title: Specific microbiome-dependent mechanisms underlie the energy harvest efficiency of ruminants.
abstract: Ruminants have the remarkable ability to convert human-indigestible plant biomass into human-digestible food products, due to a complex microbiome residing in the rumen compartment of their upper digestive tract. Here we report the discovery that rumen microbiome components are tightly linked to cows' ability to extract energy from their feed, termed feed efficiency. Feed efficiency was measured in 146 milking cows and analyses of the taxonomic composition, gene content, microbial activity and metabolomic composition was performed on the rumen microbiomes from the 78 most extreme animals. Lower richness of microbiome gene content and taxa was tightly linked to higher feed efficiency. Microbiome genes and species accurately predicted the animals' feed efficiency phenotype. Specific enrichment of microbes and metabolic pathways in each of these microbiome groups resulted in better energy and carbon channeling to the animal, while lowering methane emissions to the atmosphere. This ecological and mechanistic understanding of the rumen microbiome could lead to an increase in available food resources and environmentally friendly livestock agriculture.
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences and the National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.|Department of Ruminant Science, Institute of Animal Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center, Bet Dagan, Israel.|Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Science, Tel Aviv University, Ramat-Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Sheerli Kruger Ben
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Shabat
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences and the National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
authors.forename: Goor
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sasson
authors.affiliation: Department of Ruminant Science, Institute of Animal Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center, Bet Dagan, Israel.
authors.forename: Adi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Doron-Faigenboim
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences and the National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
authors.forename: Thomer
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Durman
authors.affiliation: Department of Ruminant Science, Institute of Animal Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center, Bet Dagan, Israel.
authors.forename: Shamay
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yaacoby
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA.|The Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Margret E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Berg Miller
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA.|The Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Bryan A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: White
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences and the National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
authors.forename: Naama
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shterzer
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences and the National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
authors.forename: Itzhak
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mizrahi
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed / Q000032:analysis; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000382:microbiology*; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008697:Methane / Q000378:metabolism; D064307:Microbiota; D012417:Rumen / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D008697:Methane