Abstract
The livestock sector is evolving in response to rapidly increasing demand for livestock products. Ruminant population is the main driver of the growth of the livestock sector besides pig and poultry. The rise in environment temperature due to climate change alters the basic physiology of rumen which negatively affects production. Dry matter intake begins to decline in an adaptive response to heat stress. Increased environmental temperature reduces the gut motility, rumination, ruminal contractions and depresses appetite in ruminants. Heat stress reduces the total production of volatile fatty acid (VFA) with individual variation and also results in changes in ruminal pH. Passage rate and retention time of digesta is also influenced by rise in ambient temperature and thus affects digestibility. The change in microbiota due to heat stress may change the fermentation pattern in the rumen resulting in variation in digestibility, VFA production and also methane emission.
Highlights
The livestock sector globally is highly progressive.In developing countries, it is evolving because of rapidly increasing demand for livestock products, in developed countries; demand for livestock products is stagnating [1]
The highest methane emission per kg dry matter intake (DMI) at 40°C might be attributed to lower organic matter digestibility and shift in methane producing microbes and other microbial fermentation, due to change in rumen environment because of higher environmental temperature [58]
There are only few studies related to the change in the ruminal microbial population in response to heat stress
Summary
1. Department of Physiology, College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, Veterinary University, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh-281001, India; 2. Division of Physiology and Climatology, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly-243001, India; 3. Division of Animal Nutrition, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly-243001, India; 4. National Institute of Nutrition and Physiology, Bangalore, Karnataka, India. How to cite this article: Yadav B, Singh G, Verma AK, Dutta N and Sejian V (2013) Impact of heat stress on rumen functions, Veterinary World 6(12): 992-996
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