Microbiome Genomics for Livestock Production

To mitigate the anthropic environmental effects and keep the feed standards of a growing human population, the efficient production of food is a priority. Cattle feed not only represents up to 70% of production costs but it also competes with humans for crops and with natural lands for grazing. Thus, increasing feed efficiency benefits both humanity and the environment. Although studies seeking to increase productivity and mitigate the environmental impact of cattle have been published over the years, only recently have they started to consider the microbiome.

Some studies show that the abundance of key microorganisms in feces of Nelore beef cattle are dependent on their abundance in the rumen, suggesting the feces as a proxy for the rumen environment. Therefore, the microorganisms in both biomes can be linked to methane emission and to feed efficiency, i.e., potential targets for microbiome manipulation and phenotype prediction.

This Research Topic focuses on metatranscriptome sequencing, miRNA-sequencing, metagenome and metabarcoding sequencing data and systems biology approaches in livestock animals as the core methodology. We welcome manuscripts on topics including, but not limited to, the following:
• Identification of genes and transcripts within the metagenome and metatranscriptome of bovines involved with variation in production traits;
• Identification of functional pathways as well as microorganisms' metabolic needs, in order to propose strategies (e.g., pre/pro-biotics, RNA-based technologies) to modulate these effects;
• Development of microbiome-based predictive models.