Abstract: Compared with the stomach of ruminant cattle, the stomach of horse is small and mainly for chemical digestion, but the microorganisms in the stomach play an important role in maintaining the homeostasis of the internal environment. Due to the complexity of the microbes in the stomach, little is known about the diversity and structure of bacteria in the equine stomach. Grains are the main energy source for plant-eating livestock and energy is derived through enzymatic hydrolysis of grains into glucose or their microbial fermentation into Volatile fatty acids (VFA). However, the mechanism through which these ingested grains are chemically digested as well as the effect of these grains on the stomach remains elusive. This study explored the effects of feeding different grains (corn, oats, and barley) on bacterial diversity, structure, and composition in the foal's stomach content. Furthermore, the effects of different grains on the vitality of starch digestion-related stomach enzymes were investigated. Results: No significant differences were observed (P > 0.05) in the bacterial rarefaction curves of Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) and diversity of the stomach microbiota in all foals. This study also revealed the statistical differences for Firmicutes, Cyanobacteria, Actinobacteria, Fibrobacteres, Lactobacillaceae, Streptococcaceae, Unidentified_Clostridiales, Prevotellaceae, Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, Unidentified_Cyanobacteria, Unidentified_Clostridiales, Lactococcus, Sphingomonas, Lactobacillus_hayakitensis, Lactobacillus_equigenerosi, and Clostridium_perfringens. The linear discriminant analysis effect size analysis revealed 9 bacteria at each classification level. The functional analysis of species information by using FAPROTAX software was able to predict 35 functions, and the top 5 functions were chemoheterotrophy, fermentation, animal_parasites_or_symbionts, nitrate_reduction, and aerobic_chemoheterotrophy. The study also revealed statistical differences for pH, glucose concentration, β-amylase, maltase, and amylase. Conclusions: The different grains had no significant effect on the microbial diversity of the stomach content of the foal. However, the relative bacterial abundances differed significantly in response to different diets. Particularly, oats fed to the foals significantly increased the relative abundance of Firmicutes, Lactobacillaceae, Lactobacillus, and Lactobacillus_hayakitensis. The grain had no significant effect on the pH of the stomach content, glucose concentration, and enzyme viability in the foal.
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This research paper investigates the impact of different types of grains (corn, oats, and barley) on the diversity and structure of bacteria found in the stomach of foals, as well as the vitality of specific enzymes related to digestion. The study concluded that while the grains did not significantly affect overall microbial diversity or enzyme vitality, they did cause distinct changes in the relative abundance of certain types of bacteria.
Research Approach and Findings
The authors embarked on this study due to a lack of knowledge regarding the diversity and structure of bacteria in the equine stomach. They wanted to see how this might be influenced by feeding foals different grains, which serve as the main energy source for plant-eating livestock.
The grains are broken down into glucose via enzymatic hydrolysis or by microbial fermentation into volatile fatty acids (VFA) for energy.
Observations revealed that the species and amounts of bacteria varied in different feed types, though the overall diversity didn’t significantly change. More specifically, the grains caused significant differences in the relative abundances of certain bacteria, including Firmicutes, Cyanobacteria, Actinobacteria, among others.
Interestingly, the study found that feeding foals oats specifically resulted in a significant increase in the relative abundance of Firmicutes, Lactobacillaceae, Lactobacillus, and Lactobacillus_hayakitensis.
Implications of the Study
The fact that individual grains, despite not affecting overall microbial diversity, can influence the abundance of specific bacteria could have practical implications for feeding practices in equines.
Each type of grain could potentially be used to encourage growth of specific bacterial populations in the foal gut for improved digestion and health.
However, further study is required to understand how changes in bacterial abundance translate into effects on the horse’s overall health and well-being.
Conclusion
The study concludes that the type of grain fed to foals does not significantly impact the overall microbial diversity or the viability of starch-digesting enzymes in the stomach. However, it does affect the relative abundance of certain types of bacteria.
Cite This Article
APA
Li XB, Huang XX, Li Q, Li XY, Li JH, Li C, He LJ, Jing HX, Yang KL.
(2022).
Effects of different grains on bacterial diversity and enzyme activity associated with digestion of starch in the foal stomach.
BMC Vet Res, 18(1), 407.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-022-03510-2
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Citations
This article has been cited 4 times.
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