Transfaunation in Dairy Animals
Rumen transfaunation is transfer of microorganisms from a healthy to a sick animal. Rumen transfaunation is a common practice to treat indigestion in ruminants. It is used clinically to treat simple indigestion and to enhance the return of normal rumen function following the surgical correction of left sided abomasal displacements. Rumen fluid from a healthy donor provides the recipient with diverse microorganisms that can repopulate the rumen. Transplanted rumen fluid also provides nutrients and energy to the recipient’s rumen microbial population.• Common practice in livestock that often involves an animal with a rumen fistula. • Rumen transfaunation is used to treat simple indigestion.
Defaunation is the removal of protozoa from the rumen and refaunation is the introduction of protozoa into the rumen. Scientific reports on the impact of presence or absence of rumen ciliates on ruminant performance have been contradicting each other; some researchers reported positive effect of defaunation, while others disagreed with these results with or without deleterious effect on ruminal vital functions and animal health (Walker, 2000). Thus, investigations on the effect of de- or refaunation have been continued hitherto in many dairy institutions all over the world (Gebeyehu and Mekasha, 2013). Transfaunation or refaunation includes a broad spectrum of microorganisms including bacteria and protozoa that are transferred from rumen of a donor animal to the rumen of a recipient. Even though transfaunation has been an old practice for decades (Brag and Hansen, 1994), and is a common medical practice in food animal medicineto treat indigestion of ruminants (Smith, 2014), there is still a lack of scientific information regarding its benefits and mechanisms of actions (DePeters and George, 2014), particularly rumen ciliates transfaunation and its impact on animal health and productivity particularly milk fat % which is considered a measure of economics of milk and milk products (Mehta, 2014).
Ruminal transfauntion is vital for animal health and feed consumption and also it has been established in the case of ruminants to transfer ruminal microorganisms from healthy donor animals to receivers to give health advantages . Ruminal transfauntion has been presented as one of the potential approaches for changing the symbiotic microbiota and improving host performance .
Indigestion in dairy cattle reduces rumen motility and kills rumen microflora. Changes that cause indigestion are: § Heat stress § Anorexia § Dietary changes § Interruption of water sources § Alterations in rumen pH, which disrupt the balance of the microbial population. Simple indigestion can be an issue during early lactation of the transition period because of changes in diet to higher levels of nonstructural carbohydrates. During the transition period, calving cows experience not only dietary changes, but also physiological changes associated with metabolic demands of milk production. Cows are also moved from different pens during the transition period so changing social structure can be a stressor. Collection of large volumes of rumen fluid is most easily accomplished using a rumen fistulated animal. Fistulated animals are housed and managed within the herd so there is limited risk of introducing unknown diseases and the rumen fluid reflects the diets fed. Timing of Rumen Fluid Collection: The pH of the rumen fluid should be 5.5 or greater and preferably 6.0 or greater. Rumen protozoa are decreased at low pH. Lactating Cow Donor fed a high starch diet: Rumen fluid pH decreases 2–4 h after feeding with high starch diets so avoid collecting rumen fluid within about 4 h of feeding when the donor is receiving forage and concentrate ingredients. Non-lactating cows fed a high forage diet: rumen fluid collected from a fistulated cow can be done prior to feeding or about 2–3 h after feeding since pH does not change dramatically. When using lactating cows with rumen fistulas, rumen fluid collection prior to feeding will likely provide rumen fluid above 6.0 pH. Lactating dairy cows eat throughout the day, but typically the largest consumption occurs after milking when cows are fed, so collecting rumen samples after 4 h following a large intake of feed will minimize the chance collecting rumen fluid below 6.0 pH. 4.5 Avoid using foamy or frothy rumen fluid. The color of normal rumen fluid varies between olive to yellowish-brown depending on the diet. Recommended volumes for Transfaunation collection vary from 1 liter for calves and 8 to16 liters for adult cattle. Avoid disturbing the donor cow’s rumen mat (ruminal mucosa) during fluid collection. It is best to use a short stomach tube to pump out the necessary fluid.
Because the host is unable to manufacture cellulolytic enzymes, the microbiota is primarily responsible for complicated polysaccharide breakdown. Many microorganisms interact to digest complex substrates such as cellulose, starch, and proteins, resulting in energy, protein, and vitamins accessible to the host . The most prevalent microorganisms in the rumen are bacteria and also the rumen microbiota is mostly composed of bacteria . Manipulation of microbiota has been explored in order to increase energy harvesting, minimize methane emissions, and prevent and cure rumen disorders . There are several methods for manipulating the ruminal microbiota, including probiotics, prebiotics, antibiotics, and microbiota transfaunation, which involves transferring rumen fluid from one animal (donor) to another. The ruminal microbiota is relatively stable in adult animals, owing to two factors: redundancy, which is the ability of numerous microbial species to perform the same job, and resilience, which is the ability to rebound from a disruption.
PROCEDURE
Collect 5 to 10 liters rumen fluid as per SOP DC-713 Rumen Content Collection from a Fistulated Cow. Place the rumen contents into a pail. If the fluid is thick: Dilute with equal amount of lukewarm water. If the fluid contains large particles: Filter or strain large particulate matter from the rumen fluid using cheesecloth or a large screen to remove large particles that can plug the stomach tube. The filtered material should contain small particles, to which bacteria, protozoa, and fungi are attached. Rumen fluid collected from a healthy cow should be transferred to the recipient (sick) cow within 30 minutes postcollection. If unable to transfer within the recommended period; Store the fluid at room temperature and in a strict anaerobic environment for a maximum of 2 hours. If kept too long, the starch-digesting organisms increase dramatically in numbers and the fiber-digesting microbes decrease substantially. Administer the donor rumen fluid to the adult recipient cow via the drenching method as per SOP DC-701: Substance Administration for Dairy Cattle. Most times, cattle will begin eating shortly after administration of rumen fluid.
Impact of Ruminal Juice Transfauntion
Rumen microbiota transfaunation has long been employed by veterinarians and is commonly advised to restore ruminal equilibrium . Transfaunation has been demonstrated to aid cows suffering from abomasum displacement , abomasum impaction, gangrenous mastitis [50] and dysbiosis (abnormalities in the normal microbiota composition) induced by antibiotic therapy . However, Tankersley, et al. reported that, thetechnique did not improve blood metabolites, reproductive performance, or the incidence of illnesses following calving. Interspecies rumen microbiota transfaunation (from bovine to small ruminants) has been demonstrated to promote a faster recovery of protozoa populations as well as physical qualities such as color, flavor, and consistency in sheep and goats with experimentally produced acute ruminal lactic acidosis .
Impact of Ruminal Fluid Transfaunation on Nutrient Metabolism
As a result, ruminal microbiota is tightly correlated to host feed digestion and metabolism. Numerous studies have found that one or more types of ruminal microbiotas influence feed efficiency, nitrogen digestibility, and methane emission in ruminants . In comparison to the reticulum, omasum, and abomasum, the adult rumen plays the most important role in the breakdown of ingested organic materials due to the presence of diverse bacteria. Rumen microorganisms can convert dietary carbohydrates to VFA, which can account for up to 80% of ruminant energy requirements . Some rumen microorganisms also produce their own proteins for growth (referred to as microbial crude protein, MCP) by consuming energy and nitrogen from the meal. The MCP are digested and absorbed by the host in the small intestine, contributing to the host’s nutrition and wellbeing . Furthermore, certain microorganisms may create vitamins such as B and K. Numerous enzymes necessary for the production of vitamin B12 are present in rumen microorganisms but not in the human GIT microbiome [60]. Methanogens in the rumen, on the other hand, generate methane through a series of redox processes, and methane is a potent greenhouse gas . As a result, rumen microorganisms have a high potential for contribution to animal husbandry, and some of them can be used in animal production . The bacteria that live in the rumen impact the host metabolism by degrading dietary components, despite the fact that these microbes are not regarded to be host specific tissues. This microbiota assists in the digestion of the meal by secreting enzymes. The rumen microbiota hasbeen shown to have an important effect on feed efficiency, milk output, and dairy cow components . The role of microbial enzyme activity, for example, can enhance monosaccharide content . Nitrogen and fiber digestion contribute significantly to feed efficiency, and it is also associated with rumen microorganisms that generate MCP and VFA for the host . According to one study, Fibrobacter succinogenes, Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens, and Ruminococcus sp. are the most important ruminal bacterial species in terms of nitrogen use by the host . Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in the epithelium, for example, may detect lipopolysaccharide and lipoprotein breakdown products from bacteria . When TLR4, TLR5, and TLR9 are activated by lipopolysaccharide, the host secretes bacterial flagellin and other bioactive molecules (such as cholecystokinin), which alter dietary nitrogen digestion and absorption. A recent study discovered that some bacteria impeded the digestion of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) in goats . Several bacterial phyla, including Proteobacteria, and Tenericutes, as well as a few bacterial species, including Anaeroplasma, Campylobacter, and Clostridium, are also associated with apparent crude fiber digestibility in pigs . Cellulolytic microorganisms are among the most common bacteria in the rumen, they influence host fiber digestibility by secreting cellulose and controlling VFA production and profile. Furthermore, VFA can both give energy and regulate the host’s intestinal barrier function. In its current form, transfaunation refers to the transfer of microorganisms such as bacteria, protozoa, fungus, and archaea from the rumen of a donor to the rumen of a recipient .
Medicinal Functions of Ruminal Transfaunation
Rumen transfaunation was later utilized as a therapy to improve calf health. Rumen transfaunation enhanced calf health and survival in a field research with a herd experiencing bloody diarrhea and the loss of preweaned calves . Transfaunation is the technique of transferring rumen fluid containing microorganisms and nutrients from healthy animals into animals with poor rumen digestion. This procedure is thought to enhance rumen function and has been used as a biotic therapy for ketosis, anorexia, and numerous causes of dyspepsia such as rumen acidosis. As indicated in the review by Depeters and George , this procedure is recommended in various text books and practical guides on bovine medicine.
Simple Indigestion
Sudden changes in food contents can cause anorexia in ruminants , which is reflected in rumen pH alterations . Anorexia (decrease in appetite) with ruminal hypo motility to atony (stasis) is a clinical indication ofuncomplicated dyspepsia in dairy calves . Sudden changes in dietary components can cause anorexia in ruminants , which is reflected in variations in rumen pH (Merck and Co, 2010). Ruminal fluid transfaunation from a healthy donor animal to an animal suffering from mild indigestion is a widely suggested technique for dairy cattle and other ruminants . Rumen transfaunation was found to be advantageous for sheep employed in biomedical research that had minor indigestion . In their biomedical research, sheep were administered pelleted diets, which contributed to the development of subclinical rumen acidity. Ruminal fluid transfaunation successfully treated uncomplicated indigestion in sheep , furthermore improves cow health after calving, milk output, and animal health in a well-managed herd . Transfaunation or refaunation is a popular medical treatment in animal medicine to cure ruminant indigestion .
Displaced Abomasum
Ruminal fluid transfaunation was employed as an adjuvant therapy after surgery, and cows were transfaunated following surgical correction of a left-displaced abomasum, treatments were administered immediately following surgery and again on the first postoperative day . Ruminal fluid transfaunated cows showed greater dry matter intake and milk output compared to control cows on day 2 following surgery and for the next three days. Serum concentrations of B-hydroxybutyrate on days 3 and 5 postsurgery were considerably lower in transfaunated cows than control cows. Administration of rumen fluid to cows convalescing following surgical correction of left displaced abomasum showed favorable benefits .
Plant Intoxicants–Mimosine (amino-B-(N-[3-hydroxy-4-pyridone]) propionic acid) is a poisonous amino acid found in plants of the genera Leucaena and Mimosa . Mimosine inhibits protein synthesis and, when taken long-term by animals, results in decreased hair growth and loss with suspected antimitotic action. Mimosine was metabolized in the rumen to 3-hydroxy-4-pyridone . The rumen microbiota in cattle and goats was capable of degrading mimosine but not its hazardous metabolite, 3, 4-dihydroxy pyridine. Leucaena, on the other hand, was not hazardous to ruminants because rumen microorganisms could breakdown both mimosine and 3, 4-dihydroxy pyridine . Recently, rumen fluid from goats containing rumen bacteria capable of digesting sodium monofluoroacetate, a poisonous chemical found in Amorimia spp., ruminal transfaunation was utilized in order to prevent animal poisoning . Tannins are polyphenolic chemicals found in plants and also they are antibacterial to some microbes and have been demonstrated to lower methane generation in sheep and goats . Tannin intake can also be detrimental to animal health . Tannins bind proteins, and research is being conducted to harness this binding feature to minimize protein breakdown in the rumen in order to improve nitrogen consumption by ruminants and to prevent bloat in cattle grazing alfalfa .
Acidosis
It is generally recognized that ruminants’ rumens serve as critical sites for digestion and metabolism, and that the ruminal bacteria play a crucial role in these processes . Ruminant health is significantly impacted by changes in the structure and function of the ruminal microbiota . Ruminal acidosis can be caused by intake of fine particle size (diameter smaller than 0.07 in.) or highly concentrated feeds containing quickly fermented carbohydrates . Such diets necessitate less chewing, resulting in reduced saliva production, which reduces buffering capacity . Consumption of quickly digested carbohydrates increases rumen VFA production, as a result, lactic acid production. As a result, ruminal pH drops and the ruminal fauna shifts from primarily gram-negative to gram-positive organisms . This illness is characterized clinically by ruminal atony, in appetence, and lethargy . Transfaunation is the process of introducing healthy protozoa, VFA, and gramnegative bacteria from a clinically normal ruminant into the rumen of an in appetent sheep in order to repopulate the ruminal fauna and correct the pH. Transfaunation is commonly used to treat ruminal atony and anorexia in ruminant animals . Acute or clinical acidosis occurs when the ruminal pH goes below 5.0. Clinical symptoms may include decreased salivation, lethargy, decreased gastrointestinal motility, anorexia, and diarrhea . Acute rumen acidosis represents an economically significant loss to the beef and milk production business. Ruminants have a complex stomach system, with the stomach being separated into four compartments, the biggest of which is the rumen. Clinical rumen acidosis is still the principal cause of illness and death in current ruminant production systems . Reticulum-rumen function, which includes cattle health and animal welfare, is a necessary condition for productive behaviour . Clinical ruminal acidosis occurs when the rumen’s fluid pH falls below 5.2 as a result of an excessive buildup of organic acids . The classic situation leading to clinical rumen acidosis is excessive feeding of quickly fermentable carbohydrates, sometimes known as “grain overload”. Excess grain consumption is not required for the development ofthe syndrome because any rapidly fermentable carbohydrate (apples and other fruits, bakery waste products, incompletely fermented brewery products, and standing green corn) can provide the necessary substrate for clinical disease development . When the rate of generation of VFA and lactate exceeds the rate of absorption, the pH of the rumen begins to fall. Volatile fatty acids and lactate accumulate in the rumen fluid and are absorbed into the systemic circulation [90]. Previous research showed that ruminal acidosis, a typical ruminal digestive problem in dairy or beef cattle given large levels of readily fermentable carbohydrates can disrupt ruminal microbial homeostasis and rumen epithelial function and, finally, result in noticeable decreases in animal performance, which results in significant financial losses and adversely impacts the sustainability of the ruminant sector . Ruminant scientists agree that restoring ruminal bacterial equilibrium with rumen acidosis would aid rumen function recovery . Ruminal transfaunation is a practical approach in production in which ruminal fluid containing healthy microbial flora and buffer systems is transferred from a healthy donor to receptors suffering from rumen disease ; it is also regarded a routine and successful treatment to rumen acidosis in bovine production systems. A study looked at the benefits of ruminal transfaunation for sheep with ruminal acidosis and discovered that the sheep who received ruminal transfaunation recovered to normal health . However, there is a scarcity of data on the dynamic changes in rumen fermentation and bacterial populations that occur after ruminal transfaunation in sheep with rumen acidosis, as well as its favorable effects on rumen epithelial shape and function .
Finally, it is important to mention that intervention strategies to improve the production performance and health of fattening lambs have been the focus of many published studies, which apply different approaches, including nutritional manipulation (i.e., pelleting of the total mixed ratio and diet formulation according to the metabolic condition of the lambs), as well as dietary supplementation of feed additives in the diet (e.g., prebiotics, synbiotics, probiotics, vitamins, minerals, etc.), improving of genetic traits of sheep by different methods such as selection, presenting fresh sires, inbreeding, crossbreeding and formation of new breed. Nevertheless, effectiveness of most of the interventions has been variable or inconsistent. More recently, innovative approaches have been explored, including reshaping the ruminal microbiome by ruminal transfaunation.
Compiled & Shared by- Team, LITD (Livestock Institute of Training & Development)
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