Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2022, Vol. 53 ›› Issue (9): 3018-3028.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2022.09.018

• ANIMAL NUTRITION AND FEEDS • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Changes of Rumen Microbe and Milk Fatty Acid Composition during Early Lactation

HU Liping, SHEN Ziliang, WANG Quan, YU Zitong, ZHANG Qiqi, MAO Yongjiang, YANG Zhangping, ZHANG Huimin*   

  1. College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China
  • Received:2021-12-09 Online:2022-09-23 Published:2022-09-23

Abstract: This experiment was conducted to study the changes of rumen microbe and milk fatty acid composition during early lactation. In this study, 50 Holstein cows with similar parity, lactation days and milk yield were selected from a dairy farm in Jiangsu province. Milk samples and rumen fluid samples from 7 days of lactation (d7) and 30 days of lactation (d30) were collected. Feed intake, milk yield, milk composition and milk fatty acid content were detected. Meanwhile, the composition of rumen microbes was analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing technology. The results showed that dry matter intake (15.79 kg·d-1) and milk yield (26.81 kg) of d7 were significantly lower than those of d30 (dry matter intake:18.87 kg·d-1; milk yield:37.47 kg)(P<0.01). Milk fat percentage, milk protein percentage and somatic cell score of d7 were extremely significantly higher than those of d30 (P<0.01). The contents of C6:0, C8:0, C10:0, C12:0, C14:0, C14:1trans9, C14:1cis9, C15:1trans10, medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) and saturated fatty acids (SFA) of d7 were significantly lower than those of d30 (P<0.05), on the contrary, the proportion of C17:0, C17:1cis10, C18:1trans6, C18:1trans11, C18:1cis9, C18:1cis11, C19:1trans10, C22:5cis4,7,10,13,16, long chain fatty acids (LCFA), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and trans fatty acids (TRANS) were significantly higher than those of d30 (P<0.05). 16S rRNA sequencing results showed that rumen bacterial richness and diversity of dairy cows during early lactation were not significantly changed (P>0.05). At the genus level, the abundance of Ruminiclostridium_1, Ruminococcaceae_UCG_014, Ruminococcaceae_UCG_005, Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1 and Dialister in rumen of d7 were significantly lower than those of d30 (P<0.05), while the abundance of Sphaerochaeta, Campylobacter and Eubacterium_saphenum_group were significantly higher than those of d30 (P<0.05). In addition, the association analysis between milk fatty acids and rumen microbiome data showed that rumen microbes had little influence on milk MCFA content, while cellulose-degrading bacteria (Ruminiclostridium_1, Ruminococcaceae_UCG_005) were significantly negatively correlated with the contents of C17:0, C18:1trans6, C18:1trans11 and C19:1trans10 in milk. In conclusion, changes in physiology and feed intake of dairy cows in early lactation lead to changes in rumen microbial composition, which lead to changes in microbial metabolites and metabolic pathways, and ultimately lead to changes in milk production and milk composition. The current study provides a scientific basis for analyzing the mechanism of rumen microorganisms regulating milk fat metabolism, and also provides a theoretical basis for regulating postpartum dairy cow nutrition and improving the quality of raw milk.

Key words: dairy cow, early lactation, rumen microorganisms, milk fat metabolism, correlation analysis

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