Inclusion of Camelina sativa Seeds in Ewes' Diet Modifies Rumen Microbiota

Christos Christodoulou; Alexandros Mavrommatis; Dimitris Loukovitis; George Symeon; Vassilios Dotas; Basiliki Kotsampasi; Eleni Tsiplakou

doi:10.3390/ani13030377

Inclusion of Camelina sativa Seeds in Ewes' Diet Modifies Rumen Microbiota

Animals (Basel). 2023 Jan 22;13(3):377. doi: 10.3390/ani13030377.

Authors

Christos Christodoulou¹, Alexandros Mavrommatis¹, Dimitris Loukovitis², George Symeon³, Vassilios Dotas⁴, Basiliki Kotsampasi³, Eleni Tsiplakou¹

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Nutritional Physiology and Feeding, Department of Animal Science, School of Animal Biosciences, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece.
² Department of Animal Production, Fisheries and Aquaculture, School of Agricultural Sciences, University of Patras, 30200 Messolonghi, Greece.
³ Research Institute of Animal Science, ELGO 'DIMITRA', Paralimni Giannitsa, 58100 Pella, Greece.
⁴ Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece.

Abstract

Supplementing ruminant diets with unconventional feedstuffs (Camelina sativa seeds; CS) rich in bioactive molecules such as polyunsaturated fatty acids, may prove a potential eco-efficient strategy to manipulate rumen microbiome towards efficiency. Forty-eight ewes were divided into four homogenous groups (n = 12) according to their fat-corrected milk yield (6%), body weight, and age, and were fed individually with concentrate, alfalfa hay, and wheat straw. The concentrate of the control group (CON) had no CS inclusion, whereas the treated groups were supplemented with CS at 60 (CS6), 110 (CS11), and 160 (CS16) g·kg^-1 of concentrate, respectively. Rumen digesta was collected using an esophageal tube and then liquid and solid particles were separated using cheesecloth layers. An initial bacteriome screening using next-generation sequencing of 16S was followed by specific microbes targeting with a RT-qPCR platform, which unveiled the basic changes of the rumen microbiota under CS supplementation levels. The relative abundances of Archaea and methanogens were significantly reduced in the solid particles of CS11 and CS16. Furthermore, the relative abundance of Protozoa was significantly increased in both rumen fluid and solid particles of the CS6, whereas that of Fungi was significantly reduced in the rumen particle of the CS16. In rumen fluid, the relative abundance of Fibrobacter succinogens and Ruminobacter amylophilus were significantly increased in the CS6 and CS11, respectively. In the solid particles of the CS11, the relative abundance of Ruminococcus flavefaciens was significantly reduced, whereas those of Butyrivibrio proteoclasticus and Ruminobacter amylophilus were significantly increased. Additionally, the relative abundance of Selenomonas ruminantium was significantly increased in both CS11 and CS16. Consequently, the highest CS content in the concentrate reduced the relative abundance of methanogens without inducing radical changes in rumen microorganisms that could impair ruminal fermentation and ewes' performance.

Keywords: ewes; methane; microorganisms; oilseeds; rumen.

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.