Zhang Lili , Ren Wenyi , Bi Yanliang , Zhang Jie , Cheng Yuchen , Xu Xiaofeng 

TITLE=Effects of different feeding patterns on the rumen bacterial community of tan lambs, based on high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA amplicons

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=Volume 14 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1228935

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2023.1228935

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=The mutton quality of Chinese Tan lambs (Ovis aries) has declined as feeding patterns have shifted from pasturing to pen rationing.  Mutton quality is affected by fatty acids, and rumen microorganisms play a role in the synthesis of shortchain fatty acids, long-chain fatty acids, and conjugated linoleic acids. We used 16S rRNA sequencing to analyze the effects of two feeding patterns on the rumen bacteria of Tan lambs. In a randomized block design with 24 newborn Tan lambs, 12 lambs were fed by ewes in pasture and 12 were fed by pen-fed ewes. At 2 months, the biceps femoris and the longissimus dorsi were analyzed by gas chromatography for intramuscular fat content and fatty acids composition, and DNA in the rumen contents was extracted and used to analyze the structure of the bacterial community. Different feeding patterns had no significant effect on the intramuscular fat content of the biceps femoris and longissimus dorsi of the lambs, but there was a significant effect on fatty acids composition. The alpha diversity of rumen bacteria was significantly greater in the pasture group compared to the pen-ration group. Utilizing beta diversity analysis to examine the differences in rumen bacteria between the pasture group and pen-ration group. Furthermore, the diversity of rumen bacteria in the pasture group was greater than that in the pen-ration group. Twenty-one phyla were identified in the pasture group, and 14 phyla were identified in the pen-ration group. The dominant phyla in the pasture group were Bacteroidetes and Fibrobacteres; the dominant phyla in the pen-ration group were Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes. The relative abundance of Proteobacteria was significantly higher in the pen-ration group than in the pasture group (p < 0.01). Diversity at the genus level was also higher in the pasture group, with 176 genera in the pasture group and 113 genera in the pen-ration group. The dominant genera in the pasture group were Prevotella_1, Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group, This is a provisional file, not the final typeset article and Bacteroidales_BS11_gut_group_Na; the dominant genera in the pen-ration group were Prevotella_1, Prevotella_7, Succinivibrionaceae_UCG-001, and Succinivibrionaceae_NA.