Using Ruminant Livestock as a Post-Secondary Model to Introduce Microbial Ecology and Systems Biology

Ruminant animals serve as an excellent platform for post-secondary biological science instructors to teach microbial ecology and systems biology. Instructors can extrapolate the dynamic interactions that microorganisms play in modifying the diet of a ruminant animal. This symbiosis can be used to teach how ruminants can thrive on low-quality feed yet produce high-quality substances such as meat and milk. Instructors can require students to create graphical models that represent these dynamics, through the lens of systems biology. Altogether, instructors should consider teaching microbiology in their introductory biological science courses through the lens of ruminant production; especially, since we live in a time when vast population interest revolves around the origins of our food.