ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Vet. Sci.

Sec. Animal Nutrition and Metabolism

Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1635386

Effects of Lactobacillus brevis additives on nutrient composition, fermentation quality, microflora structure and metabolites of Pennisetum giganteum silage

Provisionally accepted
Juanrui  LiaoJuanrui Liao1Shaona  LiuShaona Liu1Fuhua  YangFuhua Yang1Yurong  FuYurong Fu1Hanqi  DuanHanqi Duan1Xiaowei  BaoXiaowei Bao1Jinlong  HuoJinlong Huo2*Zhiyong  ZhaoZhiyong Zhao1*
  • 1Yunnan Academy of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Kunming, China
  • 2Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, China

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

The current situation of feed resource shortage can be effectively solved by high-value utilization of Pennisetum giganteum. This study investigated the effects of Lactobacillus brevis R-09 on P. giganteum silage quality, microbial structure and metabolites. In a randomized experimental design, silage was treated with (LT: 1.5 × 10⁷ CFU/kg L. brevis R-09) or without (LC: control) inoculant, each replicated six times. The LT group exhibited elevated crude fat (p < 0.05), lactic acid (p < 0.05), and isocaproic acid (p < 0.05) content, alongside reduced crude fiber, butyric acid, and mycotoxin levels (p < 0.05). High-throughput sequencing (16S/18S rDNA) revealed comparable microbial diversity across treatments, with Lactobacillus dominating the bacterial community. Notably, LT increased microbial uniformity and suppressed mold proliferation, diminishing their ecological impact.Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) profiling identified 464 differentially abundant metabolites, primarily linked to amino acid and lipid metabolism, suggesting a stabilized metabolic network. Taken together, these results suggest that the addition of L. brevis R-09 can improve the quality of P. giganteum silage by modulating microbial communities and metabolic pathways, thus providing mechanistic insights into the optimization of Lactobacillus-mediated silage fermentation.

Keywords: Pennisetum giganteum, Lactobacillus brevis, high-throughput sequencing, LC-MS, Silage fermentation

Received: 28 May 2025; Accepted: 07 Jul 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Liao, Liu, Yang, Fu, Duan, Bao, Huo and Zhao. 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:
Jinlong Huo, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, China
Zhiyong Zhao, Yunnan Academy of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Kunming, China

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