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

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

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.