Investigation of relationships between carcass traits and the rumen microbiome in Japanese Black cattle using multi-omics analysis.

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 22K20608
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0605:Veterinary medical science, animal science, and related fields
• Research Institution: Utsunomiya University
• Principal Investigator: Sato Yoshiaki 宇都宮大学, 農学部, 助教 (10962805)
• Project Period (FY): 2022-08-31 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 反芻動物 / 枝肉形質 / ルーメン微生物 / メタゲノム

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the rumen microbiome and carcass traits, such as marbling and carcass weight, in Japanese Black cattle. Metagenomic sequencing was used to compare the rumen microbiome between high-carcass weight (HW) and low-carcass weight (LW) cattle, and high-marbling (HM) and low-marbling (LM) cattle. As a result, the prokaryotic and viral communities in the rumens of HW vs. LW and HM vs. LM were different. In summary, this study revealed that the rumen microbiome of Japanese Black cattle was associated with carcass traits.

Free Research Field

動物生産科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究の結果、黒毛和種のルーメン微生物叢と枝肉形質（脂肪交雑および枝肉重量）との間には深い関係があることが示唆された。また、脂肪交雑が高い個体や枝肉重量の大きい個体に特徴的なMetagenome-assembled genomes（MAG）が数多く見つかった。このMAGをバイオマーカーとして育種を行うことができれば、黒毛和種の枝肉形質を向上させることができ、日本の肉牛生産にも大きく貢献することができると考えられる。