Linoleic acid enhances ruminal carbohydrate metabolism and biohydrogenation to promote rumen epithelial development in calvesDownload PDF Download PDF ArticleOpen accessPublished: 24 June 2026Chunli Hu1,Xuehu Ma1,Xixi Li1,Dezhi Wang2,Shengru Wu3,Jianan Dong1 &…Yanfen Ma1 npj Biofilms and Microbiomes (2026) Cite this article We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.SubjectsBiochemistryBiological techniquesBiotechnologyMicrobiologyPhysiologyAbstractUnlike mature ruminant, pre-weaned calves have limited ruminal biohydrogenation during early microbial establishment. Since linoleic acid (LA) is known to promote calf growth, elucidating whether dietary LA supplementation during this plastic phase can actively shape rumen biohydrogenation function, restructure the microbiota, and drive epithelial development represents a pivotal unanswered question. This study determined the optimal dietary supplementation dose of LA and elucidated its regulatory effects on the rumen microbiota, metabolites and gene expression in preweaning calves. LA supplementation reshaped the rumen microbial community of calves and enhanced microbial carbohydrate metabolism by increasing the abundance of carbohydrate-active enzymes, thereby promoting acetate synthesis. Hydrogen generated during carbohydrate fermentation further facilitated LA biohydrogenation. The metabolites generated from this process activate the microbial phosphatidylcholine synthesis pathway in the rumen, increasing PC concentrations in both rumen fluid and tissue. CYP3A24 was identified as a core rumen gene involved in the PC-CYP3A24 regulatory axis. PC promoted bovine rumen epithelial cells (BRECs) proliferation, barrier function, antioxidant capacity and inflammation suppression, while CYP3A24 silencing diminishes these effects. In conclusion, optimal LA supplementation regulates rumen metabolism, enhances PC synthesis via functional microbiota, and activates the PC-CYP3A24 axis, thereby improving rumen development and calf growth performance.AcknowledgementsThis work was supported by the Ningxia Ruminant Nutrition Technology Innovation Team Project (No. 2024CXTD008, Yinchuan, China); Ningxia Key Research and Development Plan Projects (Nos. 2025BBF02008, 2023BCF01034, Yinchuan, China).Author informationAuthors and AffiliationsCollege of Animal Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Precision Breeding and Nutritional Regulation for Advantageous Characteristic Livestock and Poultry in Ningxia, Ningxia University, Yinchuan, ChinaChunli Hu, Xuehu Ma, Xixi Li, Jianan Dong & Yanfen MaNingxia Borui Technology Co., Ltd, Yinchuan, ChinaDezhi WangCollege of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, ChinaShengru WuAuthorsChunli HuView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarXuehu MaView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarXixi LiView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarDezhi WangView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarShengru WuView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarJianan DongView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarYanfen MaView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarCorresponding authorsCorrespondence to Shengru Wu, Jianan Dong or Yanfen Ma.Ethics declarationsCompeting interestsThe authors declare no competing interests.Additional informationPublisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.Supplementary informationSupplementary information. (download PDF )Rights and permissionsOpen Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.Reprints and permissionsAbout this article