Animals (Mar 2021)

Changes in Rumen Microbiota Affect Metabolites, Immune Responses and Antioxidant Enzyme Activities of Sheep under Cold Stimulation

  • Hongran Guo,
  • Guangchen Zhou,
  • Guangjie Tian,
  • Yuyang Liu,
  • Ning Dong,
  • Linfang Li,
  • Shijun Zhang,
  • Haochen Chai,
  • Yulin Chen,
  • Yuxin Yang

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11030712
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 3
p. 712

Abstract

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Low-temperature environments can strongly affect the normal growth and health of livestock. In winter, cold weather can be accompanied by strong winds that aggravate the effects of cold on livestock. In this study, two experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of low temperature and/or wind speed on physiological indices, rumen microbiota, immune responses and oxidative stress in sheep. When sheep were exposed to cold temperature and/or stronger wind speeds, the average daily gain (ADG) decreased (p p p p p < 0.05). In a cold environment, the abundance of Lachnospiraceae in the rumen of sheep was highly enriched, and the decreasing of propionate might be one of the factors affecting the immunity of the animals, the sheep did not suffer from oxidative damage during the experiment.

Keywords