TABLE 3.
Effect of treatment on relative abundance of the main phyla* on weaning day versus 4 weeks after (group averages shown).
|
Treatment1 |
||||||||||
|
CON |
PCON |
ENZ |
||||||||
| Phyla | At weaning2 | Post-weaning3 | Contrast4 | At weaning2 | Post-weaning3 | Contrast4 | At weaning2 | Post-weaning3 | Contrast4 | |
| Bacteroidetes | 48.8 | 47.1 | 0.99 | 51.7 | 47.3 | 0.03 | 52.3 | 50.3 | 0.99 | |
| Firmicutes | 26.8 | 31.0 | 0.13 | 28.4 | 32.2 | 0.19 | 27.8 | 30.2 | 0.99 | |
| Spirochaetes | 2.7 | 2.1 | 0.99 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 0.99 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 0.99 | |
| Tenericutes | 2.4 | 4.0 | 0.03 | 2.0 | 3.3 | 0.07 | 2.6 | 3.8 | 0.29 | |
| Verrucomicrobia | 2.2 | 2.1 | 0.99 | 2.1 | 1.6 | 0.99 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 0.99 | |
| TM7 | 1.8 | 2.8 | 0.26 | 1.5 | 4.1 | 0.01 | 1.4 | 2.5 | 0.14 | |
*Phyla with relative abundance across treatments ≥1.4%. 1CON = conventional cow-calf system without supplementation of calves. PCON = calves were creep fed. ENZ = calves were creep fed with an enhanced feed containing xylanase; 2At weaning: ruminal samples collected on weaning day; 3Post-weaning: ruminal samples collected 4 weeks after calves were weaned; 4Contrast: P-value calculated using the Bonferroni-corrected pairwise comparison within treatment for “At weaning” vs. “Post-weaning.”