Integrative Approaches to Rumen Microbiome Dynamics in Ruminants: Implications for Nutrition and Sustainability

The study of the rumen microbiome sits at the intersection of microbial ecology, animal nutrition, and sustainability science. The rumen hosts a highly complex and metabolically diverse microbial ecosystem that enables the conversion of fibrous plant biomass into nutrients usable by the ruminant host. At the same time, rumen microbial activity contributes to the production of methane, linking this ecosystem to broader environmental challenges. Despite decades of research, many of the functional interactions, ecological principles, and regulatory mechanisms governing rumen microbial communities remain insufficiently understood. Recent advances in high-throughput sequencing, cultivation, metabolomics, and computational modeling are enabling a more integrative view of rumen microbiology, connecting community structure and microbial function with host physiology and system-level outcomes. However, important knowledge gaps remain, including the influence of diet and host factors on microbial assembly and succession, the ecological roles of underexplored and uncultured taxa, and the mechanisms through which microbiome-directed interventions may alter ecosystem stability and function.This Research Topic aims to advance mechanistic understanding of rumen microbiome dynamics and their relevance to nutrition and sustainability in ruminants. By bringing together interdisciplinary contributions, it seeks to clarify how microbial communities mediate key processes such as fiber degradation, fermentation, nutrient utilization, and methanogenesis, and how these processes are shaped by dietary composition, microbial interventions, host factors, and environmental context. Particular interest will be given to studies that move beyond descriptive community profiling and provide functional, ecological, or systems-level insight into rumen microbial ecosystems. The broader aim is to provide a stronger microbiological basis for future microbiome-informed approaches to ruminant nutrition and sustainable livestock systems.This Research Topic welcomes studies on domestic and wild ruminants that address rumen microbial ecology and its links to nutrition, host function, and environmental outcomes. We welcome Original Research, Review, Mini-Review, Methods, Perspective, Hypothesis & Theory, and all other article types accepted by the journal addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:• Multi-omics approaches to rumen microbial community structure and function• Microbial metabolism, trophic interactions, and cross-feeding networks in the rumen• Host–microbiome interactions and host genetic influences on rumen microbial composition and activity• Early-life microbial assembly, succession, and long-term functional consequences• Effects of diet, feed additives, and plant-derived compounds on rumen microbial ecology and metabolism• Methanogenesis, hydrogen metabolism, and microbiome-based methane mitigation strategies• Links between rumen microbiota and feed efficiency, nitrogen utilization, and related system traits• Probiotic, prebiotic, and microbiome engineering approaches in ruminants• Underexplored microbial groups, including archaea, protozoa, anaerobic fungi, and the rumen virome• Comparative analyses across ruminant species, breeds, feeding systems, and production environments• Computational modeling, ecological theory, and systems biology approaches applied to rumen microbiomes• Translational and conceptual perspectives on microbiome-informed sustainability in ruminant systems Topic editors: JIANMIN CHAI, Phillip R. Myer, Emma Hernandez-Sanabria, Hao Lizhuang Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/81057/integrative-approaches-to-rumen-microbiome-dynamics-in-ruminants-implications-for-nutrition-and-sustainability