Enhancing gut health in dairy cows and economic and environmental sustainability of Manitoba dairy

为了满足其高生产潜力，加拿大奶牛需要接受高谷物饮食。然而，喂养这些饮食会破坏消化道中的肠道菌群和微生物“群落”的组成，从而危及肠道健康。肠道健康状况差的患病率的估计范围为13.7%至33%（Plaizier等人，2012年）。这种肠道健康状况不佳的症状不是由特定的微生物引起的，而是由各种正常成分的比例改变或在高谷物喂养条件下正常成分的行为改变引起的。不良的肠道健康还导致肠道屏障功能障碍，这导致一系列健康障碍，并影响奶牛的福利和寿命，并降低牛奶生产的经济和环境可持续性以及牛奶的健康性（Plaizier等人，2008; Plaizier等人，2012年）。因此，找到有效的解决方案来优化/最大化牛奶产量而不损害肠道健康至关重要。这些解决方案的开发受到了对饲料补充剂（如酵母培养产品）如何预防肠道健康不良的不完全理解的阻碍。这些方法（即宏基因组学和元转录组学）现在可在马尼托巴大学动物科学系的“肠道微生物组和大型动物生物安全实验室”获得，并将应用于拟议的研究，以了解酿酒酵母发酵产物（SCFP）的作用模式，从而了解这些产物如何优化肠道微生物的功能作用。该项目的成果将提高高产奶牛的肠道健康和福利，提高牛奶生产效率，同时减少整个加拿大乳制品生产对环境的影响。马尼托巴奶农（DFM）是一个以生产者为基础的组织，帮助农民销售他们的牛奶。该组织还代表他们的利益，促进，宣传，组织营养和教育计划，以及通过牛奶质量和动物福利计划推动马尼托巴乳制品行业的创新，并协调和支持研究。

In order to meet their high production potential, Canadian dairy cows need to receive high-grain diets. However, feeding these diets jeopardizes gut-health by disturbing the composition of digesta and the microbial "communities" in the digestive tract. Estimates of the prevalence of poor gut health have range from 13.7 to 33 % (Plaizier et al., 2012). The symptoms of this type of poor gut health are not caused by a particular microbe, but by altered proportions of various normal constituents or altered behaviors of the normal constituents under conditions of high-grain feeding. Poor gut health also results in gut barrier dysfunction, which causes a range of health disorders, and affects welfare and longevity of dairy cows, and reduces the economic and environmental sustainabilities of milk production, and the healthfulness of the milk (Plaizier et al., 2008; Plaizier et al., 2012). It is, therefore, critical to find efficient solutions that optimize/maximize milk production without compromising gut health. The development of these solutions was held back by an incomplete understanding of how feed supplements, such as yeast culture products, prevent poor gut-health. These methodologies (i.e. metagenomics and metatranscriptomics) are now available at the "Gut Microbiome and Large Animal Biosecurity Laboratories" at the Department of Animal Science, University of Manitoba, and will be applied in the proposed research to understand the mode of action of Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast fermentation products (SCFP), and, thereby, how these products can optimize the functional role of gut microorganisms. The results of this project will enhance the gut-health and welfare of high yielding dairy cows, improve milk production efficiency, while reducing the environmental impacts of dairy production across Canada.Dairy Farmers of Manitoba (DFM) is a producer-based organization that assists farmers with the marketing of their milk. This organization also represents their interests, promotes, advertises, organizes nutritional and educations programs, as well as driving innovation in the Manitoba dairy industry through milk quality and animal welfare programs, and by coordinating and supporting research.