Dietary Regulation of the Rumen Microbiome and Fermentation

Dear Colleagues,

The rumen microbiome drives ruminant nutrient utilization by orchestrating fermentation pathways that determine energy supply (VFA), microbial protein yield, and greenhouse gas emissions. With increasing pressure to enhance feed efficiency while reducing environmental footprints, “diet–microbiome–fermentation” regulation has become a central theme in ruminant science. Advances in sequencing, metabolomics, and fermentation phenotyping now enable us to move beyond descriptive associations toward testable mechanisms and actionable dietary solutions. We invite you to contribute to the Special Issue of Animals entitled “Dietary Regulation of the Rumen Microbiome and Fermentation.”

This Special Issue will compile mechanistic and applied studies showing how diets and feed additives modulate rumen microbial communities, fermentation patterns, and animal-level outcomes (performance, health, and emissions). The topic aligns with the scope of Animals by covering in animal nutrition and feeding, physiology, microbiology, production, and sustainable livestock systems.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Dietary drivers of rumen community structure and function (forage–concentrate ratio, starch/fiber/protein/lipid profiles);
• Feed additives and functional ingredients (e.g., seaweeds, tannins, probiotics/yeasts, essential oils, organic acids, nitrates, 3-NOP);
• Microbial cross-feeding, hydrogen sinks, and methanogenesis regulation;
• Fermentation outcomes: VFA shifts, ammonia-N utilization, microbial protein synthesis, lactate dynamics, pH stability, and gas kinetics;
• Multi-omics and integrative approaches (16S/shotgun, metatranscriptomics, metabolomics, SIP/isotope tracing, network analysis);
• Translational studies from in vitro systems to in vivo validation, including dose–response and safety assessments;
• Modeling and precision feeding tools linking microbiome changes to fermentation and emissions;
• Diet × stress interactions (heat stress, transition period, acidosis risk) and rumen resilience.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Li Min
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.