Figure 2

Descriptive analyses of the rumen microbiome composition at the phylum (A) and genus (B) taxonomy levels in high-producing Holstein cows. Rumen sampling was performed using an oro-esophageal tubing procedure to compare microbiome differences with samples collected from the rumen cannula. The latter was represented as a whole (fluid and particulate) and with the two fractions separated. Data show that the 16S rRNA sequencing technique has large variation independently of the sampling method, suggesting this issue may be mitigated through oro-esophageal sampling that allows a considerable increase in experimental units for a more consistent representation of the overall microbial population.