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Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2021, Vol. 30 ›› Issue (12): 202-211.DOI: 10.11686/cyxb2020435

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Effect of dietary barley particle size on rumen microflora and muscle fatty acids in Hu sheep

Xiao-wen MA1(), Fa-di LI1,2, Fei LI1(), Long GUO1   

  1. 1.State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystem,Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation,Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs,College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology,Lanzhou University,Lanzhou 730020,China
    2.Engineering Laboratory of Mutton Sheep Breeding and Reproduction Biotechnology in Gansu Province,Minqin 733300,China
  • Received:2020-09-27 Revised:2020-12-14 Online:2021-11-11 Published:2021-11-11
  • Contact: Fei LI

Abstract:

The purpose of this experiment was to study the changes in the content of rumen degradable starch when crushed barley with different particle sizes was included in experiment diets of Hu sheep, and to study the effects on routine blood test results, rumen microbial composition and muscle fatty acids. In the experiment, 54 healthy 3-month-old Hu lambs were randomly divided into 3 treatment groups, with 18 animals (replicates) in each group and one sheep per replicate. The treatments comprised barley ground with 2, 3 or 4 mm sieve apertures. The experiment included a seven-day pre-feeding period, a 63-day fattening period and a one-day sampling period. The experiment results showed that: 1) The different ground particle size of barley had no effect on the total numbers of red blood cells, hemoglobin concentration, hematocrit, platelets, lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils, neutrophils or basophils (P>0.05). 2) For sheep fed barley ground to 4 mm, the total number of rumen bacteria and Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens was significantly higher than for sheep fed barley ground to 3 mm (P<0.05), the population of Succinimonas amylolytica was significantly lower than for sheep fed barley ground to 2 and 3 mm (P<0.05), and the population of Fibrobacter succinogenes was significantly higher than for the sheep fed barley ground to 2 mm (P<0.05). There was no significant difference among the groups in the numbers of rumen microorganisms such as Prevotella brevis Ruminococcus albus and Ruminococcus flavefaciensP>0.05). 3) For sheep fed barley ground to 4 mm, the muscle contents of C10:0, C12:0, C14:0 and C14:1 fatty acids were significantly higher than those of sheep fed barley ground to 2 mm (P<0.05), and the contents of C18:2n-9t11t acids and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) were significantly higher than sheep fed barley ground to 3 mm (P<0.05). Meanwhile, anteiso C15:0, C16:1, C18:2n6t and C18:2n-9c11t acid concentrations of muscles tended to increase with increase in barley feed particle size increasing (0.05≤P<0.10). In summary, when Hu sheep were fed a diet of crushed barley with 4 mm particle size, the number of Cellulolytic bacteria in the rumen contents increased, S. amylolytica decreased, and the content of CLA in muscle fatty acids was increased, which provided a positive effect on the rumen microflora and muscle fatty acid CLA synthesis of fattening Hu sheep.

Key words: crushed barley, Hu sheep, rumen microorganisms, muscle fatty acid