ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Systems Microbiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1610850
Study on the effects of urea addition on the fermentation quality, nitrogen metabolism, microbial community, and metabolic characteristics of cotton strawlage
Provisionally accepted
Shuaibin Zhou1
Zhenxin Zhu1Xiaoping Chen2Qiuju Pu3Shuai Liu2Yongbin Shao1Yaoqiang Sun1Xinwen Sun1Cuiling Shang1Wen Shen1*
DK Hua1*
Xinfeng Wang1*- 1Shihezi University, Shihezi, China
- 2Tumushuke Tuxing Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd., Tumushuke, China
- 3Nileke County’s Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Development Center of Yili Prefecture, Nileke, China
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Cotton straw is a widely available agricultural by-product in Xinjiang, China, but its utilization as livestock feed is hindered by challenges such as high fiber content and the presence of toxic free gossypol, which can negatively impact animal health and feed digestibility. Urea addition in feed fermentation has shown potential in improving feed quality by providing a nitrogen source for microorganisms, promoting fiber degradation, and increasing the content of crude protein. However, the optimal urea addition level for cotton straw fermentation remains unclear. The objective of this study was to explore the effects of urea addition on the fermentation quality, nitrogen fractions, bacterial community, and metabolic characteristics of cotton strawlage. The experiment included a control group with 0 % urea added (U0), a 0.1% urea group (U1, 1 g/kg fresh matter), a 0.2% urea group (U2, 2 g/kg fresh matter), and a 0.4% urea group (U3 4 g/kg fresh matter). After 45 days of fermentation, samples of the strawlage were collected and analyzed for their chemical composition, fermentation quality, nitrogen fractions, bacterial community, and metabolic characteristics. Compared to the U0 group, the U3 group significantly increased total nitrogen (TN), non-protein nitrogen (NPN), acetic acid, and propionic acid contents by 17.93%, 0.08%, 13.26%, and 0.01%, respectively, while significantly reducing free gossypol and non-structural nitrogen (NSN) levels by 48.50%, and 14.22%, respectively, thereby optimizing the protein composition of cotton straw. Furthermore, the U1 and U2 groups exhibited significant downregulation of metabolites associated with amino acid and energy metabolism pathways, such as L-arginine, L-proline, L-ornithine, and 2-Oxoglutaric acid, compared to the U0 group. The addition of urea significantly altered the fermentation quality, nitrogen fraction composition, microbial community composition, and metabolic profiles of cotton straw.
Keywords: cotton strawlage, Urea, nitrogen metabolism, microbial community, Metabolic characteristics
Received: 13 Apr 2025; Accepted: 30 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhou, Zhu, Chen, Pu, Liu, Shao, Sun, Sun, Shang, Shen, Hua and Wang. 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:
Wen Shen, Shihezi University, Shihezi, China
DK Hua, Shihezi University, Shihezi, China
Xinfeng Wang, Shihezi University, Shihezi, China
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