Recent Advances in Rumen Fermentation Efficiency, 2nd Edition

Dear Colleagues,

It has been 57 years since Robert E. Hungate’s 1966 book The Rumen and Its Microbes was first published. Recently, rumen research has been advancing, and modern technology is being used. The rumen is a naturally fermentative anaerobic system that can be manipulated primarily by altering the composition of rumen microflora. The rumen ecosystem is a prominent example of host–microorganism interaction. The host feeds on plant fibers, which can only be destroyed by a complicated metabolic cascade encoded only in rumen-associated microorganisms. The rumen consists of a wide range of microbes, including prokaryotic and eukaryotic, that enable the animal to use plant fiber and change NPN into microbial protein in order to supply amino acids and energy. These cascades provide the hosting animal with basic metabolites. In fact, the synthesis of volatile fatty acids (VFA) by rumen microbes can supply up to 70% of a ruminant's energy needs.

Rumen fermentation is particularly well suited due to its relatively constant and continuous nature, as well as the extremely rapid rates of organic matter conversion. Before enzymes digest in the lower intestine, all ruminant foods undergo fermentative activity in the rumen. Thus, the degree and kind of feedstuff modification impact the productive performance of the host. Rumen microbial ecology and metabolism studies are largely concerned with the interactions between the animal, the microbes present, the feed supply, and the rumen by-products of digestion. Molecular techniques have been used to study the dynamics of rumen microorganisms. The interactions of the typical microbe with the animal can be altered to improve ruminant animal nutrition use efficiency.

Furthermore, ruminal methanogens can produce methane during enteric fermentation. Rumen methane emissions account for approximately 17% of global methane emissions, which are of concern globally due to their contribution to greenhouse gas buildup in the environment, as well as their waste of supplied energy for the ruminant. Approximately 2–12% of the ingested feed energy is also lost as methane. Many studies have been conducted on ruminant methane mitigation strategies.

Thus, manipulations of rumen fermentation to improve productivity and health are new challenges that require further investigation.

The goal of this Special Issue is to publish both recent advances in research and review papers on improving rumen fermentation efficiency in ruminants. Ruminant nutrition reviews and research papers are also of interest. If you want to submit a review paper, please contact the editors first to discuss the topic's relevance before submitting the manuscript.

Dr. Anusorn Cherdthong
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. Fermentation is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2100 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.