Recent studies underscored that divergence in residual feed intake (RFI) in mature beef and dairy cattle is associated with changes in ruminal microbiome and metabolome profiles which may contribute, at least in part, to better feed efficiency. Because the rumen in neonatal calves during the preweaning period is underdeveloped until close to weaning, they rely on hindgut microbial fermentation to breakdown undigested diet components. This leads to production of key metabolites such as volatile fatty acids (VFA), amino acids, and vitamins that could potentially be absorbed in the hind-gut and help drive growth and development. Whether RFI divergence in neonatal calves is associated with changes in hindgut microbial communities and metabolites is largely unknown. Therefore, the objective of the current study was to determine differences in hindgut microbiome and metabolome in neonatal Holstein heifer calves retrospectively-grouped based on feed efficiency as most-efficient (M-eff) or least-efficient (L-eff) calves using RFI divergence during the preweaning period. Twenty-six Holstein heifer calves received 3.8 L of first-milking colostrum from their respective dams within 6 h after birth. Calves were housed in individual outdoor hutches bedded with straw, fed twice daily with a milk replacer, and had ad libitum access to a starter grain mix from birth to weaning at 42 d of age. Calves were classified into M-eff [n = 13; RFI coefficient = − 5.72 ± 0.94 kg DMI (milk replacer + starter grain)/d] and L-eff [n = 13; RFI coefficient = 5.61 ± 0.94 kg DMI (milk replacer + starter grain)/d] based on a linear regression model including the …
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