Abstract
Paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera), as a new woody forage with high-protein characteristic, is being widely used in ruminant feeding. However, little is known about the comprehensive microbiota picture of whole ruminal niches (liquid, solid, and epithelium) under paper mulberry diet. To gain a better understanding of feeding paper mulberry on the rumen microbiota, the effects of fresh paper mulberry, paper mulberry silage, or a conventional high-protein alfalfa silage on rumen fermentation products and microbiota in rumen niches of Hu lambs were studied. Forty-five Hu lambs were randomly divided into 3 treatments with 15 replicates in each treatment. No significant difference was observed among treatments in the average daily gain (ADG). The fresh paper mulberry treatment had lower (P < 0.05) pH and higher (P < 0.05) total volatile fatty acids (TVFA) compared with silage treatments, but the fermentation parameters did not show significant differences between paper mulberry silage and alfalfa silage treatments. The Shannon index did not show a significant difference (P < 0.05) among treatments except between fresh paper mulberry and alfalfa silage treatment in rumen epithelial niches. Butyrivibrio and Treponema were the predominant genera in the rumen epithelial fraction, while Prevotella and Rikenellaceae_RC9 dominated in both rumen liquid and solid fractions. These results indicated the paper mulberry supplement did not have distinct impact on the microbial diversity and growth performance compared with alfalfa silage, especially for paper mulberry silage, which might help us develop an alternative animal feeding strategy of replacing alfalfa with paper mulberry.
Key points
• Feeding paper mulberry silage did not show significant impact on the growth performance compared with alfalfa silage treatment.
• Feeding fresh paper mulberry reduced rumen pH value and increased total volatile fatty acid.
• The microbial diversity did not show significant difference among treatments.
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The authors declare that data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article.
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Funding
This research was funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 32001402 and No. 32171686), National Key Research and Development Program (No. 2021YFD1000102), and the Research and Demonstration of Key Technologies for Efficient Planting, Processing and Utilization of Hybrid Paper Mulberry in Hills and Mountains (CSTC2020NGZX0000).
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Y. X. performed experiments and analyzed data. X. W and X. M. L. participated in the data collection. X. W. and L. N. G. assisted with animal experimentation. K. K. N. provided advice on the design and performance of experiments. Y. X. and K. K. N. wrote the manuscript draft. K. K. N. and F. Y. Y. supervised the study.
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Xiong, Y., Wang, X., Li, X. et al. Exploring the rumen microbiota of Hu lambs in response to diet with paper mulberry. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 107, 4961–4971 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-023-12614-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-023-12614-0