Breed-Specific Responses and Ruminal Microbiome Shifts in Dairy Cows Under Heat Stress

Holstein and Jersey cows, as excellent dairy breeds, have their own advantages in milk yield, milk quality, disease resistance, and heat resistance. However, the adaptability and rumen microbiome changes in Holstein and Jersey cows under heat stress are not clear. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to compare the differences in heat tolerance and the changes in the ruminal microbiome in Holstein and Jersey cows under heat stress. The experiment comprised a 7-day thermo-neutral (TN) period and a 7-day heat stress (HS) period. Five Jersey cows and five Holstein cows with similar parity and days in milk were selected, and rumen fluid was collected from five of them each. Compared with the TN period, heat stress increased the respiratory rate (p < 0.05), whereas decreased the milk yield (p < 0.01) in the Holstein and Jersey cows. Also, heat stress increased the rectal temperature (p < 0.01) in the Holstein cows. Jersey cows had a significantly (p < 0.05) lower level of acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, valeric acid, and TVFA during HS compared with the TN period. Furthermore, high-throughput sequencing revealed that the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes and Prevotella increased while the relative abundance of Firmicutes decreased in Holstein cows during the HS period, whereas Christensenellaceae and Clostridium were more abundant in Jersey cows during the HS period than in the TN period. Simultaneously, the dominant fungi in Holstein cows were Ascomycota, Neocallimastigomycota, and Aspergillus. Correlation analysis also provided a link between the significantly altered rumen microbiota and animal production. These results suggest that heat stress has negatively influenced the physiological parameters, milk production, and rumen microbiota of Holstein and Jersey cows. Changes in the rumen fermentation and ruminal microbiome in Holstein cows may be associated with a better adaptation ability to heat stress. Our findings may inform future research to better understand how heat stress affects the physiology and productivity of dairy cattle breeding in southern China and the development of mitigation strategies.