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The microbiome of the digestive system of ruminants – a review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2020

Paulina Cholewińska Open the ORCID record for Paulina Cholewińska [Opens in a new window] ,
Katarzyna Czyż ,
Piotr Nowakowski  and
Anna Wyrostek
Paulina Cholewińska*
Affiliation:
Institute of Animal Breeding, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Chelmonskiego 38C, 51-630 Wroclaw, Poland
Katarzyna Czyż
Affiliation:
Institute of Animal Breeding, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Chelmonskiego 38C, 51-630 Wroclaw, Poland
Piotr Nowakowski
Affiliation:
Institute of Animal Breeding, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Chelmonskiego 38C, 51-630 Wroclaw, Poland
Anna Wyrostek
Affiliation:
Institute of Animal Breeding, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Chelmonskiego 38C, 51-630 Wroclaw, Poland
*
Author for correspondence: Paulina Cholewińska, Institute of Animal Breeding, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Chelmonskiego 38C, 51-630 Wroclaw, Poland. E-mail: paulina.cholewinska@upwr.edu.pl
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Abstract

This review aims to explain the influence and characterization of the microbiome in the ruminant digestive system by presenting the knowledge collected so far. The knowledge presented in this work is focused on the main factors affecting the microbiome and the main dependencies that have been found in it so far. The microbiome in the rumen is the first to come into contact with the biomass of the forage and its main purpose is to decompose into smaller particles or compounds. With the gradual increase in knowledge about the microbiome, there is a chance to manipulate it so that the animal continues to live in a symbiotic relationship with it, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions to the environment as well as increasing feed efficiency. Therefore, understanding the influence of the ruminant microbiome is the main step to achieve such results. However, learning the relationship between microorganisms is only at an early stage, because research focuses mainly on taxonomy. Future research should focus on interactions in the ecosystem which is the microbiome, on explaining individual functions and on influence of environmental factors.

Keywords

Digestive systemmicrobiomeruminants

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Type
Review Article
Information
Animal Health Research Reviews , Volume 21 , Issue 1 , June 2020 , pp. 3 - 14
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Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2020

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