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Yu Z, Yan M, Somasundaram S. Rumen protozoa and viruses: The predators within and their functions-A mini-review. JDS COMMUNICATIONS 2024; 5:236-240. [PMID: 38646576 PMCID: PMC11026968 DOI: 10.3168/jdsc.2023-0433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 04/23/2024]
Abstract
The rumen microbiome digests plant feedstuff that would be otherwise indigestible and provides most of the metabolizable energy and protein the host animals need. Until recently, research efforts have primarily been directed to bacteria and archaea, leaving the protozoa, fungi, and viruses much less understood. Protozoa contribute to feed digestion and fermentation, but as predators, they affect the microbiome and its function by regulating the abundance and activities of other rumen microbes both in a top-down (by directly killing the prey) and bottom-up (by affecting the metabolism of other microbes) manner. Rumen viruses (or phages, used interchangeably below) are diverse and abundant but the least understood. They are also predators (intracellular "predators") because of their lytic lifecycle, although they can co-exist peacefully with their hosts and reprogram host metabolism, buttressing host ecological fitness. In doing so, rumen viruses also affect the rumen microbiome in both a top-down and a bottom-up manner. Here we review the recent advancement in understanding both types of predators, focusing on their potential impact on the rumen microbiome and functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhongtang Yu
- Department of Animal Sciences, Center of Microbiome Science, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210
| | - Ming Yan
- Department of Animal Sciences, Center of Microbiome Science, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210
| | - Sripoorna Somasundaram
- Department of Animal Sciences, Center of Microbiome Science, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210
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Wu Y, Gao N, Sun C, Feng T, Liu Q, Chen WH. A compendium of ruminant gastrointestinal phage genomes revealed a higher proportion of lytic phages than in any other environments. MICROBIOME 2024; 12:69. [PMID: 38576042 PMCID: PMC10993611 DOI: 10.1186/s40168-024-01784-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Ruminants are important livestock animals that have a unique digestive system comprising multiple stomach compartments. Despite significant progress in the study of microbiome in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) sites of ruminants, we still lack an understanding of the viral community of ruminants. Here, we surveyed its viral ecology using 2333 samples from 10 sites along the GIT of 8 ruminant species. RESULTS We present the Unified Ruminant Phage Catalogue (URPC), a comprehensive survey of phages in the GITs of ruminants including 64,922 non-redundant phage genomes. We characterized the distributions of the phage genomes in different ruminants and GIT sites and found that most phages were organism-specific. We revealed that ~ 60% of the ruminant phages were lytic, which was the highest as compared with those in all other environments and certainly will facilitate their applications in microbial interventions. To further facilitate the future applications of the phages, we also constructed a comprehensive virus-bacteria/archaea interaction network and identified dozens of phages that may have lytic effects on methanogenic archaea. CONCLUSIONS The URPC dataset represents a useful resource for future microbial interventions to improve ruminant production and ecological environmental qualities. Phages have great potential for controlling pathogenic bacterial/archaeal species and reducing methane emissions. Our findings provide insights into the virome ecology research of the ruminant GIT and offer a starting point for future research on phage therapy in ruminants. Video Abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingjian Wu
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of the Ministry of Education, Hubei Key Laboratory of Bioinformatics and Molecular-Imaging, Center for Artificial Biology, Department of Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, Hubei, China
| | - Na Gao
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, China
| | - Chuqing Sun
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of the Ministry of Education, Hubei Key Laboratory of Bioinformatics and Molecular-Imaging, Center for Artificial Biology, Department of Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, Hubei, China
| | - Tong Feng
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of the Ministry of Education, Hubei Key Laboratory of Bioinformatics and Molecular-Imaging, Center for Artificial Biology, Department of Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, Hubei, China
| | - Qingyou Liu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Molecular Design and Precise Breeding, School of Life Science and Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan, 528225, China.
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530005, China.
| | - Wei-Hua Chen
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of the Ministry of Education, Hubei Key Laboratory of Bioinformatics and Molecular-Imaging, Center for Artificial Biology, Department of Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, Hubei, China.
- Institution of Medical Artificial Intelligence, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, 264003, China.
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Dixit S, Kumar S, Sharma R, Banakar PS, Singh M, Keshri A, Tyagi AK. Rumen multi-omics addressing diet-host-microbiome interplay in farm animals: a review. Anim Biotechnol 2023; 34:3187-3205. [PMID: 35713100 DOI: 10.1080/10495398.2022.2078979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
Abstract
Continuous improvement in the living standards of developing countries, calls for an urgent need of high quality meat and dairy products. The farm animals have a micro-ecosystem in gastro-intestinal tract, comprising of a wide variety of flora and fauna which converts roughages and agricultural byproducts as well as nutrient rich concentrate sources into the useful products such as volatile fatty acids and microbial crude proteins. The microbial diversity changes according to composition of the feed, host species/breed and host's individual genetic makeup. From culture methods to next-generation sequencing technologies, the knowledge has emerged a lot to know-how of microbial world viz. their identification, enzymatic activities and metabolites which are the keys of ruminant's successful existence. The structural composition of ruminal community revealed through metagenomics can be elaborated by metatranscriptomics and metabolomics through deciphering their functional role in metabolism and their responses to the external and internal stimuli. These highly sophisticated analytical tools have made possible to correlate the differences in the feed efficiency, nutrients utilization and methane emissions to their rumen microbiome. The comprehensively understood rumen microbiome will enhance the knowledge in the fields of animal nutrition, biotechnology and climatology through deciphering the significance of each and every domain of residing microbial entity. The present review undertakes the recent investigations regarding rumen multi-omics viz. taxonomic and functional potential of microbial populations, host-diet-microbiome interactions and correlation with metabolic dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonam Dixit
- Rumen Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Animal Nutrition, National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, India
| | - Sachin Kumar
- Rumen Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Animal Nutrition, National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, India
| | - Ritu Sharma
- Rumen Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Animal Nutrition, National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, India
| | - P S Banakar
- Rumen Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Animal Nutrition, National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, India
| | - Manvendra Singh
- Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Banda University of Agriculture and Technology, Banda, India
| | - Anchal Keshri
- Rumen Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Animal Nutrition, National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, India
| | - A K Tyagi
- Rumen Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Animal Nutrition, National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, India
- Animal Nutrition and Physiology, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, India
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Yan M, Pratama AA, Somasundaram S, Li Z, Jiang Y, Sullivan MB, Yu Z. Interrogating the viral dark matter of the rumen ecosystem with a global virome database. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5254. [PMID: 37644066 PMCID: PMC10465536 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41075-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2022] [Accepted: 08/21/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023] Open
Abstract
The diverse rumen virome can modulate the rumen microbiome, but it remains largely unexplored. Here, we mine 975 published rumen metagenomes for viral sequences, create a global rumen virome database (RVD), and analyze the rumen virome for diversity, virus-host linkages, and potential roles in affecting rumen functions. Containing 397,180 species-level viral operational taxonomic units (vOTUs), RVD substantially increases the detection rate of rumen viruses from metagenomes compared with IMG/VR V3. Most of the classified vOTUs belong to Caudovirales, differing from those found in the human gut. The rumen virome is predicted to infect the core rumen microbiome, including fiber degraders and methanogens, carries diverse auxiliary metabolic genes, and thus likely impacts the rumen ecosystem in both a top-down and a bottom-up manner. RVD and the findings provide useful resources and a baseline framework for future research to investigate how viruses may impact the rumen ecosystem and digestive physiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming Yan
- Department of Animal Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Center of Microbiome Science, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Akbar Adjie Pratama
- Center of Microbiome Science, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Sripoorna Somasundaram
- Department of Animal Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Center of Microbiome Science, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Zongjun Li
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China
| | - Yu Jiang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China
| | - Matthew B Sullivan
- Center of Microbiome Science, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geodetic Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Zhongtang Yu
- Department of Animal Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
- Center of Microbiome Science, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
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Abstract
The rumen ecosystem is a complex and dynamic environment, which hosts microorganisms including archaea, bacteria, protozoa, fungi, and viruses. These microorganisms interact with each other, altering the ruminal environment and substrates that will be available for the host digestion and metabolism. Viruses can infect the host and other microorganisms, which can drive changes in microorganisms' lysis rate, substrate availability, nutrient recycling, and population structure. The lysis of ruminal microorganisms' cells by viruses can release enzymes that enhance feedstuff fermentation, which may increase dietary nutrient utilization and feed efficiency. However, negative effects associated to viruses in the gastrointestinal tract have also been reported, in some cases, disrupting the dynamic stability of the ruminal microbiome, which can result in gastrointestinal dysfunctions. Therefore, the objective of this review is to summarize the current knowledge on ruminal virome, their interaction with other components of the microbiome and the effects on animal nutrition.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Antonio P. Faciola
- Department of Animal Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
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Health Impact and Therapeutic Manipulation of the Gut Microbiome. High Throughput 2020; 9:ht9030017. [PMID: 32751130 PMCID: PMC7564083 DOI: 10.3390/ht9030017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2020] [Revised: 07/15/2020] [Accepted: 07/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent advances in microbiome studies have revealed much information about how the gut virome, mycobiome, and gut bacteria influence health and disease. Over the years, many studies have reported associations between the gut microflora under different pathological conditions. However, information about the role of gut metabolites and the mechanisms by which the gut microbiota affect health and disease does not provide enough evidence. Recent advances in next-generation sequencing and metabolomics coupled with large, randomized clinical trials are helping scientists to understand whether gut dysbiosis precedes pathology or gut dysbiosis is secondary to pathology. In this review, we discuss our current knowledge on the impact of gut bacteria, virome, and mycobiome interactions with the host and how they could be manipulated to promote health.
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Abstract
The rumen contains a great diversity of prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms that allow the ruminant to utilize ligno-cellulose material and to convert non-protein nitrogen into microbial protein to obtain energy and amino acids. However, rumen fermentation also has potential deleterious consequences associated with the emissions of greenhouse gases, excessive nitrogen excreted in manure and may also adversely influence the nutritional value of ruminant products. While several strategies for optimizing the energy and nitrogen use by ruminants have been suggested, a better understanding of the key microorganisms involved and their activities is essential to manipulate rumen processes successfully. Diet is the most obvious factor influencing the rumen microbiome and fermentation. Among dietary interventions, the ban of antimicrobial growth promoters in animal production systems has led to an increasing interest in the use of plant extracts to manipulate the rumen. Plant extracts (e.g. saponins, polyphenol compounds, essential oils) have shown potential to decrease methane emissions and improve the efficiency of nitrogen utilization; however, there are limitations such as inconsistency, transient and adverse effects for their use as feed additives for ruminants. It has been proved that the host animal may also influence the rumen microbial population both as a heritable trait and through the effect of early-life nutrition on microbial population structure and function in adult ruminants. Recent developments have allowed phylogenetic information to be upscaled to metabolic information; however, research effort on cultivation of microorganisms for an in-depth study and characterization is needed. The introduction and integration of metagenomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolomic techniques is offering the greatest potential of reaching a truly systems-level understanding of the rumen; studies have been focused on the prokaryotic population and a broader approach needs to be considered.
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Gilbert RA, Townsend EM, Crew KS, Hitch TCA, Friedersdorff JCA, Creevey CJ, Pope PB, Ouwerkerk D, Jameson E. Rumen Virus Populations: Technological Advances Enhancing Current Understanding. Front Microbiol 2020; 11:450. [PMID: 32273870 PMCID: PMC7113391 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.00450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2019] [Accepted: 03/02/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The rumen contains a multi-kingdom, commensal microbiome, including protozoa, bacteria, archaea, fungi and viruses, which enables ruminant herbivores to ferment and utilize plant feedstuffs that would be otherwise indigestible. Within the rumen, virus populations are diverse and highly abundant, often out-numbering the microbial populations that they both predate on and co-exist with. To date the research effort devoted to understanding rumen-associated viral populations has been considerably less than that given to the other microbial populations, yet their contribution to maintaining microbial population balance, intra-ruminal microbial lysis, fiber breakdown, nutrient cycling and genetic transfer may be highly significant. This review follows the technological advances which have contributed to our current understanding of rumen viruses and drawing on knowledge from other environmental and animal-associated microbiomes, describes the known and potential roles and impacts viruses have on rumen function and speculates on the future directions of rumen viral research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosalind A. Gilbert
- Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia
| | - Eleanor M. Townsend
- Warwick Integrative Synthetic Biology Centre, School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom
| | - Kathleen S. Crew
- Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Thomas C. A. Hitch
- Functional Microbiome Research Group, Institute of Medical Microbiology, RWTH University Hospital, Aachen, Germany
| | - Jessica C. A. Friedersdorff
- Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, United Kingdom
| | - Christopher J. Creevey
- Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
| | - Phillip B. Pope
- Faculty of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway
- Faculty of Biosciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway
| | - Diane Ouwerkerk
- Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia
| | - Eleanor Jameson
- Warwick Integrative Synthetic Biology Centre, School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom
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