Since the dawn of civilization, mankind has been relying on ruminants for milk, meat, wool and hides, and even draft power. Modern studies demonstrate that the rumen is a unique organ and harbors a dazzling array of microbial diversity. Microorganisms in the rumen are able to convert plant fiber into short-chain fatty acids for the production of meat and milk. Moreover, the rumen microbial features associated with feed efficiency are likely heritable, providing a scientific basis for applied breeding for animals with low residual feed intake, a key aspect in sustainable ruminant production. Ruminal biohydrogenation, a process by which bacteria convert dietary unsaturated fatty acids to saturated fatty acids, affects healthy fatty acid profiles of ruminant products. On the other hand, rumen methanogens are one of the key contributors of global methane release; and consequently, ruminant farming play a direct role in global climate change. Furthermore, rumen microbes are capable of detoxification and metabolizing xenobiotics, particularly aromatic compounds. As a result, phyto rumen bioremediation systems can be developed to clean up environmental toxins from the contaminated soil.

Over the years, our understanding of the structure and function of the rumen has been significantly enhanced by the advent of new sequencing technologies, culturomics methods, and sophisticated algorithms.

This Research Topic will showcase these advances. We invite the submission of original research, novel methods, and review articles to facilitate our understanding of rumen structure and function and to mitigate environmental impacts of ruminant farming. We are particularly interested in manuscripts including (but not limited to) the following topics:

1. Understanding temporal and spatial variations of rumen microbial communities in response to diets, development and disease
2. Identification of rumen microbial signatures associated with various ruminant production systems.
3. Characterization of the rumen microbiome in wild ruminants.
4. Novel theories and methods for mitigating methane production in ruminants.
5. Manipulation strategies for rumen biohydrogenation for healthier animal products.
6. Novel rumen culturomics techniques.
7. Novel algorithms for integrated analyses of multi-comics datasets and network inference.

In addition, the study on individual microorganisms of rumen origin is also considered.

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Frontiers in Microbiology

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