This study investigated the effects of different breeding methods on the cecal microbiota and production traits of Yimeng Black Goats (YBGs). Twenty-seven 3-month-old male YBGs were assigned to three groups (n = 9 each): total mixed ration once daily (A), concentrate in the morning and roughage in the afternoon (B), or grazing with supplementary feeding (C). Cecal bacterial communities were analyzed via 16S rRNA sequencing, and functional potential was predicted using FAPROTAX. Breeding method significantly altered microbial composition (p 0. 05). Correlation analysis revealed that Proteobacteria, Fusobacteria, and Euryarchaeota as the key phylum, and Bacteroides, Tyzzerella, Fusobacterium, unidentifiedPrevotellaceae, Methanovrevibacter and Faecalibacterium as the key genera were influencing the production traits of YBGs. These findings highlight the adaptive responses of the cecal microbiota to breeding methods and their potential links to host performance.
Yang et al. (Fri,) studied this question.