ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.
Sec. Bioprocess Engineering
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2025.1657657
Metabolome profile and microbial community structure of Cenchrus fungigraminus silage under different moisture gradients
Provisionally accepted
- 1Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, China
- 2Faculty of Animal Science and Technology Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, China
- 3Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science of Yunnan Province, Kunming, China
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Due to its high biomass yield, Cenchrus fungigraminus is widely cultivated in Yunnan. Local herders often adjust the moisture content of fresh grass by sun-drying exposure to improve its suitability for silage. However, the spatiotemporal dynamics changes of microbial communities and metabolites during its fermentation process are still unclear. In this study, fresh grass was subjected to natural sun-drying for 0, 12, 24 and 36 h, achieving moisture content of approximately 88%, 77%, 66% and 50%, respectively, before ensiling. We combined 16S rRNA high-thoughput sequencing and LC-MS-based metabolomics to investigate changes in microbial diversity, community structure, and metabolic pathways under different moisture coniditions. The results showed that with prolonged sun exposure, the water-soluble carbohydrate(WSC) and ether extract(EE) of the raw material decreased, and the acid-insoluble fiber(ADF) decreased; the richness and diversity of the microbial community in the low-moisture group (50%) after silage were significantly higher than those in the high-moisture group, accompanied by an increase in harmful bacteria as Clostridium. In contrast, the abundance of lactic acid bacteria(LAB), including Lactobacillus and Weissella, showed a significant positive correlation with moisture content. Metabolomics analysis showed that essential amino acids (aspartic acid, glutamic acid)-related pathways were upregulated, while phenolic acid (protocatechuic acid, gallic acid) metabolism was downregulated, reflecting the differential regulation of fermentation products under different water conditions. In summary, although excessive sun-drying can optimize the fiber structure and palatability of raw materials, overly low moisture level are unfavorable for proliferation of probiotics and can compromise natural quality. Maintaining a higher moisture content (≥75%) for silage is more conducive to fermentation stability and nutritional value, providing a theoretical basis for the optimization of the silage process of Cenchrus fungigraminus.
Keywords: Cenchrus fungigraminus, Moisture content, Fermentation quality, bacterial, metabolic pathway
Received: 02 Jul 2025; Accepted: 25 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Hou, Chu, Yang, Xiao, Niu and Shan. 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: Guilian Shan, Faculty of Animal Science and Technology Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, China
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