THE RUMEN MICROBIOME AND ITS CONNECTION TO DETERMINING PHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS OF DAIRY COWS

Sheerli Kruger Ben Shabat ^1,2 Goor Sasson ^1,2 Adi Faigenboim ¹ Thomer Durman ¹ Ori Furman ^1,3 Margret E. Berg Miller ^4,5 Bryan A. White ^4,5 Naama Shterzer ¹ Itzhak Mizrahi ¹

¹Department of Ruminant Science, Institute of Animal Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center, Bet Dagan
²Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Science, Tel Aviv University, Ramat-Aviv
³Department of Animal Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot
⁴Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois
⁵The Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois

Dairy cattle hold enormous significance for man as they convert the energy stored in indigestible plant mass into milk and meat, which are digestible and consumed worldwide. Different physiological parameters such as milk yield, different milk components and dry matter intake, vary considerably between cows. One factor that could markedly affect dairy cows` physiological parameters is their residing microbiota, which are mainly situated within the first compartment of the digestive tract – the reticulorumen. In ruminants, this microbiota is responsible for digestion and absorption of most of the ruminant`s food. Hence, the overall goal of this study is to explore the connection between the dairy cow`s reticulorumen microbiota and its physiological parameters. To meet this goal two aims are defined: (1) Evaluating different physiological parameters of dairy cows and defining two groups that statistically differ in these parameters; (2) Comparing the reticulorumen microbiota`s metabolic activity parameters. The results obtained from this experiment suggest a relationship between various physiological parameters and the microbial metabolic activity such as methane emission and milk yield. Understanding the relationship between the reticulorumen microbiota and cows` physiological parameters will enable the development of unique feeding treatments and animal husbandry protocols that will favor more energy-efficient microbiomes and consequentially improve cow productivity.