Feed additives as systems-level modulators of the ruminant host–microbiome interaction: a multi-omics perspective on efficiency, resistance, and reproduction
4 affiliations
- 1Department of Animal and Range Sciences, College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University
- 2Department of Biology, Virginia State University
- 3School of Agriculture, Tennessee Technological University
- 4Division of Animal Science, West Virginia University
Abstract
Ruminant livestock face converging pressures from climatic variation, antimicrobial agents, and the imperative for sustainable intensification. However, the molecular imprints through which nutritional interventions modulate host–microbiome interactions across physiological contexts remain fragmented across disciplinary themes. Here, we synthesize evidence from metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, metabolomics, and host transcriptomics to propose that feed additives operate as systems-level modulators of a functionally integrated rumen–liver–immune–reproductive axis, rather than acting on isolated metabolic pathways. Prevotella , Butyrivibrio , Ruminococcus , and Fibrobacter recurrently emerged across studies to be associated with feed efficiency, immune modulation, resistome dynamics, and reproductive fitness. However, their relationship is context dependent and not causal. Furthermore, hepatic transcriptomic and microRNA (miRNA)-mediated regulatory networks could serve as a molecular bridge connecting ruminal fermentation events to systemic phenotypic outcomes. The ruminant resistome may also represent a potential interface with public health rather than an isolated ecological phenomenon, given the capacity for horizontal gene transfer through mobile genetic elements, although the extent of transmission to humans remains to be quantified. Early-life microbial programming and reproductive tract microbiome composition also represent tractable intervention windows for precision management. This integrated framework could reframe feed additive research from a single pathway to a systems-level perspective, offering a basis for precision ruminant production.
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BibTeX
@article{fijabi2026feed,
title = {{Feed additives as systems-level modulators of the ruminant host–microbiome interaction: a multi-omics perspective on efficiency, resistance, and reproduction}},
author = {Oluwatobi Fijabi and Olanrewaju B. Morenikeji and Shanna Lodge Ivey and Clint Loest and Modoluwamu Idowu and Ryan Ashley and Ibukun M. Ogunade and Godstime Taiwo},
journal = {Frontiers in Microbiology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fmicb.2026.1995937},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2026.1995937/full},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Feed additives as systems-level modulators of the ruminant host–microbiome interaction: a multi-omics perspective on efficiency, resistance, and reproduction
AU - Oluwatobi Fijabi
AU - Olanrewaju B. Morenikeji
AU - Shanna Lodge Ivey
AU - Clint Loest
AU - Modoluwamu Idowu
AU - Ryan Ashley
AU - Ibukun M. Ogunade
AU - Godstime Taiwo
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/26
JO - Frontiers in Microbiology
DO - 10.3389/fmicb.2026.1995937
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2026.1995937/full
AB - Ruminant livestock face converging pressures from climatic variation, antimicrobial agents, and the imperative for sustainable intensification. However, the molecular imprints through which nutritional interventions modulate host–microbiome interactions across physiological contexts remain fragmented across disciplinary themes. Here, we synthesize evidence from metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, metabolomics, and host transcriptomics to propose that feed additives operate as systems-level modulators of a functionally integrated rumen–liver–immune–reproductive axis, rather than acting on isolated metabolic pathways. Prevotella , Butyrivibrio , Ruminococcus , and Fibrobacter recurrently emerged across studies to be associated with feed efficiency, immune modulation, resistome dynamics, and reproductive fitness. However, their relationship is context dependent and not causal. Furthermore, hepatic transcriptomic and microRNA (miRNA)-mediated regulatory networks could serve as a molecular bridge connecting ruminal fermentation events to systemic phenotypic outcomes. The ruminant resistome may also represent a potential interface with public health rather than an isolated ecological phenomenon, given the capacity for horizontal gene transfer through mobile genetic elements, although the extent of transmission to humans remains to be quantified. Early-life microbial programming and reproductive tract microbiome composition also represent tractable intervention windows for precision management. This integrated framework could reframe feed additive research from a single pathway to a systems-level perspective, offering a basis for precision ruminant production.
SN - 1664-302X
ER -