Characterization of the rumen lipidome and microbiome of steers fed a diet supplemented with flax and echium oil.

Developing novel strategies for improving the fatty acid composition of ruminant products relies upon increasing our understanding of rumen bacterial lipid metabolism. This study investigated whether flax or echium oil supplementation of steer diets could alter the rumen fatty acids and change the microbiome. Six Hereford × Friesian steers were offered grass silage/sugar beet pulp only (GS), or GS supplemented either with flax oil (GSF) or echium oil (GSE) at 3% kg(-1) silage dry matter in a 3 × 3 replicated Latin square design with 21-day periods with rumen samples taken on day 21 for the analyses of the fatty acids and microbiome.