Creating probiotics to improve feed efficiency
- Project No: 2025F3700R
- Lead Researcher(s): Tim McAllister (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada)
- Collaborators: Leluo Guan (University of British Columbia), Robert Gruninger (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada)
- Year Started: 2025
Background
The composition of the microorganisms in the rumen play a significant role in how well animals can digest feed – especially poorer quality forages. Several research studies have documented differences in the rumen microbiota between efficient and inefficient cattle, and researchers have begun to identify the microbial species that appear to be responsible for some of these differences. Several strategies have been employed to try to determine what proportion of animal efficiency is attributed to the host (the animal) versus the rumen microbiome (bacteria/fungi/protozoa), as well as trying to alter the rumen environment to promote more efficient feed digestion. While certain probiotic products (also called direct fed microbials) are commercially available, they have had inconsistent research results, perhaps as a result of poor establishment in the rumen alongside the existing microbial population.
This project is looking to develop a consortia of microbes into a probiotic product by taking microbes from efficient animals and culturing them on difficult to digest forages, thus selecting for those microbes that will have an improved ability to break down lower quality feedstuffs.
Objectives
The objectives of this project are to:
- Determine the composition of specialized microbial communities best able to utilize poorly digestible feedstuffs.
- Identify end products of ruminal fermentation (metabolites) of the specialized microbial communities.
- Test industrial viability of the specialized microbial communities through freezing and after thawing.
- Determine additive effects and interactions between the specialized microbial communities and original rumen microbial populations on rumen fermentation and digestibility.
- Develop two probiotic products based on the most promising specialized microbial communities.
Implications of the Research
If successful, this project could lay the groundwork for a commercial product that would allow lower quality feedstuffs to be digested more easily, reducing feed costs without sacrificing animal performance.
This project is also supported by the Beef Cattle Research Council and Results Driven Agriculture Research
