Rumen microbiome associates with postpartum ketosis development in dairy cows: a prospective nested case–control study
Fanlin Kong,
Shuo Wang,
Yijia Zhang,
Chen Li,
Dongwen Dai,
Cheng Guo,
Yajing Wang,
Zhijun Cao,
Hongjian Yang,
Yanliang Bi,
Wei Wang,
Shengli Li
Affiliations
Fanlin Kong
State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feeding, Department of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University
Shuo Wang
State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feeding, Department of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University
Yijia Zhang
Laboratory of Animal Neurobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University
Chen Li
College of Animal Science, Xinjiang Agricultural University
Dongwen Dai
College of Animal Science and Technology, Ningxia University
Cheng Guo
College of Animal Science and Technology, Ningxia University
Yajing Wang
State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feeding, Department of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University
Zhijun Cao
State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feeding, Department of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University
Hongjian Yang
State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feeding, Department of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University
Yanliang Bi
Key Laboratory for Dairy Cow Nutrition, Institute of Feed Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Wei Wang
State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feeding, Department of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University
Shengli Li
State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feeding, Department of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University
Abstract Background Approximately, one-third of dairy cows suffer from postpartum diseases. Ketosis is considered an important inducer of other postpartum diseases by disrupting energy metabolism. Although the rumen microbiome may be involved in the etiology of ketosis by supplying volatile fatty acids, the rumen environmental dynamics of ketosis cows are unclear. Using multi-omics, this study aimed to elucidate changes in the rumen microbiome during parturition of ketosis cows and the association between the rumen microbiome and host energy metabolism. The study included 810 rumen content samples and 789 serum samples from day − 21 and 21 relative to calving day from 61 ketosis cows and 84 healthy cows. Results In ketosis cows, the rumen bacterial composition after parturition changed dramatically and needed a longer time to restore. The molar proportions of propionate were lower in ketosis cows than those in healthy cows on days 3 and 7 and negatively correlated with the serum β-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA) levels. The fermentation sub-pathway of propionate metabolism and partial glucogenic amino acid pathways were downregulated on day 3. Prevotella, UBA1066, and microbiota diversity indices regulate serum BHBA and glucose (GLU) levels via arginine, alanine, glycine, or propionate. Propionate administration to ketosis cows potentially decreased the serum BHBA concentration. Conclusions Collectively, we found rumen disruption happened after calving among ketosis cows, and insufficient glycogenic substrates, such as propionate, may be related to ketosis development. The study findings have implications for the relationship between rumen microbiome dynamics and host energy metabolism, which lays the foundation for the future rumen microbiome investigation for improving postpartum management in cows. Video Abstract
