Methane production from ruminants is influenced by numerous factors, including diet, breed, genetics, and geographical range, which may have interactive effects on methane emission ( Basarab et al., 2013 Carberry et al., 2014 Henderson et al., 2015 Zhao et al., 2015 Roehe et al., 2016). Ruminants are the largest source of methane emissions among livestock, releasing methane into the atmosphere through eructation. According to estimation, anthropogenic methane emissions account for ∼20.7% total greenhouse gas emissions, and enteric methane emissions account for 30–40% of total anthropogenic methane emissions ( IPCC, 2007). Methane is one of the most abundant greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere, with a significant impact on global warming 28-times that of carbon dioxide ( IPCC, 2014). This shift may account for the age-related difference in rumen fermentation and methane production per DMI. Prevotella was strongly correlated with Methanobrevibacter in heifers howerver, in older cows (96–120 months) this association was replaced by a correlation between Succinivibrio and Methanobrevibacter. This study revealed different associations between predominant bacterial phylotypes and Methanobrevibacter with increasing age. Prevotella, Ruminococcus, Flavonifractor, Succinivibrio, and Methanobrevibacter were affected by age. Age-related microbiota changes in the rumen were reflected by a significant shift in bacterial taxa, but relatively stable archaeal taxa. The acetate:propionate ratio decreased significantly with increasing age. Heifers (9–10 months) had lower methane production but higher methane production per dry matter intake (DMI).
Methane production and volatile fatty acid concentrations were age-related. This study explored the age effect on the relationship between microbial communities and enteric methane production in dairy cows and heifers using high-throughput sequencing. It is therefore important to understand the influence of host age on the relationship between microbiota and methane production.
Dairy heifers produce large amounts of methane based on fermentation of digested organic matter, with adverse consequences for feed efficiency and the environment. Rumen microbiota are essential for maintaining digestive and metabolic functions, producing methane as a byproduct.
3The Key Laboratory of Xinjiang Endemic and Ethnic Diseases and Department of Biochemistry, Shihezi University School of Medicine, Shihezi, China.2State Key Laboratory of Sheep Genetic Improvement and Healthy Production, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural and Reclamation Science, Shihezi, China.1Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.Chong Liu 1,2, Qinghui Meng 1, Yongxing Chen 1, Mengsi Xu 2, Min Shen 2, Rui Gao 3* and Shangquan Gan 2*
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