03944naa a2200277 a 450000100080000000500110000800800410001902400430006010000200010324501340012326000090025750007910026652022980105765000110335565000110336665000100337765300160338765300230340365300220342665300180344865300280346670000180349470000170351270000150352977301220354410527842020-05-12       2015    bl uuuu     u00u1 u    #d7 a10.1016/j.smallrumres.2015.05.0172DOI1 aDE BARBIERI, I.  aPositive consequences of maternal diet and post-natal rumen inoculation on rumen function and animal performance of Merino lambs.  c2015  aArticle history: Received 13 October 2014; Received in revised form 26 May 2015; Accepted 27 May 2015; Available online 4 June 2015. Acknowledgments: Authors thank David Paull and Drew Ferguson of CSIRO for their support. Additionally we want to thank Graeme Bremner, Andrew Blakely, Paul Ketly, Gary Taylor, Dave Lockrey, Michael Raue, Alistair Donaldson, Reg Woodgate, Andrew Eichorn, Sabrina Blakely, Grahame Chaffey, Jennie Hegarty, Jenny Wittig, and Sue Burgess for their contributions during the field and lab part of the research. Ignacio De Barbieri was supported by National Institute for Agricultural Research (INIA Uruguay). This work was supported in part by the Australian Government´s the Rumen Pangenome project within Filling the Research Gap (FTRG-1194147-75) program.  aNeonatal modification of the microbial inoculum entering the gastrointestinal tract mayalter the rumen microbiome and consequently alter pre- and post-weaning rumen fer-mentation and growth of lambs. This study aimed to determine (1) if modifying the rumenby providing ewes with lipids differing in rumen-availability in late gestation and lacta-tion would affect performance of the lamb offspring and (2) whether cross-inoculation ofneonatal lambs with digesta from sheep on an alternate diet would modify the fermen-tation, size, and characteristics of the developing rumen and performance of lambs. Twodiets were offered ad libitum to 36 pregnant ewes (and to their lambs after lambing) from1 month pre-lambing until 2 weeks after weaning, after which lambs were grazed in treat-ment groups in paddocks. Diets consisted of 92% of a blend of oaten and lucerne choppedhay, 4% molasses and 4% fat (coconut oil ? CO or protected fat ? PF). Newborn lambs wereinoculated weekly while suckling (weeks one to eight postnatal) with fresh rumen fluidfrom donor ewes eating CO or PF diets, or were inoculated with water. Lamb body weight,condition score, wool growth, rumen fermentation, and rumen development were stud-ied during the first 5 months of life of the lambs. Diet and inoculation affected dry matterintake after weaning (P < 0.05), being lower in lambs eating CO or inoculated with water.Feeding of CO instead of PF reduced the protozoa population and daily methane produc-tion of lambs (P < 0.05). Type of gut inoculum had an effect on the concentrations of acetate,propionate, butyrate, total volatile fatty acids, and total protozoa numbers in the rumen oflambs during lactation. By weaning, effects of post-natal inoculation were only apparent forthe concentration of butyrate and the protozoal population. It is concluded that dietary fatcan affect rumen development and fermentation of the lambs. In addition inoculation withexogenous rumen fluid can modulate some aspects of rumen fermentation. However, lambperformance evaluated at weaning and at 5 months after birth was not altered by eitherdiet or early-life inoculum, suggesting that while the rumen microbiome may have plas-ticity in its composition, microbial changes do not necessarily result in improved animalperformance.  aMERINO  aOVINOS  aRUMEN  aCOCONUT OIL  aMETHANE PRODUCTION  aMICROBIAL ECOLOGY  aPROTECTED FAT  aRUMEN FLUID INOCULATION1 aHEGARTY, R.S.1 aSILVEIRA, C.1 aODDY, V.H.  tSmall Ruminant Research, Volume 129, August 2015, Pages 37-47. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smallrumres.2015.05.017