Increase of dairy cattle productivity in Brazil: development and evaluation of a new probiotic for dairy cattle in tropical conditions from the ruminal microbiota study

• Grant number: 16/21830-0
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Duration: May 01, 2018 - April 30, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Applied Microbiology
• Principal Investigator: Natanael Pinheiro Leitão Júnior
• Grantee: Natanael Pinheiro Leitão Júnior
• Host Company: Natanael Pinheiro Leitão Junior - ME
• CNAE: Comércio atacadista de animais vivos, alimentos para animais e matérias-primas agrícolas, exceto café e soja ; Testes e análises técnicas ; Pesquisa e desenvolvimento experimental em ciências físicas e naturais
• City: São Paulo
• Associated researchers: Flávio Augusto Portela Santos ; João Carlos Setubal ; Rosana Puccia ; Veridiana Lourenço de Souza
• Associated scholarship(s): 18/09683-7 - Increase of dairy cattle productivity in Brazil: development and evaluation of a new probiotic for dairy cattle in tropical conditions from the ruminal microbiota study, BP.PIPE

Abstract

Bovines are herbivorous mammals that possess a fermentation chamber called rumen, where a complex network of microorganisms performs the digestion of vegetal food. A healthy ruminal microbiota is related to good physiological performance, health and high productivity, while its imbalance makes the animal susceptible to disease burden and can lead to death. Understand the rumen microbiota is one way to increase animal health and productivity and the use of probiotics is an efficient and natural means, with benefits to farmer and society. The aim of this project is to elaborate a probiotic for dairy cattle raised in Brazil from the study of the rumen microbiota. We will perform the microbiome study of the cow's rumen by extracting the microorganisms DNA and sequencing the 16S rRNA region of the bacteria and ITS1 of the fungi. We will correlate the identified microorganisms in rumen samples with variables that represent health (blood biochemical analyzes) and animals performance (milk production and composition). The microorganisms that correlate with the best health and performance parameters will be used in the probiotic formulation. We estimate that our product will increase by 5-8% the average milk production by animal, or in absolute numbers, an increase from 1 to 1.7 kg of milk per cow / day. We also estimate that the animal supplemented with our probiotic will produce 7% more fats in the milk, because it will improve the ruminal fermentation conditions, with greater productive and reduction in the consumption of antibiotics by potential benefits in the immune system. If applied to the country's dairy herd, the product could increase production by approximately 1.74 billion liters of milk, which was 35 billion liters in 2015, and could add approximately R $ 2 billion a year to the country's GDP. The use of probiotic is consistent with the naturalist world trend and reduction of antibiotic use in production. With the new probiotic developed in typical tropical conditions, management, diet and climate found in dairy farms in Brazil, the product will support the enhancement of National Dairy Cattle, and we will see our biotechnology applied to the animal production. (AU)