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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microorganisms in Vertebrate Digestive Systems
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1395665
This article is part of the Research Topic Unravelling the Unknown of the Rumen Microbiome: Implications for Animal Health, Productivity, and Beyond View all 3 articles

Changes in the rumen development, rumen fermentation, and rumen microbiota community in weaned calves during Steviol Glycosides treatment

Provisionally accepted
Kexin Wang Kexin Wang 1MaoCheng Jiang MaoCheng Jiang 1Yuhang Chen Yuhang Chen 1Yuncheng Huang Yuncheng Huang 1Zhiqiang Cheng Zhiqiang Cheng 1OSMOND Datsomor OSMOND Datsomor 1Shakib Mohamed Jama Shakib Mohamed Jama 1Liping Zhu Liping Zhu 2Yajing Li Yajing Li 2Zhao G. QI Zhao G. QI 1*Miao Lin Miao Lin 1*
  • 1 Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
  • 2 Zhucheng Haotian Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Weifang, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Early weaning leads to weaning stress in calves, which hinders healthy growth and development. As an excellent sweetener applied in food, steviol glycosides (STE) has also been shown to exhibit positive biological activity in monogastric animals. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the impact of incorporating STE as a dietary supplement on rumen development, fermentation, and microbiota of rumen in weaned calves. This study selected 24 healthy Holstein bull calves and randomly allocated them into two groups (CON and STE). The results indicated that supplementation STE group improved rumen development in weaned calves, as demonstrated by a marked increase in the weight of the rumen, as well as the length and surface area of the rumen papilla. Compared with the CON group, the concentrations of total volatile fatty acids (TVFA), propionate, butyrate, and valerate were higher in the STE group. Moreover, STE treatment increased the relative abundance of Firmicutes and Actinobacteria at the phylum level. At the genus level, the STE group showed a significantly increased relative abundance of Succiniclasticum, Lachnospiraceae_NK3A20_group, and Olsenella, and a decreased relative abundance of Acinetobacter compared to the CON group. Pusillimonas, Lachnospiraceae_NK3A20_group, Olsenella, and Succiniclasticum were significantly enriched in rumen chyme after supplementation with STE, as demonstrated by LEfSe analysis. Overall, our findings revealed that rumen bacterial communities altered in response to the dietary supplementation with STE, and some bacterial taxa in these communities may have positive effects on rumen development during this period.

    Keywords: Stevioside 1, rumen 2, development 3, fermentation 4, microbiota 5

    Received: 04 Mar 2024; Accepted: 22 May 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wang, Jiang, Chen, Huang, Cheng, Datsomor, Mohamed Jama, Zhu, Li, QI and Lin. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Zhao G. QI, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
    Miao Lin, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China

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