About this Research Topic

Background

Ruminants are hoofed mammals with a unique digestive system that allows them to better create energy from fibrous plant material than other herbivores. Small ruminants (such as sheep and goats) play an important role in global food security and nutrition, as well as in the livelihoods of farmers and others along the food chain. Due to the unique digestive systems of ruminants, many major studies have focused on the effects of high-concentrate diets on rumen fermentation, ruminal acidosis, and their microbial properties and functions. Therefore, paying attention to the intestinal health of small ruminants during the rapid fattening stage has important implications for their health and productivity.

Ruminants host a taxonomically diverse microbiota in their rumen, which is generally considered to be the most efficient natural fermentation system. Rumen microorganisms facilitate the degradation of otherwise indigestible plant fibres into absorbable compounds such as proteins and volatile fatty acids, the main source of energy and nutrition for ruminants. They are composed of a complex and dynamic assembly of bacteria, fungi, archaea, protozoa, and viruses. Diets and additives directly affect the number and viability of rumen microorganisms.

Small ruminants also play a significant part in the livestock industry. The unique rumen structure of small ruminants allows them to effectively utilize some unconventional feed resources such as straw and forage. Therefore, in addition to improving the basic environment of the small ruminants’ house, improving the immune and antioxidant function of young animals, reducing mortality and improving productivity performance by optimising feed nutrition has become a research hotspot in animal husbandry.

The gastrointestinal tract of ruminants is a complex ecosystem, in which the development and microflora composition have a close effect on the efficiency and mode of digestion and absorption, growth performance and health status of the animal. Gastrointestinal microbes are affected by many factors, including diet, host genetics, living environments, and age. Studies have proven that changes in diet affect the gastrointestinal bacterial community in small ruminants.

This Research Topic welcomes Original Research, Reviews, Mini-reviews, and Perspective articles related, but not limited, to the following sub-topics:

- Factors (e.g., diet, age, sex, environment) affecting the diversity and composition of the small ruminants’ intestinal microbiota.
- The effects of fermented feed on growth performance, oxidative stress, immunity and gastrointestinal microflora of small ruminants under stress.
- The effects of dietary fibre level on nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation, and rumen microbial communities’ diversity and composition of small ruminants.
- The study of the effect of diet supplementation with amino acids in the modulation of fermentation metabolome and gut microbiome in small ruminants.
- The analysis of antioxidative properties of gastrointestinal lactic acid bacteria in small ruminants and their effect on the aerobic stability of total mixed ratio to prolong the storage time
- The impact of dietary probiotic and prebiotics supplementation to improve gut health and nutrient absorption of small ruminants by regulating the intestinal microbial community.
- The effects of dietary mineral supplementation on growth and bacterial community structure of small ruminants.
- The effects of dietary lipids on dairy small ruminants’ performance and on small ruminants’ milk fatty acid composition and sensory properties.
- The effects of phytonutrient supplementation on small ruminants intestinal microbiota.
- Methanogenic bacteria and rumen methane in small ruminants.
- Microbial protein synthesis in relation to dietary supplementation of small ruminants.
- Effect of antibiotics or other drugs on the small ruminants’ intestinal microbiota and strategies to mitigate these effects.
- Interactions between the small ruminants’ intestinal microbiota and the host (e.g., host-microbe signalling, microbial metabolites).

Keywords: small ruminants, microbiota, rumen, diet, supplement, ruminant, herbivore, microbes, nutrition

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