Rewilding gut microbiomes of livestock: Evidence, approaches, and prospects for sustainable animal husbandry

Abstract

Domestication and industrial breeding have delivered major productivity gains but cost livestock a significant portion of their ancestral gut microbiota. This depletion is linked to reduced digestive efficiency, weaker disease resistance, and compromised metabolic health. A parallel insight from crop science—that “rewilding” microbiomes with ancestral resources restores stress tolerance and yield—now raises a corresponding possibility for animal agriculture. Here we review gut microbiota rewilding in livestock. We synthesize cross-species evidence of domestication-associated microbial loss and its functional consequences, then examine two complementary pathways: naturally occurring rewilding (the yak–pika system) and technologically mediated rewilding (fecal microbiota transplantation, synthetic communities, encapsulation, host gene editing). We analyze ecological and biosafety risks, discuss mitigation strategies, and propose four research directions—cross-species microbial integration, climate-adapted synthetic communities, nature-based solutions, and spatiotemporal host–microbe mapping—to move rewilding from concept toward safe, scalable application. Substantial research is still required to validate efficacy across species and production systems. If risks are rigorously managed, gut microbiota rewilding offers an evolution-informed path with the potential to support more sustainable animal production.