The Effect of a High-Grain Diet on the Rumen Microbiome of Goats with a Special Focus on Anaerobic Fungi.

This work investigated the changes of the rumen microbiome of goats switched from a forage to a concentrate diet with special attention to anaerobic fungi (AF). Female goats were fed an alfalfa hay (AH) diet (0% grain; = 4) for 20 days and were then abruptly shifted to a high-grain (HG) diet (40% corn grain, 60% AH; = 4) and treated for another 10 days. Rumen content samples were collected from the cannulated animals at the end of each diet period (day 20 and 30).

Pseudobutyrivibrio xylanivorans adhesion to epithelial cells.

The ruminal bacteria Pseudobutyrivibrio xylanivorans strain 2 (P. xylanivorans 2), that mediates the digestion of plant fiber, is considered an attractive candidate for probiotics. Adherence to the epithelium of the digestive tract of the host is one of the major requirements for probiotics.

Analysis of the rumen bacterial diversity of goats during shift from forage to concentrate diet.

High-grain feeding used in the animal production is known to affect the host rumen bacterial community, but our understanding of consequent changes in goats is limited. This study was therefore aimed to evaluate bacterial population dynamics during 20 days adaptation of 4 ruminally cannulated goats to the high-grain diet (grain: hay - ratio of 40:60). The dietary transition of goats from the forage to the high-grain-diet resulted in the significant decrease of rumen fluid pH, which was however still higher than value established for acute or subacute ruminal acidosis was not diagnosed in studied animals.

Identification of GH10 xylanases in strains 2 and Mz5 of Pseudobutyrivibrio xylanivorans.

Genes encoding glycosyl hydrolase family 11 (GH11) xylanases and xylanases have been identified from Pseudobutyrivibrio xylanivorans. In contrast, little is known about the diversity and distribution of the GH10 xylanase in strains of P. xylanivorans.

Brucella alters endocytic pathway in J774 macrophages.

Brucella is a facultative intracellular bacterium which causes chronic infections in mammals by surviving and replicating within host cells. The putative role of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in the formation of the phagosome in non-professional phagocytes is supported by several research groups, but still leaves open the question of the fate of Brucella inside professional phagocytes and its resistance mechanisms therein. Macrophages are particularly important for the survival and spreading of Brucella during infection.

Distribution of botulinum toxin-producing clostridia in soils of Argentina.

We studied the presence of botulinum toxin-producing clostridia in 2,009 soil samples from five geographical regions of Argentina. The prevalence was 23.5%, and the distribution was not homogeneous among the regions.