title: Effects of early feeding on the host rumen transcriptome and bacterial diversity in lambs.
abstract: Early consumption of starter feed promotes rumen development in lambs. We examined rumen development in lambs fed starter feed for 5 weeks using histological and biochemical analyses and by performing high-throughput sequencing in rumen tissues. Additionally, rumen contents of starter feed-fed lambs were compared to those of breast milk-fed controls. Our physiological and biochemical findings revealed that early starter consumption facilitated rumen development, changed the pattern of ruminal fermentation, and increased the amylase and carboxymethylcellulase activities of rumen micro-organisms. RNA-seq analysis revealed 225 differentially expressed genes between the rumens of breast milk- and starter feed-fed lambs. These DEGs were involved in many metabolic pathways, particularly lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, and included HMGCL and HMGCS2. Sequencing analysis of 16S rRNA genes revealed that ruminal bacterial communities were more diverse in breast milk-than in starter feed-fed lambs, and each group had a distinct microbiota. We conclude that early starter feeding is beneficial to rumen development and physiological function in lambs. The underlying mechanism may involve the stimulation of ruminal ketogenesis and butanoate metabolism via HMGCL and HMGCS2 combined with changes in the fermentation type induced by ruminal microbiota. Overall, this study provides insights into the molecular mechanisms of rumen development in sheep.
authors: College of Animal Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730000, P. R. China.
authors: Weimin
authors: W
authors: Wang
authors: College of Animal Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730000, P. R. China.|College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, P. R. China.|Engineering Laboratory of Sheep Breeding and Reproduction Biotechnology in Gansu Province, Minqin 733300, P. R. China.
authors: Chong
authors: C
authors: Li
authors: College of Animal Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730000, P. R. China.
authors: Fadi
authors: F
authors: Li
authors: College of Animal Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730000, P. R. China.|College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, P. R. China.
authors: Xiaojuan
authors: X
authors: Wang
authors: College of Animal Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730000, P. R. China.
authors: Xiaoxue
authors: X
authors: Zhang
authors: College of Animal Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730000, P. R. China.
authors: Ting
authors: T
authors: Liu
authors: College of Animal Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730000, P. R. China.
authors: Fang
authors: F
authors: Nian
authors: College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, P. R. China.
authors: Xiangpeng
authors: X
authors: Yue
authors: College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, P. R. China.
authors: Fei
authors: F
authors: Li
authors: College of Animal Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730000, P. R. China.
authors: Xiangyu
authors: X
authors: Pan
authors: College of Animal Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730000, P. R. China.
authors: Yongfu
authors: Y
authors: La
authors: College of Animal Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730000, P. R. China.
authors: Futao
authors: F
authors: Mo
authors: College of Animal Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730000, P. R. China.
authors: Fangbin
authors: F
authors: Wang
authors: JinchangZhongtian Sheep Industry Co. Ltd., Jinchang 737100, P. R. China.
authors: Baosheng
authors: B
authors: Li
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed; D000824:Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics*; D004032:Diet; D008892:Milk / Q000382:microbiology; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics*; D012417:Rumen / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology*; D012756:Sheep / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D059467:Transcriptome / Q000235:genetics*; D014886:Weaning
chemical_list: D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S