Feeding different proportion of oat silage in feedlot diets: effects on rumen function and meat quality of Tibetan sheep

Tibetan sheep is a primitive Chinese breed valued for its excellent edible quality and high nutritional value. Despite this, limited research has explore dlimited research has explored the relationship between oat silage supplementation level and its impact on the rumen microbiota, muscle metabolism, and subsequent meat quality. This experiment therefore investigated how varying levels of dietary oat silage affect the Tibetan sheep’s rumen: specifically, its morphological development, enzyme activity, fermentation parameters, microbial flora, and muscle metabolites.The study also examined the relationship between these factors and the meat’s edible quality and conventional nutritional traits. The results showed that compared to lower oat silage ratios a hay/oat silage ratio of 5:5 (OS3) significantly enhanced meat tenderness, color, and protein content. A hay/oat silage ratio of 2.5:7.5 (OS4) significantly increased rumen papillae length and butyrate concentration, thereby improving rumen antioxidant capacity and promoting overall rumen growth and development. Further analyses of rumen microbial communities, metabolomics, and correlation demonstrated that the level of oat silage primarily altered muscle glycolysis process, which subsequently affected conventional nutritional components, color, and tenderness. Additionally, the OS3 group increased the abundance of FD2005, UCG-002, Eubacterium_ruminantium_group, and Succinivibrionaceae_UCG-001. Overall, a hay-to-oat silage ratio of 5:5 was optimal, improving both the rumen microbiota composition and muscle metabolic pathways in Tibetan sheep, which consequently enhanced both rumen metabolism and the meat’s edible and conventional nutritional quality.