Effects of Dietary Sodium Acetate on Lactation Performance and Rumen Microbiota of Dairy Goats北大核心CSCD

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary sodium acetate on lactation performance and rumen microbiota of dairy goats. Fifteen healthy Xinong Saanen dairy goat ewes with similar body weight of (53.54±3.07) kg, the same parity (2 parities) and in mid-lactation [(60±5) d] were randomly divided into 3 groups with 5 replicates in each group. Dairy goats in the control group were fed a basal diet, and those in the experimental groups were fed the basal diet supplemented with 30 (experimental group I) and 60 g/ (d.head) (experimental group II) sodium acetate, respectively. The pre-trial period lasted for 7 days and the experimental period lasted for 21 days. The milk yield of dairy goats was recorded during the experiment. At the end of the experiment, milk samples were collected to analyze the changes in milk composition, and rumen contents of dairy goats were collected from two groups (control group and experimental group II) with significant differences in milk fat percentage. Gas chromatography and 16S rDNA sequencing technology were used to analyze the rumen fermentation parameters and rumen microbial composition and structure of dairy goats. The results showed as follows: 1) compared with the control group, dietary sodium acetate extremely significantly increased the daily milk yield of dairy goats (P<0.01), and the daily milk yield in experimental groups I and II was increased by 0.29 and 0.22 kg, respectively (P<0.01); in experimental group II, the milk fat percentage was significantly increased by 1.30 percentage points (P<0.01), and the non-fat solid content in milk was increased by 3.10% (P>0.05). 2) Compared with the control group, the rumen butyric acid content of dairy goats in experimental group II was significantly decreased (P<0.01), and there was no significant difference in rumen pH, the other volatile fatty acid content and acetic acid to propionic acid ratio (P>0.05). 3) Compared with the control group, the Sobs index, Chao1 index and Ace index of rumen microbiota in experimental group II were significantly increased (P<0.05); the results of similarity analysis (ANOSIM) also showed that there were significant differences in the structure of rumen microbiota between the two groups (P<0.05). 16S rDNA sequencing results showed that at the phylum level, Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes were the dominant phyla in the rumen of the two groups of dairy goats; at the genus level, Prevotella_1 was the dominant genus in the rumen. Compared with the control group, the relative abundances of Ruminococcus_1, Ruminococcaceae_UCG-005, Prevotellaceae_UCG-004 and Lachnoclostridium_12 in rumen of dairy goats in experimental group II were significantly increased (P<0.05), while the relative abundances of Succiniclasticum and Methanobrevibacter in rumen was significantly decreased (P<0.05). 4) The results of correlation analysis showed that rumen microbiota was correlated with daily milk yield, milk fat percentage, milk protein percentage and non-fat solid content of dairy goats. In conclusion, dietary 60 g/ (d.head) sodium acetate can significantly increase the daily milk yield and milk fat percentage, significantly reduce rumen butyrate content, and improve the lactation performance of dairy goats by improving rumen microbial composition and structure. © 2023 Authors. All rights reserved.