Relation of rumen ATP concentration to bacterial and protozoal numbers

Gastrointestinal implications in pigs of wheat and oat fractions. 2. Microbial activity in the gastrointestinal tract

The present work was undertaken to study the microbial activity in various segments of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract of pigs as influenced by the source and level of wheat and oat dietary fibre (DF). Eight experimental diets were prepared from wheat and oat fractions and studied in a series of two experiments using wheat flour as the DF-depleted control. The diets in Expt 1 were based on wheat flour and three iso-DF enriched diets comprising fractions rich in wheat aleurone, pericarp/testa or bran. In Expt 2, oat bran was added to wheat flour to achieve the same DF intake level as in Expt 1. This series included further diets based on rolled oats and rolled oats plus oat bran. The eight diets were given to thirty-two ileal-cannulated pigs, with sixteen pigs in each experiment. After a total period of 34 d (Expt 1) and 42 d (Expt 2), the pigs were slaughtered 4 h post-feeding and samples taken for adenine nucleotides (adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP); adenylate energy charge (AEC)), organic acids (lactic acid (LA); short chain fatty acids (SCFA)) and pH at twelve sites of the GI tract. The microbial activity as measured by the ATP concentration was low in the stomach and the cranial two-thirds of the small intestine, but tended to increase in the distal third. In the caecum a sharp rise in microbial activity was observed; the highest level was found for the diet providing most fermentable substrates. In all the diets but the rolled oats + oat bran diets, microbial activity showed a descending pattern as the digesta moved through the colon. In the large intestine source and level of residues had a marked influence on microbial activity. LA was the chief organic acid in the stomach and small intestine (10-40 mmol/l) while LA relative to SCFA was a minor component in the caecum and colon (10-20 mmol/l). The contribution of SCFA to total organic acids was reciprocal to LA, i.e. low in the stomach and small intestine (less than 20 mmol/l) and high in the caecum and colon. In the large intestine the concentration of SCFA decreased from 100-140 mmol/l in the caecum and proximal colon to 40-80 mmol/l in the distal colon. The acetic: propionic acid ratio increased from the caecum to the distal colon. With the diets based on oat alone (rolled oats; rolled oats + oat bran) the increase was less significant.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Effect of different levels of phosphorus on rumen microbial fermentation and synthesis determined using a continuous culture technique

A continuous culture technique was used to study the phosphorus requirements of rumen micro-organisms. Solutions of artificial saliva containing 120, 80, 40 and 0 mg inorganic phosphorus (Pi)/l were infused into the reaction vessels previously inoculated with rumen contents, resulting in Pi concentrations in the vessel contents of 48, 28, 4 and less than 1 mg/l respectively. Various fermentative and synthetic characteristics were examined. In the vessel contents, concentrations of protozoa (about 0.9 X 10(5)/ml) were not significantly affected by Pi concentration. Total volatile fatty acids (VFA) produced averaged about 6.83 mmol/h with Pi levels of 48 and 28 mg/l. Reduction in Pi concentrations to 4 and less than 1 mg/l resulted in significant reductions in total VFA to approximately 6.25 and 3.75 mmol/h respectively, accompanied by a rise in pH from 6.5 to 7.3. Ammonia-nitrogen values, which averaged about 131 mg/l at the higher Pi concentrations, also increased with the lowest level of Pi to about 240 mg/l. ATP concentrations averaged about 14 mumol/l at the highest Pi concentration and fell progressively with each reduction in Pi concentration to a final value of 2.5 mumol/l with the Pi level less than 1 mg/l. At Pi concentrations of 48 and 28 mg/l, the digestibilities of xylose, arabinose and cellulose-glucose were maintained at about 0.90, 0.62 and 0.70 g/g input respectively. At lower Pi concentrations these digestibilities fell significantly and corresponding values at Pi less than 1 mg/l were 0.73, 0.41 and 0.31 respectively. Starch digestion was unaffected by Pi concentration and remained at about 0.90 g/g input. The amount of microbial-N synthesized averaged 0.48 g/d and was maintained with Pi concentrations down to 4 mg/l. There was, however, a significant reduction to 0.26 g/d with Pi concentrations of less than 1 mg/l. The efficiency of microbial protein synthesis was variable but averaged approximately 25 g N/kg total carbohydrate fermented. It was estimated that the minimum Pi concentrations required in rumen fluid in vivo to maintain maximum degradative and synthetic microbial activities was in the range 75-100 mg/l and that over-all P requirement of the microbes was of the order of 5.1 g/kg apparently digested organic matter intake.