Effect of TASCO, a seaweed extract on rumen functions of ruminants: microbial diversity and activities in sheep

提高动物的生产和健康水平对提高加拿大畜牧业的可持续性至关重要。瘤胃是一个宽敞的胃前厌氧发酵室，维持着丰富的微生物群落，这些微生物迅速定殖和消化饲料颗粒。瘤胃及其复杂的微生物群落以挥发性脂肪酸和微生物蛋白质的形式为宿主的代谢功能提供能量。因此，改善瘤胃功能对显著提高反刍动物的生产效率可能起着至关重要的作用。此外，最近爆发的E.阿尔伯塔肉牛养殖场的大肠杆菌O157：H7的分离鉴定表明，该病原菌在动物GIT中定植，对受污染动物GIT部位的处理可能是污染植物的途径之一。因此，减少这种致病性细菌在牛胃肠道中的定殖可以显著降低这种细菌在植物中污染的发生率。

Improvement of animal's production and health is vital to enhance the sustainability of Canadian livestock industry. The rumen is a capacious pre-gastric anaerobic fermentation chamber sustaining a rich community of microorganisms that rapidly colonize and digest feed particles. The rumen and its complex microbial community play a major role in providing energy in the form of volatile fatty acids and microbial protein for the metabolic function of the host. Therefore, improve the rumen function may play an essential role to significantly enhance the production efficiency of ruminants. In addition, recent outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 in a feedlot beef cattle processing plant in Alberta reveals the colonization of this pathogenic bacteria in GIT of animals and handling of the GIT parts of contaminated animals may be one of the courses to contaminate the plant. Therefore, reducing the colonization of this pathogenic bacterium in the GIT of cattle can significantly reduce the incidence of the contamination of this bacterium in the plant.