Programming rumen microbial ecosystem through the intervention on the early life stage of pre-ruminants and their mothers | Programación del ecosistema microbiano del rumen a través de intervenciones directas sobre animales pre-rumiantes y sus madres
2011
Abecia, L., Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Granada (España). Estacion Experimental del Zaidin | Martín García, A.I., Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Granada (España). Estacion Experimental del Zaidin | Martínez, G., Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Granada (España). Estacion Experimental del Zaidin | Ramos Morales, E., Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Granada (España). Estacion Experimental del Zaidin | Molina Alcaide, E., Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Granada (España). Estacion Experimental del Zaidin | Newbold, C.J., Aberystwyth University (Reino Unido). Inst. of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences | Yáñez Ruiz, D.R., Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Granada (España). Estacion Experimental del Zaidin
This experiment was designed to study the effect of treating animals in early life and the mothers with an antimethanogenic compound (bromochloromethane, BCM) on the methane emissions and animal yield and the persistency of the effects in the long term. Eighteen goats giving birth to two kids were used. Nine goats were treated with BCM (C+ goats) after giving birth and over 8 weeks. The other 9 goats were not treated (C- goats). One kid per mother in both groups was treated with BCM (ch+) while the other was untreated (ch-), therefore resulting in four kids experimental groups: C+/ch+, C+/ch-, C-/ch+ and C-/ch-. Methane emissions were measured once from the mothers before weaning (at 8 weeks) and twice from the kids: a month after weaning (while ch+ were still treated) and 3 months after the first measurement at which BCM treatment had stopped. The addition of BCM had a positive effect on the mothers` increasing (P=0.088) milk yield by 28% and decreasing (P<0.008) methane emissions by 38%. Likewise ch+ kids produced less methane (P<0.001) than ch- kids a month after weaning, although this effect persisted only in C+/ch+ kids 3 months after releasing the treatment. Our results suggest that some of the differences created early in life in the rumen function persist in the long term, and seem to be influenced by the mother, which provides the possibility of programming the microbial populations in the adult animal through early life intervention.
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