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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Madison, Wisconsin » U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center » Cell Wall Biology and Utilization Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #345252
Title: Transcriptome changes in artificial dosing of rumen content in neonatal calves

Author
item Li, Wenli
item COX, MADISON - University Of Wisconsin
item RIEHLE, CHRISTINA - University Of Wisconsin
item EDWARDS, ANDREA - University Of Wisconsin
item Weimer, Paul
item SUEN, GARRET - University Of Wisconsin

Submitted to: Symposium on Gut Health in Production of Food Animals
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/12/2017
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: In mammals, microbial colonization in the digestive tract (GIT) occurs right after birth by the main bacteria groups. Numerous human and mouse studies have reported the importance of early gut microbial inhabitants on host health. However, few attempts have been undertaken to understand the role of early gut/rumen microbial colonization on GIT development or host health in neonatal ruminants. Thus, the molecular changes associated with bacterial colonization are largely unknown in cattle. In this study, we aimed to study the host tissue transcriptome changes in response to dossing of exogenous rumen fluid in early life of calf, starting at birth, with repeated dosing every other week. Ruminal fluid from a donor adult cow was used for the experiment. A total of 10 Holstein calves were included in this study, with five of them treated with fresh rumen fluid from the donor cow, and five of them treated with sterilized rumen fluid. Several key organs vital to the calf nutrition were investigated using whole-transcriptome sequencing. They included rumen, along with three other stomach chambers and the liver. We observed significantly elevated expression in genes involved in immune and defense process in rumen tissues. Additionally, liver transcriptome changes suggested potential increased metabolism in sphingolipids, an essential molecular signal for bacteria survival in digestive tracts. Our study provided first-hand insights into host transcriptome changes associated with early colonization of microbial community in neonatal calves. Such knowledge will lay a foundation for future probiotics-based research in microbial organism-mediated rumen development and nutrition in ruminants.