Animal nutrition - ruminant digestion Flashcards
ruminal papillae absorb what volatile fatty acids?
acetic acid
propionic acid
butyric acid
characteristics of the reticulum (4)
2nd compartment
has a honey comb structure
separates feed particles and is involved in rumination
sharp foreign bodies collect here (hardware disease)
characteristics of omasum (4)
3rd compartment
muscular omasal “leaves”
reduces the size of particles
primarily absorption of water
(+Mg and VFAs that have surpassed the rumen)
abomasum pH & function (4)
Reduces chyme pH 6.0 → 2.0
– denatures proteins
– kills bacteria and pathogens
– dissolves minerals
– pepsin (chymosin, lipase to smaller extents)
describe Calf milk digestion shortly
Milk is transported via the oesophageal groove directly to the omasum and abomasum.
In the abomasum the milk coagulates by the action of chymosin, and is digested by cathepsin (same as monogastric animals).
microflora develops in calves at
at six months of age
In calves the rumen and reticulum develop after they start to eat solid feed, like starter and hay.
Saliva amount on average for a dairy cow and for sheep
– dairy cow 80-100 l/day
– sheep 10 l/day
Rumen pH?
And temp?
between (5.5) 6.0-7.0 (7.5)
– because of the large amount of saliva, which contains NaH2CO3 (sodium bicarbonate or soda)
– … temperature is 38-42°C
“The normal pH of grass-fed ruminants is 6-7. A pH value of 5.5-6 is seen in cattle on high-grain diets or pasture-fed cattle with early lactic acidosis. pH values less than 5.5 are virtually pathognomonic for lactic acidosis”
The rumen contains three fractions
– gases (top)
– solid fraction (mat) in the middle
– liquid fraction, in the bottom
fractionation takes place, despite the fact that there is a constant mechanical mixing of the rumen contents
rumen-reticulum contracts how much/how often
1.6 to 1.7 times per minute
rumination ? h per day
rumination 10…12 h per day
Ruminal microflora consists of what (3-6)
bacteria, protozoa, fungi,
but also archaea, bacteriophages and yeasts
describe Ruminal Bacteria (5)
– more than 200 species + several sub-species
– 99.5% anaerobes
– the species composition depends on the feed ration
– hydrolyses the dead protozoans
– concentration is 10^9…10^10 cells in 1 ml, i.e. 50…60 (90)% of the total weight of the rumen is microbial
Cellulolytic bacteria break down
cellulose into cellubiose (acetic acid)
Hemicellulose and pectin into oligosaccharides by the same, appropriate degrading bacteria.
Amylolytic bacteria break down starch into?
into maltose and dextrins (propionic acid)
Reminder:
Starch is a polysaccharide which smallest units are glucose.
Maltose is a disaccharide which consists of two glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds.
Dextrins are mixtures of polymers of D-glucose units linked by α-1,4 or α-1,6 glycosidic bonds.
Starch normally contains about 20–30% amylose and 70–80% amylopectin.
Amylose is a polysaccharide made of α-D-glucose units, bonded to each other through α glycosidic bonds.
Amylopectin is a water-insoluble polysaccharide and highly branched polymer of α-glucose units found in plants.
Saccharolytic bacteria convert what into what
mono-, di- and oligosaccharides (sugars) into VFAs (butyric acid)
Lactate-utilising bacteria convert
lactic acid into propionic acid
acetic acid is produced from/by what in the rumen?
Cellulolytic bacteria break cellulose into cellubiose finally producing acetic acid.
The primary product of rumen fermentation is acetic acid.
Cellobiose consists of two molecules of glucose that are linked by a β–(1,4′) glycosidic bond. Cellobiose thus differs from maltose by its configuration at the glycosidic bond.
propionic acid is produced from/by what in the rumen?
Amylolytic bacteria break down starch into maltose and dextrins finally producing propionic acid.
butyric acid is produced from/by what in the rumen?
Saccharolytic bacteria convert mono-, di- and oligosaccharides (sugars) into voltaile fatty acids such as butyric acid.
optimal pH for cellulolytic bacteria
digest fibre at a pH of 6.0 - 6.5
optimal pH for amylolytic bacteria
digest starch at a pH of 5.5 - 6.0
they produce lactate which is utilized by lactic-acid-consuming bacteria which turn it into propionic acid
optimal pH for saccharolytic bacteria
digest sugars at a pH of 5.0 - 5.5
Lipolytic bacteria split
triglycerides into glycerol and fatty acids
Methanogenic bacteria produce what from what
methane from CO2 and hydrogen
Proteolytic and deaminating bacteria hydrolyse
proteins into amino acids and deaminates them into NH3 and carbon chains
hydrolysing bacteria convert urea and biuret into
NH3 and CO2
Biuret is the compound formed by the condensation of two molecules of urea.
“a condensation reaction is a type of chemical reaction in which two molecules are combined to form a single molecule, usually with the loss of a small molecule such as water. If water is lost, the reaction is also known as a dehydration synthesis.”
Ruminal protozoa
–… known > 100 species, 20 are present in any given animal
–… are large (20-200 microns) unicellular organisms
–… concentration is 10^5…10^6 cells in 1 ml
– abundance of protozoa depends on the ration (rumen pH) die in even slightly low pH
–… cannot live in the rumen without bacteria, but bacteria can live without protozoa
Ruminal fungi
– 12 species known
▪ incl. anaerobic yeasts
– their abundance is low
– feed on the cellulose, but also on starch and pectin
– produce extracellular proteases
▪ produce necessary ammonia for cellulolytic bacteria
– the end-products of fermentation are formate, acetate, succinate, lactate, ethanol, CO2, and H2
Ruminant ration consists largely of various carbohydrates (70…80% of energy) such as (4)
– cellulose
– hemicellulose
– STARCH
– water soluble carbohydrates -> SUGARS
▪ monosaccharides (glucose, fructose)
▪ disaccharides (sucrose, maltose, lactose)
▪ oligosaccharides (mainly fructans)
All carbohydrates with one exception are subject to
rumen microbial digestion
but not lignin (which is technically not a carb but is included in fiber group and lumped in with insolulble carbs)
cellulolytic bacteria and fungi attach to the
structural carbohydrates, and hydrolyse them
amylolytic and saccharolytic bacteria attach to
the soluble feed particles, and hydrolyse them
Breakdown of carbohydrates in the rumen can conditionally be divided into two stages:
– I stage: the breakdown of complex carbohydrates into simple sugars by microbial enzymes takes place in the ruminal environment
– II stage: the conversion of simple sugars into volatile fatty acids (VFAs) takes place during microbial intracellular metabolism
uronic acid
Uronic acid pathway is an alternative oxidative pathway for glucose metabolism. It catalyzes the conversion of glucose to glucuronic acid, ascorbic acid, and pentoses.
Uronic acids or alduronic acids are a class of sugar acids with both carbonyl and carboxylic acid functional groups. They are sugars in which the hydroxyl group furthest from the carbonyl group has been oxidized to a carboxylic acid.
xylose
is one of the most abundant carbohydrates on the earth, second only to glucose.
This abundant pentose sugar, along with arabinose, makes up a majority of the hemicellulose backbone as arabinoxylan in the cell walls of cereal grains fed to for exmaple, pigs
Xylose is classified as a monosaccharide of the aldopentose type, which means that it contains five carbon atoms and includes an aldehyde functional group. It is derived from hemicellulose, one of the main constituents of biomass.
cellobiose
Cellobiose consists of two molecules of glucose that are linked by a β–(1,4′) glycosidic bond. Cellobiose is a disaccharide. It is classified as a reducing sugar.
Cellulose is a non-reducing sugar whereas cellobiose is a reducing sugar. Cellulose is a polysaccharide whereas cellobiose is a disaccharide.
Isomaltose
Isomaltose is a disaccharide similar to maltose, but with a α-(1-6)-linkage instead of the α-(1-4)-linkage. Both of the sugars are dimers of glucose.
e.g. Pancreatic α-amylase digests saccharides, forming more maltose and isomaltose.
stage I of rumen digestion end-products
simple sugars are produced, mainly glucose, but also xylose, fructose etc.
Fate of simple sugars in the bacterial cell
(II stage, first part of two)
Sugars entering into the bacterial cell are subjected to glycolysis.