Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2024, Vol. 55 ›› Issue (10): 4760-4772.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2024.10.045

• Clinical Veterinary Medicine • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effect of Rumen Acidosis on Gastrointestinal Function, Morphology, and Microflora in Goats

Daoliang ZHANG1(), Hongyan DING2, Liuxing WANG1, Wenjun TAI1, Hao KONG1, Chang ZHAO1, Shibin FENG1, Xichun WANG1, Yanfeng XUE1, Jinjie WU1, Yu LI1,*()   

  1. 1. College of Animal Science and Technology, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China
    2. Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hefei 230031, China
  • Received:2023-10-17 Online:2024-10-23 Published:2024-11-04
  • Contact: Yu LI E-mail:zdl15936569251@stu.ahau.edu.cn;lydhy2014@ahau.edu.cn

Abstract:

This study utilized a model of rumen acidosis induced by the administration of corn flour to investigate its impact on the gastrointestinal tract flora structure of goats. In this experiment, eight healthy Boer goats were selected as test subjects, 4 in the control group and 4 in the acidosis group after modeling. Gastrointestinal(GI) tissues were collected for HE staining, RT-qPCR, and Western blot assay to investigate the effects of rumen acidosis on the morphology and functional proteins of goat GI tissues. Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing was used to determine the 16S rRNA of the bacteria in rumen fluid and cecum content, aimed to sutdy the effect of acidosis on the bacterial communities in the gastrointestinal tracts. The results showed that, compared with the control group, the tissue morphology and structural integrity of the rumen and small intestine were damaged in the acidosis group. The relative expression levels of MCT1 mRNA and protein in rumen and duodenum were extremely significantly increased (P < 0.01), while the relative expression levels of SLC5A8 mRNA and protein were extremely significantly decreased (P < 0.01). The results of high-throughput sequencing in rumen contents showed that, the Shannon index of Alpha diversity analysis in the acidosis group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P < 0.01), and the relative richness of Bacteroidetes and Synergistetes was significantly decreased (P < 0.01). The relative abundance of Fibrobacteres and Tenericutes was significantly increased (P < 0.05), while the relative abundance of Ruminococcus and Prevotella was significantly decreased (P < 0.05). After high-throughput sequencing of cecum contents, compared with the control group, the relative richness of Ruminococcus and Oscillospira in acidosis group was significantly decreased (P < 0.05), while the relative richness of Clostridium was significantly increased (P < 0.05). In conclusion, rumen acidosis can destroy the integrity of digestive tract morphology, affect the expression of related proteins, and disturb digestive tract flora structure.

Key words: goat, rumen acidosis, gastrointestinal morphology, high-throughput sequencing, flora analysis

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