Effects of replacing soybean meal with cottonseed meal in amino acid balanced diets on growth performance, apparent digestibility, ruminal fermentation, and microbial diversity in fattening Dorper × Hu crossbred sheep

作者：Y.-R. Yue, Jianwei Lin, Lv Gang, Baocang Liu, Xiaoyu Deng, Yunjie Li, Xiaobin Li, Kaixu Chen · 发表于：Frontiers in Veterinary Science · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.3389/fvets.2025.1681407 · 被引用次数：3 · 研究领域：Ruminant Nutrition and Digestive Physiology、Research in Cotton Cultivation、Fatty Acid Research and Health

Amino acid balanced cottonseed meal can effectively replace soybean meal in sheep diets, improving energy utilization without harming growth or health. This study aimed to investigate the effects of replacing soybean meal with cottonseed meal under amino acid balance on growth performance, blood biochemical indices, apparent digestibility, antioxidant function, and ruminal microbial diversity in fattening Dorper × Hu crossbred sheep. A total of 112 healthy 90-day-old Dorper × Hu crossbred rams with similar body weights were randomly divided into 4 groups with 28 sheep each, for a 63-day trial. The control group (CON) was fed a corn-soybean meal diet; T1 group replaced 50% soybean meal with cottonseed meal and balanced lysine and methionine; T2 group replaced 100% soybean meal with cottonseed meal and balanced lysine and methionine; T3 group replaced 100% soybean meal with degossypolized cottonseed meal and balanced lysine and methionine. Results showed no significant differences among groups in average daily gain, average daily dry matter intake, feed conversion ratio, blood biochemical indices, antioxidant indices, and ruminal microbial α and β diversity ( p > 0.05). Cottonseed meal replacement significantly affected apparent digestibility, with T2 group exhibiting the highest digestibility of crude protein, crude fat, neutral detergent fiber, and acid detergent fiber ( p < 0.05). Ruminal propionic acid concentration was significantly higher in replacement grou...