Production performance and rumen bacterial community structure of Hu sheep fed fermented spent mushroom substrate from Pleurotus eryngii

Abstract

Abstract This study aimed to compare the slaughter performance, meat quality and rumen bacterial community structure of Hu sheep by adding raw materials( RL0), 0 (RL1), 15% (RL2), 30% (RL3) and 45% (RL4) fermented spent mushroom substrate from Pleurotus eryngii to the basal diet. The results showed that: (1) The pre-slaughter weight (PSW), carcass weight (CW) and slaughter rate (SR) of RL2 group were higher than others, but the differences between the groups were not significant (p > 0.05). (2) The contents of threonine, valerine, leucine, lysine, histidine, total essential amino acids, aspartic acid, serine, glutamic acid and arginine of the musculi longissimus thoracis in RL2 and RL3 groups were significantly higher than RL1 and RL4 (p < 0.05). (3) A total of 1202445 valid sequences were obtained from rumen of Hu sheep fed different amounts of fermented feed, and the valid sequences were clustered into 9824 Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs). (4) α diversity analysis showed that the richness and diversity of rumen bacterial communities in Hu sheep in RL1, RL2, RL3 and RL4 groups were significantly higher than RL0 group (p < 0.05). β diversity analysis showed that the bacterial community structure was the most different between RL0 and RL3. (5) At the genus level, compared with RL1, the relative abundance of Christensenellaceae R-7 in RL3 group decreased significantly by 33.59%, the relative abundance of Prevotellaceae UCG001 in RL2, RL3 and RL4 decreased significantly by 50.41%, 62.24% and 49.17%, respectively, and the relative abundance of Ruminococcaceae NK4A214 in RL2 group increased significantly by 35.01% (p < 0.05). In summary, the addition of fermented Pleurotus eryngii mushroom bran to the basal diet of Hu sheep can significantly improve the slaughter performance, meat quality and rumen bacterial community diversity and abundance of Hu sheep.