Abstract
The experiment was conducted to compare the growth performance, rumen fermentation, nutrient digestibility, and ruminal and fecal bacterial community between yaks and cattle-yaks. Ten male yaks (36-month-old) were used as the yak (YAK) group and 10 male cattle-yaks with similar age were selected as the cattle-yak (CAY) group. All the animals were fed same ration and the experiment lasted for 60 days. The results showed that the average daily gain and dry matter intake of CAY group were higher (P < 0.05) than those of YAK group. The ruminal concentrations of total volatile fatty acids, acetate, and butyrate were higher (P < 0.05) in CAY group than those in YAK group. However, the neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber digestibility exhibited an opposite between two groups. In the rumen, the relative abundances of Prevotella 1 and Prevotellaceae UCG-001 were higher (P < 0.05) and Succiniclasticum and Butyrivibrio 2 were lower (P < 0.05) in YAK group compared to CAY group. In the feces, the unclassified Lachnospiraceae, Lachnospiraceae NK4A136 group, and Lachnospiraceae AC2044 group were significantly enriched (P < 0.05) in YAK group, whereas the Ruminococcaceae UCG-010, Ruminococcaceae UCG-013, and Succiniclasticum were significantly enriched (P < 0.05) in CAY group. Overall, under the same diet, the yaks have higher fiber utilization and cattle-yaks have higher energy utilization.
Highlights
The yak (Bos grunniens) is an indigenous ruminant that can adapt to the extremely harsh environment on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau
Under the condition of ensuring that different breeds of beef cattle are of similar age, it is difficult to meet the requirement of same weight
No significant difference of serum parameters was observed between YAK and CAY groups, indicating that yaks and cattle-yaks were both in normal condition
Summary
The yak (Bos grunniens) is an indigenous ruminant that can adapt to the extremely harsh environment on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is characterized by high altitude, low temperature, strong ultraviolet light, and severe cold. Dai et al AMB Expr (2021) 11:98 production performance of yaks cannot catch up with beef cattle, which leads to lower economic income. In order to improve the production performance of yaks on the plateau, the cattle-yak, which has unique nutrient degradation capability, is bred to combine the tolerance of cold and high altitudes of yaks with the excellent productivity of other cattle (Liao et al 2018). The cattle-yaks are well adapted to the harsh environment of plateau and display higher growth performance compared to yaks. Most of yaks and cattle-yaks are slaughtered without fattening process, which reduce the production performance of animals
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