Journal Articles
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/7915
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Item Characterizing the dynamics of the rumen microbiota, its metabolites, and blood metabolites across reproductive stages in Small-tailed Han sheep.(American Society for Microbiology, 2023-11-10) Sha Y; Liu X; Pu X; He Y; Wang J; Zhao S; Shao P; Wang F; Xie Z; Chen X; Yang WDifferent reproductive stages of mammals involve complex biological processes, and the intestinal microbiota, as an endocrine organ or an “invisible organ,” is involved in the regulation of hormone levels, immune function, and metabolism. However, the effects of the rumen microbiota, its metabolites, and blood metabolites on the reproductive performance of ruminants remain unclear. This study revealed that the Prevotella abundance increased significantly during pregnancy (P < 0.01); the Fibrobacter abundance increased significantly during lactation (P < 0.05); and rumen microbial carbohydrate metabolism, glucose biosynthesis, and metabolic functions were significantly enriched during pregnancy (P < 0.05). Microbial metabolic profile analysis showed that the differentially abundant microbial metabolites during pregnancy and lactation were mainly enriched in the biosynthesis of ubiquinone and other terpenoid quinones, and there was a certain correlation with the microbiota. Among them, sapindoside A was increased during pregnancy, nicotinamide riboside and β-cryptoxanthin were reduced during pregnancy, and L-tryptophan was significantly increased during lactation. In addition, the volatile fatty acid levels in lactation were significantly higher than those in non-pregnancy and pregnancy (P < 0.05), and the NH3-N content during pregnancy was significantly higher than that during lactation and non-pregnancy (P < 0.05). Moreover, there were differences in the serum metabolite levels at different reproductive stages, and similar metabolites existed when comparing the rumen metabolites, which were mainly enriched in arachidonic acid metabolism, vitamin B6 metabolism, and ABC transporter protein, resulting in significantly higher serum IgA and IgM levels during lactation than during non-pregnancy and pregnancy (P < 0.05).Item Synergistic Responses of Tibetan Sheep Rumen Microbiota, Metabolites, and the Host to the Plateau Environment.(MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2023-10-03) Sha Y; Guo X; He Y; Li W; Liu X; Zhao S; Hu J; Wang J; Li S; Zhao Z; Hao Z; Miccheli A; Docea AO; Fukui HPlateau adaptation in animals involves genetic mechanisms as well as coevolutionary mechanisms of the microbiota and metabolome of the animal. Therefore, the characteristics of the rumen microbiome and metabolome, transcriptome, and serum metabolome of Tibetan sheep at different altitudes (4500 m, 3500 m, and 2500 m) were analyzed. The results showed that the rumen differential metabolites at 3500 m and 4500 m were mainly enriched in amino acid metabolism, lipid metabolism, and carbohydrate metabolism, and there was a significant correlation with microbiota. The differentially expressed genes and metabolites at middle and high altitudes were coenriched in asthma, arachidonic acid metabolism, and butanoate and propanoate metabolism. In addition, the serum differential metabolites at 3500 m and 4500 m were mainly enriched in amino acid metabolism, lipid metabolism, and metabolism of xenobiotics by cytochrome P450, and they were also related to microbiota. Further analysis revealed that rumen metabolites accounted for 7.65% of serum metabolites. These common metabolites were mainly enriched in metabolic pathways and were significantly correlated with host genes (p < 0.05). This study found that microbiota, metabolites, and epithelial genes were coenriched in pathways related to lipid metabolism, energy metabolism, and immune metabolism, which may be involved in the regulation of Tibetan sheep adaptation to plateau environmental changes.Item Tailored Nanoparticles With the Potential to Reduce Ruminant Methane Emissions.(Frontiers Media S.A., 2022-03-11) Altermann E; Reilly K; Young W; Ronimus RS; Muetzel S; Tsapekos PAgricultural methane produced by archaea in the forestomach of ruminants is a key contributor to rising levels of greenhouse gases leading to climate change. Functionalized biological polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) nanoparticles offer a new concept for the reduction of enteric methane emissions by inhibiting rumen methanogens. Nanoparticles were functionalized in vivo with an archaeal virus lytic enzyme, PeiR, active against a range of rumen Methanobrevibacter species. The impact of functionalized nanoparticles against rumen methanogens was demonstrated in pure cultures, in rumen batch and continuous flow rumen models yielding methane reduction of up to 15% over 11 days in the most complex system. We further present evidence of biological nanoparticle fermentation in a rumen environment. Elevated levels of short-chain fatty acids essential to ruminant nutrition were recorded, giving rise to a promising new strategy combining methane mitigation with a possible increase in animal productivity.Item Inhibition of Rumen Methanogens by a Novel Archaeal Lytic Enzyme Displayed on Tailored Bionanoparticles.(Frontiers Media S.A., 2018-10-09) Altermann E; Schofield LR; Ronimus RS; Beattie AK; Reilly K; Neubauer PMethane is a potent greenhouse gas, 25 times more efficient at trapping heat than carbon dioxide. Ruminant methane emissions contribute almost 30% to anthropogenic sources of global atmospheric methane levels and a reduction in methane emissions would significantly contribute to slowing global temperature rises. Here we demonstrate the use of a lytic enyzme, PeiR, from a methanogen virus that infects Methanobrevibacter ruminantium M1 as an effective agent inhibiting a range of rumen methanogen strains in pure culture. We determined the substrate specificity of soluble PeiR and demonstrated that the enzyme is capable of hydrolysing the pseudomurein cell walls of methanogens. Subsequently, peiR was fused to the polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) synthase gene phaC and displayed on the surface of PHA bionanoparticles (BNPs) expressed in Eschericia coli via one-step biosynthesis. These tailored BNPs were capable of lysing not only the original methanogen host strain, but a wide range of other rumen methanogen strains in vitro. Methane production was reduced by up to 97% for 5 days post-inoculation in the in vitro assay. We propose that tailored BNPs carrying anti-methanogen enzymes represent a new class of methane inhibitors. Tailored BNPs can be rapidly developed and may be able to modulate the methanogen community in vivo with the aim to lower ruminant methane emissions without impacting animal productivity.Item Effect of Methane Inhibitors on Ruminal Microbiota During Early Life and Its Relationship With Ruminal Metabolism and Growth in Calves(Frontiers Media S.A., 2021-09-16) Cristobal-Carballo O; McCoard SA; Cookson AL; Ganesh S; Lowe K; Laven RA; Muetzel S; Morgavi DPThe present study aimed to determine whether dietary supplementation with methanogen inhibitors during early life may lead to an imprint on the rumen microbial community and change the rumen function and performance of calves to 49-weeks of rearing. Twenty-four 4-day-old Friesian x Jersey cross calves were randomly assigned into a control and a treatment group. Treated calves were fed a combination of chloroform (CF) and 9,10-anthraquinone (AQ) in the solid diets during the first 12 weeks of rearing. Afterward, calves were grouped by treatments until week 14, and then managed as a single group on pasture. Solid diets and water were offered ad libitum. Methane measurements, and sample collections for rumen metabolite and microbial community composition were carried out at the end of weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 14, 24 and 49. Animal growth and dry matter intake (DMI) were regularly monitored over the duration of the experiment. Methane emissions decreased up to 90% whilst hydrogen emissions increased in treated compared to control calves, but only for up to 2 weeks after treatment cessation. The near complete methane inhibition did not affect calves' DMI and growth. The acetate:propionate ratio decreased in treated compared to control calves during the first 14 weeks but was similar at weeks 24 and 49. The proportions of Methanobrevibacter and Methanosphaera decreased in treated compared to control calves during the first 14 weeks; however, at week 24 and 49 the archaea community was similar between groups. Bacterial proportions at the phylum level and the abundant bacterial genera were similar between treatment groups. In summary, methane inhibition increased hydrogen emissions, altered the methanogen community and changed the rumen metabolite profile without major effects on the bacterial community composition. This indicated that the main response of the bacterial community was not a change in composition but rather a change in metabolic pathways. Furthermore, once methane inhibition ceased the methanogen community, rumen metabolites and hydrogen emissions became similar between treatment groups, indicating that perhaps using the treatments tested in this study, it is not possible to imprint a low methane microbiota into the rumen in the solid feed of pre-weaned calves.Item Complete Genome Sequence of the Polysaccharide-Degrading Rumen Bacterium Pseudobutyrivibrio xylanivorans MA3014 Reveals an Incomplete Glycolytic Pathway(Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution, 2020-08-08) Palevich N; Maclean PH; Kelly WJ; Leahy SC; Rakonjac J; Attwood GTBacterial species belonging to the genus Pseudobutyrivibrio are important members of the rumen microbiome contributing to the degradation of complex plant polysaccharides. Pseudobutyrivibrio xylanivorans MA3014 was selected for genome sequencing to examine its ability to breakdown and utilize plant polysaccharides. The complete genome sequence of MA3014 is 3.58 Mb, consists of three replicons (a chromosome, chromid, and plasmid), has an overall G + C content of 39.6%, and encodes 3,265 putative protein-coding genes (CDS). Comparative pan-genomic analysis of all cultivated and currently available P. xylanivorans genomes has revealed a strong correlation of orthologous genes within this rumen bacterial species. MA3014 is metabolically versatile and capable of growing on a range of simple mono- or oligosaccharides derived from complex plant polysaccharides such as pectins, mannans, starch, and hemicelluloses, with lactate, butyrate, and formate as the principal fermentation end products. The genes encoding these metabolic pathways have been identified and MA3014 is predicted to encode an extensive range of Carbohydrate-Active enZYmes with 78 glycoside hydrolases, 13 carbohydrate esterases, and 54 glycosyl transferases, suggesting an important role in solubilization of plant matter in the rumen.