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Rumen, one of the most productive diverse microbial habitats plays a vital role in the breakdown of feed to produce energy for maintenance and milk production in cattle. Culture-based procedures could identify only 10% of microbial species present in the rumen. Kerala, one of the southern states of India, owns only one native cattle breed, the Vechur cattle, which is noted for its short stature, disease resistance and adaptability to hot humid climate. Lower population density and decreased milk production potential of Vechur cattle led to the development of crossbred cattle of Kerala, with higher milk yield. A study was conducted to assess the rumen microbial profile of low productive Vechur cattle and high productive crossbred cattle for a better understanding of the relationship between the host and microbial community. DNA isolated from rumen liquor of five cattle each from both genetic groups maintained on standard ration (forage, concentrate ratio of 50:50) was subjected to whole metagenome sequencing. Bioinformatics and statistical analysis revealed that bacteria followed by archaea and eukaryota dominated in the Vechur cattle as well as the crossbred cattle rumen. Bacterial community was dominated by Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes phyla in both genetic groups with a higher Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio of 0.45 in Vechur cattle. Among archaea, Euryarchaeota was more abundant, which constitute methanogens, contributing 98% of total archaeal reads. Prevalent protozoal genus found in the Vechur cattle rumen was Entodinium and in crossbred cattle rumen was Entamoeba. In Vechur and crossbred cattle rumen, 1086 and 1262 microbial species were observed exclusively and 4731 species were shared between habitats. There was a significant difference in total microbial species abundance between the two genetic groups and Vechur cattle displayed significantly higher microbial diversity compared to crossbred. As per literature, this is presumably the first report of rumen metagenome profile of Vechur cattle, a unique short breed of India.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of banana flower power pellet (BAFLOP-pellet) and plant oil source on in vitro gas production, fermentation efficiency, and methane (CH 4 ) production. Rumen fluid was collected from two rumen-fistulated dairy steers fed on rice straw-based diet with concentrate supplement to maintain normal rumen ecology. All supplemented feed were added to respective treatments in the 30:70 roughage to concentrate-based substrate. The treatments were arranged according to a 3 × 3 factorial arrangement in a completely randomized design. First factor was different levels of BAFLOP-pellet supplementation (0, 30, and 60 g/kg of dietary substrate) and second factor was plant oil source supplementation [non-supplemented, 20 g/kg krabok seed oil (KSO), and 20 g/kg coconut oil (CO) of dietary substrate, respectively]. Under this investigation, BAFLOP-pellet supplementation increased gas production kinetics and in vitro digestibility (P < 0.05). Ruminal pH was dropped post incubation time in the non-supplemented group but was enhanced in BAFLOP-pellet-supplemented treatments. On the other hand, supplementation of KSO and CO depressed gas production and digestibility, but did not influence ruminal pH. In addition, protozoal population and CH 4 production were decreased by BAFLOP-pellet and plant oil addition (P < 0.05). Based on this study, it could be concluded that supplementation of BAFLOP-pellet and plant oil source could enhance the in vitro fermentation efficiency while reduced protozoal population and CH 4 production. It is suggested that BAFLOP-pellet (60 g/kg of dietary substrate) and KSO/CO (20 g/kg of dietary substrate) could be used to manipulate rumen fermentation characteristics fed on high-concentrate diet.

Four rumen-fistulated swamp buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) were randomly allocated to investigate rumen adaptation of urea on feed intake, nutrient digestibility, fermentation efficiency, and microbial protein synthesis. Buffaloes were fed with rice straw ad libitum for a period of 2 weeks and then were shifted to a step-up diet regimen by supplementation of concentrate containing 20 and 40 g/kg urea at 5 g/kg BW for a period of 2 and 4 weeks, respectively. The results revealed that feed intake and nutrient digestibility were increased by urea supplementation (P < 0.05) both at two and four period of consumption. However, ruminal pH, temperature, and protozoal population were neither affected by urea nor adaptation period (P > 0.05) while bacterial and fungal zoospores were increased especially at 40 g/kg urea. Data from real-time PCR further showed that total bacteria and the three predominant cellulolytic bacteria (Ruminococcus albus, Fibrobacter succinogenes, Ruminococcus flavefaciens) were increased by urea supplementation both at 2 and 4 weeks of urea feeding. Furthermore, methane production was similar among treatments while microbial protein synthesis was enhanced when buffaloes were fed with urea after a period of 2 weeks especially at 40 g/kg urea (P < 0.05). It can be concluded that urea supplementation could increase feed intake, nutrient digestibility, microbial protein synthesis, and fermentation efficiency of swamp buffaloes fed on rice straw. It is suggested that buffaloes could adapt well and utilize urea as a N source effectively within a period of 2 weeks uptake without adverse effect.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) peel powder (MSP) supplementation on feed intake, nutrient digestibility, ruminal fermentation, and milk production in lactating dairy cows fed a concentrate containing yeast fermented cassava chip protein (YEFECAP). Four crossbred dairy cows (50 % Holstein-Friesian and 50 % Thai native breed) in mid-lactation, 404 ± 50.0 kg of body weight and 90 ± 5 day in milk with daily milk production of 9 ± 2.0 kg/day, were randomly assigned according to a 4 × 4 Latin square design to receive 4 dietary treatments. The treatments were different levels of MSP supplementation at 0, 100, 200, and 300 g/head/day. Rice straw was used as a roughage source and fed ad libitum to all cows, and concentrate containing YEFECAP at 200 g/kg concentrate was offered corresponding to concentrate to milk yield ratio at 1:2. Results revealed that feed intake, apparent nutrient digestibility, ruminal pH and temperature, and total volatile fatty acid were not significantly affected by MSP supplementation (P > 0.05). However, increasing levels of MSP supplementation increased molar proportion of propionate while ammonia-nitrogen, acetate, and acetate to propionate ratio were decreased (P < 0.01). Moreover, milk production and economic return were increased linearly (P < 0.01) with the increasing level of MSP supplementation. The present findings suggested that supplementation of MSP especially at 300 g/head/day with concentrate containing YEFECAP at 200 g/kg could improve rumen fermentation efficiency, milk production and protein content, and economical return of lactating dairy cows fed on rice straw.