Linseed oil and heated linseed grain supplements have different effects on rumen bacterial community structures and fatty acid profiles in cashmere kids1.

This study investigated the effects of dietary supplementation with alternative sources of α-linolenic acid on growth, the composition of rumen microbiota, and the interactions between rumen microbiota and long-chain fatty acid (FA) concentrations, in goat kids. Sixty 4-month-old castrated male Albas white cashmere kids (average BW 18.6 ± 0.1 kg) were randomly allocated among three dietary treatments: (i) basal diet without supplementation (Control), (ii) basal diet supplemented with linseed oil (LSO), (iii) basal diet supplemented with heated linseed grain (HLS). The concentrate:forage ratio was 5:5 and the LSO and HLS treatments provided the kids with similar dietary FA profiles. The diets were fed for 104 d, consisting of 14 d for adaptation followed by 90 d of experimental observation. Treatment did not significantly influence BW, DMI, or bacterial richness or diversity. On the other hand, the relative abundance of bacteria participating in hydrogenation differed significantly among the three groups: the Veillonellaceae and Christensenellaceae were more abundant in LSO kids, Prevotellaceae were more abundant in HLS kids, and the Fibrobacteriaceae were more abundant in Control kids (P < 0.05). Spearman correlation analysis indicated that Ruminobacter, Selenomonas_1, Fretibacterium, Prevotellaceae_UCG-001, Succinimonas, and Ruminococcaceae_NK4A214_group were the genera that participated in hydrogenation of long-chain FAs. HLS-fed kids had a lower relative abundance of Ruminobacter, but a higher abundance of Prevotellaceae_UCG-001 and Fretibacterium than LSO-fed kids. These changes were associated with greater rumen concentrations of C18:3n3 and n-3 PUFA, but lower concentrations of n-6 PUFA and lower n-6/n-3 ratios, in HLS than in LSO-fed kids. In conclusion, feeding kids with HLS increased rumen concentrations of C18:3n3 and n-3 PUFA, but decreased the n-6/n-3 ratio by decreasing the abundance of bacteria that hydrogenate C18:3n3 and increasing the abundance of bacteria that hydrogenate C18:2n6.