A Feeding Trial to Investigate Strategies to Mitigate the Impacts of Poisoning in Australian Cattle.

poisoning of cattle causes distinct symptoms and frequently death, attributable to the toxin simplexin. poisoning was induced via addition of ground plant to the daily feed in a three-month trial with Droughtmaster steers. The trial tested four potential mitigation treatments, namely, biochar, activated biochar, bentonite, and a bacterial inoculum, and incorporated negative and positive control groups.

Binding of the plant-derived toxin simplexin to bovine protein kinase C: insights from molecular dynamics.

poisoning of cattle is toxicologically linked to the activation of bovine protein kinase C (PKC) by the plant-derived toxin simplexin. To understand the affinity of PKC for simplexin, we performed molecular dynamics (MD) studies of simplexin, simplexin analogues, and several other activators of PKC. Binding enthalpy calculations indicated that simplexin had the strongest affinity for PKCα-C1B among the activators studied.

Genome sequence and annotation of sp. strain YE332, isolated from a cattle rumen fermentation of Leucaena leaf.

We report the 2.78-Mb circular genome sequence of sp. strain YE332, isolated from a fermentation of bovine rumen fluid, supplied with leaf material from cv.

Enhanced meat chicken productivity in response to the probiotic Bacillus amyloliquefaciens H57 is associated with the enrichment of microbial amino acid and vitamin biosynthesis pathways.

Aims: Sub-therapeutic use of antibiotics as a growth promoter in animal diets has either been banned or voluntarily withdrawn from use in many countries to help curb the emergence of antibiotic-resistant pathogens. Probiotics may be an alternative to antibiotics as a growth promoter. We investigated the effects of a novel probiotic strain, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens H57 (H57) on the performance and microbiome-associated metabolic potential.

Extraction and determination of the Pimelea toxin simplexin in complex plant-polymer biocomposites using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole Orbitrap mass spectrometry.

In the present paper, we describe how a robust and fundamental methodology was developed for extraction and determination of a principal natural toxin compound, simplexin, from a series of bulk biocomposites. These complex matrices were fabricated by direct encapsulating either ground plant particles or an ethanolic crude extract of the Australian toxic pasture plant Pimelea trichostachya in the biodegradable polymer poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate). Proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy was initially employed to examine the chemical compositions of these complicated systems.

Degradation of the Indospicine Toxin from by a Mixed Population of Rumen Bacteria.

The leguminous plant species, and are distributed throughout the rangeland regions of Australia and the compound indospicine (L-2-amino-6-amidinohexanoic acid) found in these palatable forage plants acts as a hepatotoxin and can accumulate in the meat of ruminant livestock and wild camels. In this study, bovine rumen fluid was cultivated in an in vitro fermentation system provided with plant material and the ability of the resulting mixed microbial populations to degrade indospicine was determined using UPLC-MS/MS over a 14 day time period. The microbial populations of the fermentation system were determined using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and showed distinct, time-related changes occurring as the rumen-derived microbes adapted to the fermentation conditions and the nutritional substrates provided by the plant material.

Toxin Degradation by Rumen Microorganisms: A Review.

Animal feeds may contain exogenous compounds that can induce toxicity when ruminants ingest them. These toxins are secondary metabolites originating from various sources including plants, bacteria, algae and fungi. Animal feed toxins are responsible for various animal poisonings which negatively impact the livestock industry.

Purified plant cell walls with adsorbed polyphenols alter porcine faecal bacterial communities during in vitro fermentation.

A substantial fraction of ingested polyphenols accumulate in the large intestine (LI), attached to undigested plant cell walls (PCW) (dietary fibre). Yet, whether these PCW-bound polyphenols alter the structure and function of the resident microbiota remains unclear. This study characterised bacterial populations during the in vitro fermentation of three standard polyphenols: ferulic acid (FER), (±)-catechin (CAT), and cyanidin-3-glucoside (CYAN), adsorbed individually or in combination to apple cell walls (ACW).

Beneficial changes in rumen bacterial community profile in sheep and dairy calves as a result of feeding the probiotic Bacillus amyloliquefaciens H57.

Aims: The probiotic Bacillus amyloliquefaciens H57 increased weight gain, increased nitrogen retention and increased feed intake in ruminants when administered to the diet. This study aims to develop a better understanding of this probiotic effect by analysing changes in the rumen prokaryotic community.

Methods And Results: Sequencing the 16S rRNA gene PCR amplicons of the rumen microbiome, revealed that ewes fed H57 had a significantly different rumen microbial community structure to Control sheep.

Toward Understanding Phage:Host Interactions in the Rumen; Complete Genome Sequences of Lytic Phages Infecting Rumen Bacteria.

The rumen is known to harbor dense populations of bacteriophages (phages) predicted to be capable of infecting a diverse range of rumen bacteria. While bacterial genome sequencing projects are revealing the presence of phages which can integrate their DNA into the genome of their host to form stable, lysogenic associations, little is known of the genetics of phages which utilize lytic replication. These phages infect and replicate within the host, culminating in host lysis, and the release of progeny phage particles.

Sporulation capability and amylosome conservation among diverse human colonic and rumen isolates of the keystone starch-degrader Ruminococcus bromii.

Ruminococcus bromii is a dominant member of the human colonic microbiota that plays a 'keystone' role in degrading dietary resistant starch. Recent evidence from one strain has uncovered a unique cell surface 'amylosome' complex that organizes starch-degrading enzymes. New genome analysis presented here reveals further features of this complex and shows remarkable conservation of amylosome components between human colonic strains from three different continents and a R.

Near complete genome sequence of the animal feed probiotic, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens H57.

Bacillus amyloliquefaciens H57 is a bacterium isolated from lucerne for its ability to prevent feed spoilage. Further interest developed when ruminants fed with H57-inoculated hay showed increased weight gain and nitrogen retention relative to controls, suggesting a probiotic effect. The near complete genome of H57 is ~3.

Investigation of the microbial metabolism of carbon dioxide and hydrogen in the kangaroo foregut by stable isotope probing.

Kangaroos ferment forage material in an enlarged forestomach analogous to the rumen, but in contrast to ruminants, they produce little or no methane. The objective of this study was to identify the dominant organisms and pathways involved in hydrogenotrophy in the kangaroo forestomach, with the broader aim of understanding how these processes are able to predominate over methanogenesis. Stable isotope analysis of fermentation end products and RNA stable isotope probing (RNA-SIP) were used to investigate the organisms and biochemical pathways involved in the metabolism of hydrogen and carbon dioxide in the kangaroo forestomach.

Variation in the hindgut microbial communities of the Florida manatee, Trichechus manatus latirostris over winter in Crystal River, Florida.

The Florida manatee, Trichechus manatus latirostris, is a hindgut-fermenting herbivore. In winter, manatees migrate to warm water overwintering sites where they undergo dietary shifts and may suffer from cold-induced stress. Given these seasonally induced changes in diet, the present study aimed to examine variation in the hindgut bacterial communities of wild manatees overwintering at Crystal River, west Florida.

Shedding light on the microbial community of the macropod foregut using 454-amplicon pyrosequencing.

Twenty macropods from five locations in Queensland, Australia, grazing on a variety of native pastures were surveyed and the bacterial community of the foregut was examined using 454-amplicon pyrosequencing. Specifically, the V3/V4 region of 16S rRNA gene was examined. A total of 5040 OTUs were identified in the data set (post filtering).

Archaea in the foregut of macropod marsupials: PCR and amplicon sequence-based observations.

Aims: To investigate, using culture-independent techniques, the presence and diversity of methanogenic archaea in the foregut of kangaroos.

Methods And Results: DNA was extracted from forestomach contents of 42 kangaroos (three species), three sheep and three cattle. Four qualitative and quantitative PCR assays targeting the archaeal domain (16S rRNA gene) or the functional methanogenesis gene, mcrA, were used to determine the presence and population density of archaea in kangaroos and whether they were likely to be methanogens.

Evaluation of rumen fatty acid hydrogenation intermediates and differences in bacterial communities after feeding wheat- or corn-based dried distillers grains to feedlot cattle.

The effect of partially replacing rolled barley (86.6% of control diet) with 20% wheat dried distillers grains plus solubles (DDGS), 40% wheat DDGS, 20% corn DDGS, or 40% corn DDGS (dietary DM basis) on rumen fluid fatty acid (FA) composition and some rumen bacterial communities was evaluated using 100 steers (20 per treatment). Wheat DDGS increased the 11t- to 10t-18:1 ratio (P < 0.

In vitro detection and primary cultivation of bacteria producing materials inhibitory to ruminal methanogens.

A novel method for screening bacterial isolates for their potential to inhibit the growth of ruminal methanogenic Archaea was developed using a modification of the soft agar overlay technique, formally used for the isolation of lytic bacteriophages. This method may be used in the specific, hydrogen-rich conditions required for the growth of ruminal methanogenic Archaea.

Production of bacteriocins by Streptococcus bovis strains from Australian ruminants.

Aims: To examine the prevalence of bacteriocin production in Streptococcus bovis isolates from Australian ruminants and the feasibility of industrial production of bacteriocin.

Methods And Results: Streptococcus bovis strains were tested for production of bacteriocin-like inhibitory substances (BLIS) by antagonism assay against Lactococcus lactis. BLIS production was associated with source animal location (i.

Microbial ecology of the equine hindgut during oligofructose-induced laminitis.

Alimentary carbohydrate overload is a significant cause of laminitis in horses and is correlated with drastic shifts in the composition of hindgut microbiota. Equine hindgut streptococcal species (EHSS), predominantly Streptococcus lutetiensis, have been shown to be the most common microorganisms culturable from the equine caecum prior to the onset of laminitis. However, the inherent biases of culture-based methods are estimated to preclude up to 70% of the normal caecal microbiota.

Ruminococcus bromii, identification and isolation as a dominant community member in the rumen of cattle fed a barley diet.

Aims: To identify dominant bacteria in grain (barley)-fed cattle for isolation and future use to increase the efficiency of starch utilization in these cattle.

Methods And Results: Total DNA was extracted from samples of the rumen contents from eight steers fed a barley diet for 9 and 14 days. Bacterial profiles were obtained using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of the PCR-amplified V2/V3 region of the 16S rRNA genes from total bacterial DNA.

Characterization of culturable anaerobic bacteria from the forestomach of an eastern grey kangaroo, Macropus giganteus.

Aim: To determine the culturable biodiversity of anaerobic bacteria isolated from the forestomach contents of an eastern grey kangaroo, Macropus giganteus, using phenotypic characterization and 16S rDNA sequence analysis.

Methods And Results: Bacteria from forestomach contents of an eastern grey kangaroo were isolated using anaerobic media containing milled curly Mitchell grass (Astrebla lappacea). DNA was extracted and the 16S rDNA sequenced for phylogenetic analysis.

Naturally occurring DNA transfer system associated with membrane vesicles in cellulolytic Ruminococcus spp. of ruminal origin.

A genetic transformation system with similarities to those reported for gram-negative bacteria was found to be associated with membrane vesicles of the ruminal cellulolytic genus Ruminococcus. Double-stranded DNA was recovered from the subcellular particulate fraction of all the cellulolytic ruminococci examined. Electron microscopy revealed that the only particles present resembled membrane vesicles.