Effect of grape pomace supplement on growth performance, gastrointestinal microbiota, and methane production in Tan lambs

Xindong Cheng; Xia Du; Yanping Liang; Abraham Allan Degen; Xiukun Wu; Kaixi Ji; Qiaoxian Gao; Guosheng Xin; Haitao Cong; Guo Yang

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2023.1264840

Effect of grape pomace supplement on growth performance, gastrointestinal microbiota, and methane production in Tan lambs

Front Microbiol. 2023 Sep 28:14:1264840. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1264840. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Xindong Cheng^{1

2}, Xia Du^{1

2}, Yanping Liang^{1

2}, Abraham Allan Degen³, Xiukun Wu^{1

4}, Kaixi Ji^{1

2}, Qiaoxian Gao⁵, Guosheng Xin⁵, Haitao Cong⁶, Guo Yang^{1

7}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Stress Physiology and Ecology of Gansu Province, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China.
² University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
³ Desert Animal Adaptations and Husbandry, Wyler Department of Dryland Agriculture, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Extreme Environmental Microbial Resources and Engineering, Lanzhou, China.
⁵ Ningxia Feed Engineering Technology Research Center, Ningxia University, Yinchuan, China.
⁶ Shandong Huakun Rural Revitalization Institute Co., Ltd., Jinan, China.
⁷ Yellow River Estuary Tan Sheep Institute of Industrial Technology, Dongying, China.

Abstract

Grape pomace (GP), a by-product in wine production, is nutritious and can be used as a feed ingredient for ruminants; however, its role in shaping sheep gastrointestinal tract (GIT) microbiota is unclear. We conducted a controlled trial using a randomized block design with 10 Tan lambs fed a control diet (CD) and 10 Tan lambs fed a pelleted diet containing 8% GP (dry matter basis) for 46 days. Rumen, jejunum, cecum, and colon bacterial and archaeal composition were identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Dry matter intake (DMI) was greater (p < 0.05) in the GP than CD group; however, there was no difference in average daily gain (ADG, p < 0.05) and feed conversion ratio (FCR, p < 0.05) between the two groups. The GP group had a greater abundance of Prevotella 1 and Prevotella 7 in the rumen; of Sharpe, Ruminococcaceae 2, and [Ruminococcus] gauvreauii group in the jejunum; of Ruminococcaceae UCG-014 and Romboutsia in the cecum, and Prevotella UCG-001 in the colon; but lesser Rikenellaceae RC9 gut group in the rumen and cecum, and Ruminococcaceae UCG-005 and Ruminococcaceae UCG-010 in the colon than the CD group. The pathways of carbohydrate metabolism, such as L-rhamnose degradation in the rumen, starch and glycogen degradation in the jejunum, galactose degradation in the cecum, and mixed acid fermentation and mannan degradation in the colon were up-graded; whereas, the pathways of tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle VIII, and pyruvate fermentation to acetone in the rumen and colon were down-graded with GP. The archaeal incomplete reductive TCA cycle was enriched in the rumen, jejunum, and colon; whereas, the methanogenesis from H₂ and CO₂, the cofactors of methanogenesis, including coenzyme M, coenzyme B, and factor 420 biosynthesis were decreased in the colon. The study concluded that a diet including GP at 8% DM did not affect ADG or FCR in Tan lambs. However, there were some potential benefits, such as enhancing propionate production by microbiota and pathways in the GIT, promoting B-vitamin production in the rumen, facilitating starch degradation and amino acid biosynthesis in the jejunum, and reducing methanogenesis in the colon.

Keywords: hindgut; methanogenesis; microbiome; rumen; wine by-product.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was funded by the grants from the Strategic Priority Research Program (A) of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDA26040301), the Construction of Rural Revitalization Industry Technology Innovation Center and Demonstration Base in the Yellow River Delta (Grant No. E141050101), and the Key Research and Development Program of in Gansu Province (Grant No. 22ZD6NA037).