2013 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Exploration of relationship between rumen microflora of Japanese Black cattle and its beef production

Research Project

Project/Area Number	24780254
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Research Field	Zootechnical science/Grassland science
Research Institution	Hokkaido University
Principal Investigator	KOIKE Satoshi 北海道大学, (連合)農学研究科(研究院), 助教 (90431353)
Project Period (FY)	2012-04-01 – 2014-03-31
Keywords	ルーメン / 微生物 / 黒毛和種
Research Abstract	Japanese Black cattle are the most popular beef breed and accounts for 60% of beef cattle in Japan. In the present study, rumen microbial community of Japanese Black cattle was explored. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene clone library revealed that twenty three bacterial groups represent 40% of rumen bacterial community in the rumen of Japanese Black cattle. Particularly, two of them belonging Ruminococcuceae seemed to be higher population size compared to the other cattle breeds. Based on the extent of unsaturated fatty acids in the muscle, twenty four individuals were selected and subjected to comprehensive analysis of rumen microbial community by pyrosequencing. Individuals showing higher unsaturated fatty acids in the muscle tended to possess different rumen microbial flora.