A study was conducted on growing sheep to investigate the effect of two selected levels of biowaste of Padina gymnospora on feed intake, digestibility, daily enteric methane (CH₄) emission, growth performance, and rumen metagenome. We randomly divided the 18 growing male sheep into three groups of six animals each. The animals were fed on a basal diet comprising finger millet straw (Eleusine coracana) and a concentrate mixture in a 35:65 ratio. The sheep in the control group (C) were offered a concentrate mixture without waste, whereas the wheat bran in the concentrate mixture in test group I (A₂) and test group II (A₅) was replaced (w/w) with the biowaste of Padina gymnospora at a level of 3.07 and 7.69%, respectively. The biowaste of Padina gymnospora at the above levels in concentrate constituted 2 and 5% of the diet. A significant decrease of 28.4% in daily enteric CH₄ emission (g/d) was reported in the A₅ group, whereas the difference in daily enteric CH₄ emission between the C and A₂ & A₂ and A₅ groups did not prove significant. The inclusion of Padina gymnospora biowaste did not affect the nutrient intake and digestibility among the groups. The inclusion of Padina gymnospora biowaste in the A₅ group resulted in a significant reduction (p = 0.0012) in daily CH₄ emissions compared with group C; however, no significant differences were observed in daily CH₄ emissions between groups C–A₂ (p = 0.0793) and A₂–A₅ (p = 0.3269). Likewise, the adjustment of data to CH₄ emissions per 100 g of organic matter intake indicated a substantial decrease in the A₅ group relative to C. The energy loss in CH₄ as a percentage of GE relative to group C decreased significantly (−23.4%) in the A₅ group; however, this reduction was not associated with an increase in productivity, as almost similar average daily gain (p = 0.827) was observed in the groups. The replacement of wheat bran with the biowaste of Padina gymnospora significantly decreased the numbers of total protozoa and holotrichs in the A₅ group. Irrespective of the group, the Bacteroidota was the single largest phylum in the rumen metagenome, representing >60% of the microbiota. However, the abundance of Bacteroidota was similar among the groups. The methanogenic phyla Euryarchaeota was the 5th most abundant; however, it constituted only 3.14% of the metagenome. The abundance of Desulfovibrio was significantly higher in the A₅ group as compared with the control. In conclusion, the significant increase in the abundance of sulfate-reducing bacteria and reduction in protozoal numbers led to a significant reduction in CH₄ emissions with the incorporation of biowaste of Padina gymnospora at a 5% level of the diet.

Background: Mastitis is a major hindrance for cattle owners. It results in expensive antibiotic treatment, restriction on sale of milk, time loss for convalescence. Also, antibtioic resistance poses a difficulty in effective cure of mastitis. Considering the impact of mastitis on the animal health as well as owner, it is vital to perform antibiotic culture and sensitivity test (ABST) for determining the drug of choice and administering the same for faster and better recovery. Method: In the time duration of 2 years, from April ’22 till March ’24, a total of 78 samples of mastitis milk of cattle were received for antibiotic sensitivity testing. These were processed by Kirby – Bauer disc diffusion method. A total of 12 antibiotics were used and zone of inhibition was used to grade the reactions as intermediate, sensitive and resistant. Result: The maximum sensitivity was seen towards amoxicillin clavulanate (35.9%) while maximum resistance was seen towards penicillin (71.8%). Thus, it is advisable to perform ABST of the milk sample at early stage of suspected mastitis cases to determine drug of choice. This can help to reduce development antimicrobial resistance, drug residues and can benefit one health programme at large.