Effects of increasing levels of dietary cation–anion difference on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation, and rumen microbiota in fattening Hu sheep
The dietary cation–anion difference (DCAD) has the potential to influence the physiological functions of animals. Nonetheless, there is a notable scarcity of research in the field of ruminant science regarding its effects on fattening sheep, particularly with respect to the rumen microbiota. Therefo...
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KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
2025-06-01
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| author | Yu Wang Wenjin Zheng Hongwei Duan Jiazhi Luo Yuyang Yin Junshi Shen Shengyong Mao Weiyun Zhu Zhongtang Yu |
| author_facet | Yu Wang Wenjin Zheng Hongwei Duan Jiazhi Luo Yuyang Yin Junshi Shen Shengyong Mao Weiyun Zhu Zhongtang Yu |
| author_sort | Yu Wang |
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| description | The dietary cation–anion difference (DCAD) has the potential to influence the physiological functions of animals. Nonetheless, there is a notable scarcity of research in the field of ruminant science regarding its effects on fattening sheep, particularly with respect to the rumen microbiota. Therefore, this study evaluated the effects of varied DCAD levels on growth performance, rumen fermentation, and rumen bacterial communities in fattening Hu sheep. Thirty-six fattening male sheep (20.66 ± 1.53 kg) were divided into two blocks based on body weight (BW), and the sheep in each block were then randomly assigned to one of three dietary treatments: low DCAD (LD, 2.3 mEq/kg of dry matter [DM]), medium DCAD (MD, 132.1 mEq/kg of DM), and high DCAD (HD, 276.9 mEq/kg of DM). The experiment lasted for 10 weeks, with 2 weeks of adaptation and 8 weeks of measurements and sampling. This experiment found that DCAD levels did not affect dry matter intake (DMI), average daily gain (ADG), or feed conversion efficiency of gain (G:F) of fattening Hu sheep (P > 0.05). However, the high DCAD level resulted in a linear increase in the apparent digestibilities of DM, organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), and ether extract (EE) (P < 0.05). Additionally, rumen pH exhibited a linear increase (P = 0.005) with the increase in DCAD level, while the concentrations of isobutyrate, isovalerate, and total branched-chain volatile fatty acids (BCVFA) displayed quadratic effects (P < 0.05), with the MD group showing the lowest values. Blood pH (P < 0.001), HCO3- (P = 0.011), and creatinine concentrations (P = 0.004) increased linearly, whereas Cl concentration decreased linearly (P < 0.001) with the increase in DCAD level. Metataxonomic analysis indicated a trend of higher ACE, Shannon, and Chao1 indexes in the HD group compared to the LD group (0.05 < P < 0.10). Principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) showed significant differences in rumen bacterial communities among the sheep groups (P = 0.016). Proteobacteria was significantly more relative abundant in the HD group compared to the MD and the LD groups (P = 0.011). At the genus level, the Rikenellaceae RC9 gut group (P = 0.064) and the unclassified Eubacterium coprostanoligenes group (P = 0.083) showed trends towards higher relative abundances in the MD group compared to the HD group. In conclusion, within the range of 0 to 300 mEq/kg of DM, DCAD levels did not affect the growth performance in fattening Hu sheep. However, elevated DCAD levels enhanced rumen and blood buffering capacities, increased microbial diversity within the rumen, and consequently improved nutrient digestion and the acid-base balance in sheep. |
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| spelling | doaj-art-0ec57fdc5bb4435faae99282f80c1dc32025-08-20T03:50:26ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.Animal Nutrition2405-65452025-06-012111912810.1016/j.aninu.2024.11.026Effects of increasing levels of dietary cation–anion difference on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation, and rumen microbiota in fattening Hu sheepYu Wang0Wenjin Zheng1Hongwei Duan2Jiazhi Luo3Yuyang Yin4Junshi Shen5Shengyong Mao6Weiyun Zhu7Zhongtang Yu8Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Microbiology, National Center for International Research on Animal Gut Nutrition, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; Ruminant Nutrition and Feed Engineering Technology Research Center, College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, ChinaLaboratory of Gastrointestinal Microbiology, National Center for International Research on Animal Gut Nutrition, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; Ruminant Nutrition and Feed Engineering Technology Research Center, College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, ChinaLaboratory of Gastrointestinal Microbiology, National Center for International Research on Animal Gut Nutrition, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; Ruminant Nutrition and Feed Engineering Technology Research Center, College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, ChinaLaboratory of Gastrointestinal Microbiology, National Center for International Research on Animal Gut Nutrition, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; Ruminant Nutrition and Feed Engineering Technology Research Center, College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, ChinaHuzhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Huzhou 313000, ChinaLaboratory of Gastrointestinal Microbiology, National Center for International Research on Animal Gut Nutrition, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; Ruminant Nutrition and Feed Engineering Technology Research Center, College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; Corresponding author.Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Microbiology, National Center for International Research on Animal Gut Nutrition, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; Ruminant Nutrition and Feed Engineering Technology Research Center, College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, ChinaLaboratory of Gastrointestinal Microbiology, National Center for International Research on Animal Gut Nutrition, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; Ruminant Nutrition and Feed Engineering Technology Research Center, College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, ChinaDepartment of Animal Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USAThe dietary cation–anion difference (DCAD) has the potential to influence the physiological functions of animals. Nonetheless, there is a notable scarcity of research in the field of ruminant science regarding its effects on fattening sheep, particularly with respect to the rumen microbiota. Therefore, this study evaluated the effects of varied DCAD levels on growth performance, rumen fermentation, and rumen bacterial communities in fattening Hu sheep. Thirty-six fattening male sheep (20.66 ± 1.53 kg) were divided into two blocks based on body weight (BW), and the sheep in each block were then randomly assigned to one of three dietary treatments: low DCAD (LD, 2.3 mEq/kg of dry matter [DM]), medium DCAD (MD, 132.1 mEq/kg of DM), and high DCAD (HD, 276.9 mEq/kg of DM). The experiment lasted for 10 weeks, with 2 weeks of adaptation and 8 weeks of measurements and sampling. This experiment found that DCAD levels did not affect dry matter intake (DMI), average daily gain (ADG), or feed conversion efficiency of gain (G:F) of fattening Hu sheep (P > 0.05). However, the high DCAD level resulted in a linear increase in the apparent digestibilities of DM, organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), and ether extract (EE) (P < 0.05). Additionally, rumen pH exhibited a linear increase (P = 0.005) with the increase in DCAD level, while the concentrations of isobutyrate, isovalerate, and total branched-chain volatile fatty acids (BCVFA) displayed quadratic effects (P < 0.05), with the MD group showing the lowest values. Blood pH (P < 0.001), HCO3- (P = 0.011), and creatinine concentrations (P = 0.004) increased linearly, whereas Cl concentration decreased linearly (P < 0.001) with the increase in DCAD level. Metataxonomic analysis indicated a trend of higher ACE, Shannon, and Chao1 indexes in the HD group compared to the LD group (0.05 < P < 0.10). Principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) showed significant differences in rumen bacterial communities among the sheep groups (P = 0.016). Proteobacteria was significantly more relative abundant in the HD group compared to the MD and the LD groups (P = 0.011). At the genus level, the Rikenellaceae RC9 gut group (P = 0.064) and the unclassified Eubacterium coprostanoligenes group (P = 0.083) showed trends towards higher relative abundances in the MD group compared to the HD group. In conclusion, within the range of 0 to 300 mEq/kg of DM, DCAD levels did not affect the growth performance in fattening Hu sheep. However, elevated DCAD levels enhanced rumen and blood buffering capacities, increased microbial diversity within the rumen, and consequently improved nutrient digestion and the acid-base balance in sheep.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405654525000162Acid-base statusHu sheepGrowth performanceRumen fermentationBlood parameterRumen bacteria |
| spellingShingle | Yu Wang Wenjin Zheng Hongwei Duan Jiazhi Luo Yuyang Yin Junshi Shen Shengyong Mao Weiyun Zhu Zhongtang Yu Effects of increasing levels of dietary cation–anion difference on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation, and rumen microbiota in fattening Hu sheep Animal Nutrition Acid-base status Hu sheep Growth performance Rumen fermentation Blood parameter Rumen bacteria |
| title | Effects of increasing levels of dietary cation–anion difference on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation, and rumen microbiota in fattening Hu sheep |
| title_full | Effects of increasing levels of dietary cation–anion difference on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation, and rumen microbiota in fattening Hu sheep |
| title_fullStr | Effects of increasing levels of dietary cation–anion difference on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation, and rumen microbiota in fattening Hu sheep |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of increasing levels of dietary cation–anion difference on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation, and rumen microbiota in fattening Hu sheep |
| title_short | Effects of increasing levels of dietary cation–anion difference on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation, and rumen microbiota in fattening Hu sheep |
| title_sort | effects of increasing levels of dietary cation anion difference on growth performance nutrient digestibility rumen fermentation and rumen microbiota in fattening hu sheep |
| topic | Acid-base status Hu sheep Growth performance Rumen fermentation Blood parameter Rumen bacteria |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405654525000162 |
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