Unravelling the effect of moringa supplemented diet on goat gastrointestinal microbiota and metabolic potential

Goat is an important livestock species that contribute significantly to global food supply by converting complex plant biomass into animal protein, depending on the gut commensal microbiota for digestion of complex plant biomass. Gastrointestinal tract (GIT) microbiome manipulation using natural plant-based feed supplement is one of the promising strategies for improving livestock performance and mitigating enteric biogases. Moringa oleifera improves animal performance, yet its effects on microbiota structure and functional remodelling across GIT remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated the impact of moringa supplementation on microbiota structure and functional remodelling across the gut in goats. We show that moringa induces microbiota restructuring associated with metabolic output in terms of body weight gain in goat. The forestomach (FS) and large intestine (LI) showed specific enrichment of efficient fibre utilizing and fermentative microbial community, particularly Ruminococcus flavefaciens, Sodaliphilus sp., Prevotella sp., Treponema bryantii, Faecousia sp., and Phocaeicola sp., whereas small intestine exhibited greater abundance of lactate producing microbes such as Rombustia hominis. These spatial patterns reflect alternative metabolic pathways across the GIT driven by nutrient availability. Moringa supplementation selectively enriched microbial genes involved in the metabolic cascades such as production of butyrate and propionate via succinate pathway in FS, while reductive acetogenesis via Wood-Ljungdahl pathway in LI. Decreased abundance of Entodinium and increased abundance of Prevotella were observed in moringa supplemented diet. Our findings provide mechanistic insight into how diet modulates gut microbial ecosystems, demonstrating that a plant-based feed supplement intervention can restructure microbial composition and functional potential along the GIT.