Insights into Nutrient Contents, Fermentation Profiles, Bacterial Communities and Co-Occurrence Network of Small-Bale Oat Silage Prepared with/Without Lentilactobacillus buchneri or Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus

Wu, Baiyila; Cao, Xue; Liu, Shuo; Ren, Tong; Bao, Yuxin; Mei, Hua; Liu, Shiba; Zhao, Chelegeri; Cong, Longli; Jiao, Shiyang; Niu, Huaxin; Wen, Shubo; Wang, Haifeng; Song, Yang

doi:10.3390/microorganisms14010101

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Insights into Nutrient Contents, Fermentation Profiles, Bacterial Communities and Co-Occurrence Network of Small-Bale Oat Silage Prepared with/Without Lentilactobacillus buchneri or Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus

by

Baiyila Wu

¹,

Xue Cao

¹,

Shuo Liu

¹,

Tong Ren

¹,

Yuxin Bao

²,

Hua Mei

¹,

Shiba Liu

³,

Chelegeri Zhao

³,

Longli Cong

²,

Shiyang Jiao

²,

Huaxin Niu

¹

,

Shubo Wen

¹

,

Haifeng Wang

^2,* and

Yang Song

^1,*

¹

College of Animal Science and Technology, Inner Mongolia Minzu University, Tongliao 028000, China

²

Tongliao Academy of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Sciences, Tongliao 028015, China

³

Tongliao Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Development Center, Tongliao 028000, China

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Microorganisms 2026, 14(1), 101; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms14010101

Submission received: 5 December 2025 / Revised: 26 December 2025 / Accepted: 1 January 2026 / Published: 2 January 2026

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microorganisms in Silage—2nd Edition)

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Abstract

Oat is a forage with high protein value (10–14% DM) and good palatability, and is considered one of the main feed sources for ruminants. In this experiment, Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus and Lentilactobacillus buchneri were selected as silage additives to investigate the fermentation quality, nutrient composition, microbial community and relationship between fermentation products and bacterial community of small-bale oat silage after ensiling. The experiment was set up with three treatment groups and three replications in each group, which were the control (C) group, L. rhamnosus (LR) group and L. buchneri (LB) group, and oat silages were subjected to 10-day and 30-day storage periods. The results show that both LR and LB additions significantly increased water-soluble carbohydrate, crude protein, lactic acid, propionic acid and acetic acid contents, and decreased pH, butyric acid, acid detergent fiber, neutral detergent fiber, and ammonia nitrogen contents and yeast and enterobacteria numbers in small-bale oat silage, compared with the C group. The highest content of acetic acid and the lowest numbers of enterobacteria and yeast were found in the LB group after 30 days of fermentation. Lentilactobacillus and Lacticaseibacillus were the dominant genera in the LB and LR groups, regardless of fermentation time. Lentilactobacillus and Lacticaseibacillus were positively correlated with a correlation value of 0.9, but both were negatively correlated with Bacillus. Lentilactobacillus and Lacticaseibacillus were positively correlated with acetic and lactic acids, while pH and butyric acid were positively correlated with Bacillus. This experiment revealed that the addition of homofermentative and heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria enhanced the relative abundance of Lentilactobacillus and Lacticaseibacillus, reduced harmful microbes, and improved fermentation quality of small-bale oat silage.

Keywords: small-bale; Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus; Lentilactobacillus buchneri; oat silage; bacterial community structure

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MDPI and ACS Style

Wu, B.; Cao, X.; Liu, S.; Ren, T.; Bao, Y.; Mei, H.; Liu, S.; Zhao, C.; Cong, L.; Jiao, S.; et al. Insights into Nutrient Contents, Fermentation Profiles, Bacterial Communities and Co-Occurrence Network of Small-Bale Oat Silage Prepared with/Without Lentilactobacillus buchneri or Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus. Microorganisms 2026, 14, 101. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms14010101

AMA Style

Wu B, Cao X, Liu S, Ren T, Bao Y, Mei H, Liu S, Zhao C, Cong L, Jiao S, et al. Insights into Nutrient Contents, Fermentation Profiles, Bacterial Communities and Co-Occurrence Network of Small-Bale Oat Silage Prepared with/Without Lentilactobacillus buchneri or Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus. Microorganisms. 2026; 14(1):101. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms14010101

Chicago/Turabian Style

Wu, Baiyila, Xue Cao, Shuo Liu, Tong Ren, Yuxin Bao, Hua Mei, Shiba Liu, Chelegeri Zhao, Longli Cong, Shiyang Jiao, and et al. 2026. "Insights into Nutrient Contents, Fermentation Profiles, Bacterial Communities and Co-Occurrence Network of Small-Bale Oat Silage Prepared with/Without Lentilactobacillus buchneri or Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus" Microorganisms 14, no. 1: 101. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms14010101

APA Style

Wu, B., Cao, X., Liu, S., Ren, T., Bao, Y., Mei, H., Liu, S., Zhao, C., Cong, L., Jiao, S., Niu, H., Wen, S., Wang, H., & Song, Y. (2026). Insights into Nutrient Contents, Fermentation Profiles, Bacterial Communities and Co-Occurrence Network of Small-Bale Oat Silage Prepared with/Without Lentilactobacillus buchneri or Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus. Microorganisms, 14(1), 101. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms14010101

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Insights into Nutrient Contents, Fermentation Profiles, Bacterial Communities and Co-Occurrence Network of Small-Bale Oat Silage Prepared with/Without Lentilactobacillus buchneri or Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus

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