Specific microbiome-dependent mechanisms underlie the energy harvest efficiency of ruminants

Ruminants have the remarkable ability to convert human-indigestible plant biomass into human-digestible food products, due to a complex microbiome residing in the rumen compartment of their upper digestive tract. Here we report the discovery that rumen microbiome components are tightly linked to cows' ability to extract energy from their feed, termed feed efficiency. Feed efficiency was measured in 146 milking cows and analyses of the taxonomic composition, gene content, microbial activity and metabolomic composition was performed on the rumen microbiomes from the 78 most extreme animals. Lower richness of microbiome gene content and taxa was tightly linked to higher feed efficiency. Microbiome genes and…

• US
  United States - Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund
• EC
  European Commission

  Award: 640384
• IS
  Israel Science Foundation

  Award: 1313/13