Integrated microbiome and metabolome unveiled the effect of carbonate buffer mixture alleviating subacute rumen acidosis - Mediated endometritis in dairy goats.

Abstract

Subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA) is a prevalent metabolic disorder in ruminants, often associated with systemic inflammatory responses triggered by elevated levels of lipopolysaccharides (LPS). This study aimed to evaluate whether a carbonate buffer mixture (CBM) could alleviate SARA-induced endometritis in dairy goats by modulating the microbiota and metabolic profiles. A total of 30 healthy lactating dairy goats with similar body weight were selected for the experiment. Inflammatory markers were assessed in both uterine tissue and serum. The microbial communities in the rumen and uterus were characterized using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, while alterations in serum metabolites were analyzed via untargeted metabolomics. The results demonstrated that CBM supplementation effectively reversed SARA induced by a high-concentrate diet, reduced neutrophil infiltration, LPS levels, and inflammatory cytokine concentrations in the endometrium, and enhanced the expression of tight junction proteins in uterine tissue. Additionally, CBM mitigated SARA-induced dysbiosis of the uterine microbiota by restoring the relative abundance of key bacterial taxa, including Lachnospiraceae, Prevotella, and Ruminococcus, while also modulating rumen bacterial populations such as Stenotrophomonas, Aerococcus, and Acinetobacter. Metabolomic profiling revealed that SARA significantly increased serum concentrations of creatinine, L-methionine, and L-tyrosine, while decreasing levels of tryptamine, gabapentin, and sphinganine. These findings suggest that CBM may restore rumen pH and microbial balance in SARA-affected goats, thereby influencing systemic metabolite profiles, promoting uterine microbiota homeostasis, reducing endometrial injury, and ultimately alleviating endometritis. Collectively, this study highlights a potential link between the ruminal microenvironment and uterine health, and provides new insights into the therapeutic role of CBM in managing SARA-induced endometritis.