The effect of milk replacer composition on the intestinal microbiota of pre-ruminant dairy calves

Badman, James, Daly, Kristian ORCID: 0000-0002-1075-1831, Kelly, Jennifer, Moran, Andrew ORCID: 0000-0003-0031-2154, Cameron, John, Watson, Ian, Newbold, John and Shirazi-Beechey, SP ORCID: 0000-0001-9922-6357 (2019) The effect of milk replacer composition on the intestinal microbiota of pre-ruminant dairy calves. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 6. 371-.

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2019.00371

Abstract

The impact of dietary composition and prebiotics, in promoting the growth of beneficial groups of gut bacteria, is increasingly apparent. Using Illumina MiSeq sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes, this study has aimed to characterize and compare the establishment of the gastrointestinal microbiota in dairy calves given two different commercial milk replacer (MR) diets. MR1 and MR2 contain different levels of macronutrients such as protein and fat. Moreover, differences in manufacturing methods infer that MR2 may contain a greater proportion of conjugated milk oligosaccharides (OS), while MR1 contains more free milk OS. A total of 10 dairy calves, five in each group, were assigned to one of the two MR diets. Freshly voided fecal samples were taken at 0, 7, 14, 28, and 49 days after first consumption of milk replacer. The relative abundance of two individual <i>Bifidobacterium</i> species, which are known to utilize milk OS, and <i>Faecalibacterium prausnitzii</i> were significantly higher at day 7 in the fecal microbiome of calves fed MR2 compared with MR1. These commensal bacteria are widely regarded as probiotic organisms that confer a health benefit on the host. Our findings suggest that the composition of bovine milk replacers can have significant effects on the establishment of the gut microbiota in pre-weaned (neonatal) dairy calves. Better understanding of milk composition-microbiota-host interactions in early life will inform targeted interventions to increase growth and reduce mortality in young animals.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	intestine, microbiota, pre-ruminant, dairy calf, milk replacer
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	30 Oct 2019 10:05
Last Modified:	25 Jan 2024 04:52
DOI:	10.3389/fvets.2019.00371
Open Access URL:	https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2019.00371
Related URLs:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3059976