What question did this study set out to answer?

This study aims to investigate how grazing toxic tall fescue affects the microbiome of beef steers.

August 13, 2026AnimalsOpen Access

Microbiome Responses of Beef Steers to Rotational Grazing of Toxic Endophyte-Infected Tall Fescue Under Fall Conditions

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Randomized trial investigates grazing toxic fescue's impact on rumen microbiome, suggesting low-abundance taxa enrich under dietary stress.

This study aims to investigate how grazing toxic tall fescue affects the microbiome of beef steers.
Rumen and fecal samples collected from steers grazing toxic (E+) or non-toxic fescue for 14 days.
Microbial communities characterized using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing targeting bacterial and archaeal regions.
Comparison of alpha and beta diversity between different grazing treatments.
Short-term exposure to E+ fescue did not affect alpha diversity but showed significant beta diversity changes (rumen: R2 < 0.07; feces: R2 < 0.06).
Low-abundance taxa were enriched in the rumen with notable shifts in microbial composition, including increases in methylotrophic methanogens.
Core rumen and fecal microbiomes had comparable relative abundance in steers previously exposed and unexposed to E+ fescue.

Llada et al. (2026) studied this question.

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Randomized trial investigates grazing toxic fescue's impact on rumen microbiome, suggesting low-abundance taxa enrich under dietary stress.