Abstract:
Beef cattle play a pivotal role in meeting the growing demand for meat among consumers. To optimize production, producers prefer beef breeds that have rapid growth, superior meat quality, and low rearing cost. Among the various factors influencing beef quality, marbling stands out as a critical determinant, affecting both the perceived value and market price of the meat. While factors such as genetics, nutrition, and age are well-recognized contributors to marbling, the role of rumen microbiota remains largely unexplored. Recent advancements in sequencing technology and bioinformatics have paved the way for generating and analyzing large amount rumen microbiome data to derive meaningful insights. In this study, we leveraged publicly available rumen microbiome and mapping data from a sample pool of 118 Angus cattle to investigate the influence of rumen bacterial populations on marbling. All steers in the study were fed an identical concentrate-based diet over a period of 78 days, and rumen samples were collected at the time of harvest. Subsequently, the carcasses underwent grading based on the USDA marbling system, resulting in three distinct grades: Select, Choice, and Prime. The 16S microbiome data was processed with custom pipelines. Alpha diversity and beta diversity differences were tested with Kruskal-Wallis and permutational multivariate analysis of variance, respectively. Differential analysis was conducted using the DESeq2 algorithm, while the Sparse Correlations for Compositional Data (SparCC) method was employed for constructing ecological networks. Our analysis revealed no significant differences in alpha and beta diversity among the marbling grades. However, DESeq2 analysis identified 13 bacterial species displaying higher abundance in the Prime marbling group, primarily belonging to the Prevotella, Candidatus_Saccharimonas, Prevotellaceae_UCG-001, and U29-B03 genera. Conversely, 34 differential bacterial species exhibited lower abundance in the Prime marbling animals, including species from the Treponema, Christensenellaceae_R-7_group, p-1088-a5_gut_group, Prevotella, Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group, Succiniclasticum, Succinivibrio, Erysipelotrichaceae_UCG-009, Lachnospiraceae_ND3007_group, Moryella, and R. flavefaciens, as well as A. lipolyticus genera. Analysis of the SparCC networks unveiled the co-occurrence patterns of the differential species with other bacterial species. These findings suggest that certain bacterial species, either through larger or smaller clusters, may contribute to enhanced marbling by facilitating improved nutrient supply to the animals. This comprehensive investigation offers preliminary evidence that specific bacterial species may play a crucial role in enhancing marbling in beef cattle. Further studies using functional genomic sequencing techniques are warranted to gain a deeper understanding of the functional contributions of rumen microbiome in the marbling process.
Page(s):
292-292
DOI:
DOI not available
Published:
Journal: Abstract Book on International Conference on Food and Applied Sciences (ICFAS-23) 3-5 August 23, Volume: 0, Issue: 0, Year: 2023