Furthermore, our data show that des

Furthermore, our data show that despite 8 wk of forage feeding, which is thought to be a sufficient amount of time for rumen adaptation to diet (Bevans et al.., 2005), alterations in the gene expression profiles compared with baseline could still be seen. It is important to note that the relative expression of mRNA is used to indicate the molecular response of the host to dietary changes but does not necessarily reflect the amount of functional protein present in the cell (Steele et al., 2012). Therefore, further study is required to elucidate the role of the functional protein and molecular gene adaptation of the rumen epithelium with relation to increased SCFA.