Effect of Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus buchneri addition on fermentation, bacterial community and aerobic stability in lucerne silage

Abstract

Changes in the microbial community are closely related to the fermentation of silage. However, how host genetic variation shapes the community structure of the silage microbiota and its metabolic phenotype is poorly understood. The objective of present study was to evaluate the effects of the application of the homo-fermentative Lactobacillus plantarum and hetero-fermentative Lactobacillus buchneri strains to lucerne silage on the fermentation characteristics, aerobic stability, and microbial community and their correlations. The three silages treated with L. plantarum or L. buchneri were well preserved and had significantly lower pH values, butyric acid, propionic acid, and ammonia-N concentrations, and significantly higher residual water-soluble carbohydrate, dry matter and lactic acid contents than the controls. The treated groups had more lactic acid bacteria and lower quantities of other bacteria in their microbial communities. Inoculation of lactic acid bacteria influenced the abundances of other bacteria and controlled the silage fermentation characteristics. L. buchneri inhibited the abundance of Enterobacter_ludwigii to increase the crude protein content, L. plantarum improve the neutral detergent fibre content by affecting the abundance of Arthrobacter_sp._Ens13. In conclusion, the application of L. plantarum and L. buchneri improved the quality of lucerne silage fermentation, and L. buchneri resulted in greater improvements after aerobic exposure.