Soutenance de Thèse - Effect of live yeasts on rumen fermentation, microbiological and physico-chemical parameters depending on the diet composition: modeling and validation experiments in ruminant

Yayu Huang
INRA GenPhySE (NED)
Date: 
Tuesday, 27 February, 2018
Room: 
salle 1704/1705 (bâtiment C de l’ENSAT)
Summary: 
Ruminal acidosis is one of the major concerns of current dairy farms. Live yeasts (LY) have been extensively studied and used in dairy cows for stabilization of rumen fermentation. Recently, measurement of ruminal redox potential (Eh, in mV) has been considered as an interesting tool to indicate ruminal fermentation disorder. The positive effect of LY on ruminal Eh has been reported, but it remains variable according to the experimental conditions. The aims of this work was to provide better understanding of mode of actions of LY, and to define the optimal condition of LY utilization in dairy cows. The first part of this work consisted to quantitative analysis of existing results from 22 experiments with cannulated dairy cattle. The second part of this work consisted to verify some of the results from quantitative analysis by an in vivo experiment in lactating cows. By using quantitative analysis of existing data from previously conducted experiments, we clarified the relationship between ruminal redox and other main ruminal parameters such as pH and VFA profile, and suggested that Eh variations might be related to the transfer of electrons in the reactions producing VFAs in the rumen. Moreover, response of ruminal Eh following live yeast supplementation was also related to that of ruminal VFA profile, which suggested that the effect of LY on VFA profile was achieved via the increase of reducing power, possibly reflected improved electron transfer and use in the rumen. The analysis further demonstrated that the regulation of ruminal Eh by LY would be particularly effective when risk of digestive disorder is high. Since the influence of dietary characteristics on ruminal Eh was quantified, the effect of LY in a given diet could be indirectly estimated. In addition, quantitative analysis also associated the response of ruminal Eh following LY supplementation to the intake of soluble sugars. The in vivo experiment in early-lactating cows confirmed greater effect of LY on ruminal Eh in diet rich in soluble sugars, and further demonstrated that i) LY supplementation tended to impact the richness of ruminal bacteria, and ii) some unidentified metabolites were also influenced by LY supplementation, probably associated to the decrease of ruminal Eh.