Journal Article

Multi-omics insights into microbiome-rumen epithelium interaction mechanisms underlying subacute rumen acidosis tolerance in dairy goats

Chen, Xiaodong, Xu, Jiawen, Zhang, Guijie, Huws, Sharon A., Wu, Shengru, Yao, Junhu, Xu, Jingyi, Liu, Tao, Zhang, Lei, Yan, Fang, Ren, Jianrong

2025

Overview

Background To address rising demand for dairy products, dairy goats are often fed high-concentrate diets, which lead to subacute rumen acidosis (SARA). The mechanisms behind individual variation in SARA tolerance are not well understood. This study aims to elucidate roles of rumen microbiome-host interactions in SARA-susceptibility and tolerance. Results Goats susceptible or tolerant to SARA were selected by feeding diets with different levels of rumen degradable starch. SARA-susceptible goats present prolonged periods of rumen pH below 5.8 and volatile fatty acids (VFAs) accumulation. Metagenomic analysis reveals a decrease in cellulose- and hemicellulose-utilizing bacteria and enzymes, along with increased lysozymes, suggesting disrupted rumen homeostasis. Transcriptomic and single-nucleus transcriptome analyses reveal upregulated Th17 cells, IL-17 signalling, and inflammatory pathways in SARA-susceptible goats. In contrast, SARA-tolerant goats maintain stable pH levels and enhance VFAs absorption. Bifidobacterium adolescentis and other beneficial bacteria are enriched in the rumen of SARA-tolerant goats. These microbes are positively correlated with 3-methyl pyruvic acid, a key metabolite involved in branched-chain amino acid synthesis and epithelial cell proliferation. Both microbiome transplantation and B. adolescentis direct feeding experiments confirm the protective effects of SARA-tolerant microbiota including B. adolescentis , promoting rumen epithelial VFAs absorption and reducing ruminal inflammation. Conclusions This study highlights the importance of Th17-mediated immune responses in ruminal inflammation and the role of B. adolescentis in regulating rumen epithelial VFAs absorption. Modulating VFAs absorption in the rumen epithelium represents a promising strategy for improving animal health and enhancing rumen fermentation efficiency.

• Publisher: BioMed Central,Springer Nature B.V,BMC
• Subject: absorption / Acidosis / Acidosis - metabolism / Acidosis - microbiology / Acidosis - veterinary / Amino acids / Animal Genetics and Genomics / animal health / Animals / Bacteria / Bifidobacterium adolescentis / Bioinformatics / Biomedical and Life Sciences / Biosynthesis / Cell proliferation / Cellulose / Dairy goats / Dairy products / Diet / Enzymes / Epithelial cells / Epithelium / Epithelium - metabolism / Epithelium - microbiology / Evolutionary Biology / Fatty Acids, Volatile - metabolism / Female / Fermentation / Gastrointestinal Microbiome / Gene expression / genome / Goat Diseases - microbiology / Goats / Goats - microbiology / Helper cells / Hemicellulose / Homeostasis / Human Genetics / Hydrogen-Ion Concentration / Immune response / Immunological tolerance / Inflammation / interleukin-17 / Life Sciences / Lymphocytes T / Metabolism / Metabolites / Metagenomics / Microbial Genetics and Genomics / microbiome / Microbiomes / Microbiota / Microorganisms / Milk / Multiomics / pH stability / Plant Genetics and Genomics / Pyruvic acid / Rumen - metabolism / Rumen - microbiology / Rumen microbiome and metabolites / Rumen microorganisms / Signal transduction / Single-nucleus transcriptome / starch / Subacute rumen acidosis / Transcriptome / Transcriptomes / Transcriptomics / Volatile fatty acids