Dynamics of Fermentation Parameters and Bacterial Community in High-Moisture Alfalfa Silage with or Without Lactic Acid Bacteria

Overview

Journal Microorganisms

Specialty Microbiology

Date 2021 Jul 2

PMID 34200084

Citations 21

Authors

Shanshan Zhao

Fengyuan Yang

Yuan Wang

Xiaomiao Fan

Changsong Feng

Yanping Wang

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to gain deeper insights into the dynamics of fermentation parameters and the bacterial community during the ensiling of high-moisture alfalfa. A commercial lactic acid bacteria (YX) inoculant was used as an additive. After 15 and 30 days of ensiling, the control silage (CK) exhibited a high pH and a high concentration of ammoniacal nitrogen (NH-N); and were the dominant genera. At 60 d, the pH value and the concentration of NH-N in CK silage increased compared with 15 and 30 d, propionic acid and butyric acid (BA) were detected, and had the highest abundance in the bacterial community. Compared with CK silage, inoculation of YX significantly promoted lactic acid and acetic acid accumulation and reduced pH and BA formation, did not significantly reduce the concentration of NH-N except at 60 d, and significantly promoted the abundance of and decreased the abundance of and , but did not significantly inhibit the growth of and . In conclusion, high-moisture alfalfa naturally ensiled is prone to rot. Adding YX can delay the process of silage spoilage by inhibiting the growth of undesirable microorganisms to a certain extent.

Citing Articles

Effects of Moisture Content Gradient on Alfalfa Silage Quality, Odor, and Bacterial Community Revealed by Electronic Nose and GC-MS.

Liu Y, Wang Z, Sun L, Zhang Y, Zhao M, Hao J Microorganisms. 2025; 13(2).

PMID: 40005747 PMC: 11858379. DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms13020381.

Phycocyanin Additives Regulate Bacterial Community Structure and Antioxidant Activity of Alfalfa Silage.

Liu X, Liu Y, Liu M, Xing J, Wang Y, Sheng P Microorganisms. 2025; 12(12.

PMID: 39770720 PMC: 11676038. DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms12122517.

Microbiome and response surface methodology analyses reveal as the core bacteria responsible for aerobic spoilage of corn silage () in hot and humid areas.

Bai R, Li H, Chen S, Yuan X, Chen Y, Huang Y Front Microbiol. 2024; 15:1473238.

PMID: 39323883 PMC: 11422110. DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1473238.

Effects of (L) and molasses (M) on nutrient composition, aerobic stability, and microflora of alfalfa silage in sandy grasslands.

Peng W, Zhang L, Wei M, Wu B, Xiao M, Zhang R Front Microbiol. 2024; 15:1358085.

PMID: 38716171 PMC: 11074429. DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1358085.

Enhanced lignin degradation by Irpex lacteus through expanded sterilization further improved the fermentation quality and microbial community during the silage preservation process.

Cao X, Cai R, Zuo S, Niu D, Yang F, Xu C Bioresour Bioprocess. 2024; 11(1):14.

PMID: 38647879 PMC: 10992542. DOI: 10.1186/s40643-024-00730-2.

References

Bao W, Mi Z, Xu H, Zheng Y, Kwok L, Zhang H . Assessing quality of Medicago sativa silage by monitoring bacterial composition with single molecule, real-time sequencing technology and various physiological parameters. Sci Rep. 2016; 6:28358. PMC: 4920031. DOI: 10.1038/srep28358. View

Coblentz W, Muck R . Effects of natural and simulated rainfall on indicators of ensilability and nutritive value for wilting alfalfa forages sampled before preservation as silage. J Dairy Sci. 2012; 95(11):6635-53. DOI: 10.3168/jds.2012-5672. View

Borreani G, Tabacco E, Schmidt R, Holmes B, Muck R . Silage review: Factors affecting dry matter and quality losses in silages. J Dairy Sci. 2018; 101(5):3952-3979. DOI: 10.3168/jds.2017-13837. View

Ni K, Wang F, Zhu B, Yang J, Zhou G, Pan Y . Effects of lactic acid bacteria and molasses additives on the microbial community and fermentation quality of soybean silage. Bioresour Technol. 2017; 238:706-715. DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2017.04.055. View

Stevenson D, Muck R, Shinners K, Weimer P . Use of real time PCR to determine population profiles of individual species of lactic acid bacteria in alfalfa silage and stored corn stover. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2005; 71(3):329-38. DOI: 10.1007/s00253-005-0170-z. View

Yang F, Zhao S, Wang Y, Fan X, Wang Y, Feng C . Assessment of Bacterial Community Composition and Dynamics in Alfalfa Silages With and Without Inoculation Using Absolute Quantification 16S rRNA Sequencing. Front Microbiol. 2021; 11:629894. PMC: 7874219. DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.629894. View

Keshri J, Chen Y, Pinto R, Kroupitski Y, Weinberg Z, Sela Saldinger S . Microbiome dynamics during ensiling of corn with and without Lactobacillus plantarum inoculant. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2018; 102(9):4025-4037. DOI: 10.1007/s00253-018-8903-y. View

Johnson H, Merry R, Davies D, Kell D, Theodorou M, Griffith G . Vacuum packing: a model system for laboratory-scale silage fermentations. J Appl Microbiol. 2004; 98(1):106-13. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2672.2004.02444.x. View

Ma S, Fang C, Sun X, Han L, He X, Huang G . Bacterial community succession during pig manure and wheat straw aerobic composting covered with a semi-permeable membrane under slight positive pressure. Bioresour Technol. 2018; 259:221-227. DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2018.03.054. View

10.

Fabiszewska A, Zielinska K, Wrobel B . Trends in designing microbial silage quality by biotechnological methods using lactic acid bacteria inoculants: a minireview. World J Microbiol Biotechnol. 2019; 35(5):76. PMC: 6499736. DOI: 10.1007/s11274-019-2649-2. View

11.

Tian J, Li Z, Yu Z, Zhang Q, Li X . Interactive effect of inoculant and dried jujube powder on the fermentation quality and nitrogen fraction of alfalfa silage. Anim Sci J. 2016; 88(4):633-642. DOI: 10.1111/asj.12689. View

12.

Zheng M, Niu D, Jiang D, Zuo S, Xu C . Dynamics of microbial community during ensiling direct-cut alfalfa with and without LAB inoculant and sugar. J Appl Microbiol. 2017; 122(6):1456-1470. DOI: 10.1111/jam.13456. View

13.

Wang S, Sun Y, Zhao J, Dong Z, Li J, Nazar M . Assessment of inoculating various epiphytic microbiota on fermentative profile and microbial community dynamics in sterile Italian ryegrass. J Appl Microbiol. 2020; 129(3):509-520. DOI: 10.1111/jam.14636. View

14.

Kung Jr L, Stough E, McDonell E, Schmidt R, Hofherr M, Reich L . The effect of wide swathing on wilting times and nutritive value of alfalfa haylage. J Dairy Sci. 2010; 93(4):1770-3. DOI: 10.3168/jds.2009-2451. View

15.

Ke W, Ding W, Xu D, Ding L, Zhang P, Li F . Effects of addition of malic or citric acids on fermentation quality and chemical characteristics of alfalfa silage. J Dairy Sci. 2017; 100(11):8958-8966. DOI: 10.3168/jds.2017-12875. View

16.

Yang F, Wang Y, Zhao S, Wang Y . Inoculants Delay Spoilage of High Moisture Alfalfa Silages by Regulating Bacterial Community Composition. Front Microbiol. 2020; 11:1989. PMC: 7434841. DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.01989. View

17.

Yang J, Cao Y, Cai Y, Terada F . Natural populations of lactic acid bacteria isolated from vegetable residues and silage fermentation. J Dairy Sci. 2010; 93(7):3136-45. DOI: 10.3168/jds.2009-2898. View

18.

Van Soest P, Robertson J, Lewis B . Methods for dietary fiber, neutral detergent fiber, and nonstarch polysaccharides in relation to animal nutrition. J Dairy Sci. 1991; 74(10):3583-97. DOI: 10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(91)78551-2. View

19.

Ni K, Zhao J, Zhu B, Su R, Pan Y, Ma J . Assessing the fermentation quality and microbial community of the mixed silage of forage soybean with crop corn or sorghum. Bioresour Technol. 2018; 265:563-567. DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2018.05.097. View

20.

Amir A, Zeisel A, Zuk O, Elgart M, Stern S, Shamir O . High-resolution microbial community reconstruction by integrating short reads from multiple 16S rRNA regions. Nucleic Acids Res. 2013; 41(22):e205. PMC: 3905898. DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkt1070. View