A series of grazing experiments were conducted in the summer/autumn of 2003 and 2004 at Massey University's Riverside dryland farm near Masterton in Wairarapa on the East Coast of NZ, to study the effects of grazing willow fodder blocks (6,000 stems/ha) upon the production and reproductive performance of ewes relative to ewes grazing drought pastures. Drought pastures were simulated in this study and included short drought pasture and long drought pasture. Pasture with a low pre-grazing mass of approximately 1500 kg OM/ha, a dead matter content of >50 % and a sward height of 5-7 cm was defined as short drought pasture typical of drought conditions. Long drought pasture was similar to pasture growing in the willow fodder blocks, with a pre-grazing pasture mass of >4000 kg OM/ha, a sward height of > 30cm and a dead matter content of 30-60 % . Willow fodder blocks were established on low-lying wet, marshy areas of the farm that had very low or zero productivity in the undeveloped state. Pasture development in the fodder blocks was noticed with the growth of unsown grasses and legumes, as the areas dried up following the planting of willow stakes, due to evapotranspiration from the trees. Forage in the willow fodder blocks included both trees and pasture that was grown under the trees. The nutritive value of short drought pasture was low with an ME of 8 MJ/kg O M ; long drought pasture ranged between 8- 1 0 MJ ME/kg DM; willow pasture contained 8 MJ M Elkg DM in 2003 and 1 0 MJ ME/kg OM in 2004. The nutritive value of edible willow tree (<5 mm diameter) was superior to drought pasture with an ME of > 10 MJ/kg OM. The concentrations of the secondary compounds such as condensed tannins (CT ; 30- 40 glkg OM) and phenolicglycosides ( PG ; 1 5-35 g/kg DM) were higher in willow trees compared to their concentrations (CT ; 2-3 g/kg DM) and (PG; 2-9 g/kg OM) in control drought pastures. Experiments involving short drought pasture, long drought pasture and willow fodder blocks as treatment groups were grazed by ewes for 10 weeks in regular breaks from mid February to early May. Ewes were mated during this period and were joined together after mating and grazed on normal pasture until weaning. Live weight (LW) change and body condition score (BCS) were recorded throughout the experiments, whilst reproductive performance of ewes was measured as the number of lambs recorded at ultrasound pregnancy scanning, lambing, docking and weaning. Measurements on wool production were also recorded at weaning. In 2003, experimental ewes grazed control drought pastures (short and long) and willow fodder blocks (restricted and full access) as treatment groups (n= 1 00 ewes/group; Chapter 2). Ewes grazing short drought pasture had an allowance of 0.8 k g DM/ewe/d whilst ewes with restricted access had an allowance of 0.8 kg DM/ewe/d from drought pasture and 0 .4 kg OM/ewe/d from willow fodder blocks. Ewes in full access treatment group had no access to pasture but were confined to willow fodder blocks at an allowance of 2.0 kg OM/ewe/d, which was the same allowance given to long drought pasture ewes. Ewes grazing short drought pasture lost weight at approximately 1 00g/d and recorded a low reproductive rate (90 lambs weaned/100 ewes mated) with a high proportion of single lamb births. Live weight loss was significantly reduced to 40 g/d in ewes grazing willow fodder blocks (full access) with a 20% units increase in reproductive rate due to more multiple births (P <0. 05). Ewes grazing long drought pasture performed intermediate to ewes with full access to fodder blocks and ewes grazing short drought pasture, whilst ewes with restricted access performed similar to ewes grazing short drought pasture. In 2004 (Chapter 3), the restricted access to willow fodder blocks treatment was eliminated from the study and the number of ewes was increased to 165 ewes per treatment group. Performance of ewes grazing short drought pasture was similar to that of ewes grazing short drought pasture in 2003 , with ewes loosing live weight (40g/d) and a low reproductive rate (90 lambs weaned/l00 ewes mated) whilst ewes grazing long drought pasture gained L W (54 g/d) and had a higher reproductive rate (P<0.05). Ewes grazing willow fodder blocks performed better than ewes grazing short drought pasture by maintaining L W and their reproductive rate was intermediate to ewes grazing short and long drought pasture. In 2005, a short grazing trial with rumen fistulated sheep was conducted to study the effect of supplementing willow to ewes grazing drought pastures upon plasma amino acid concentrations (Chapter 4) and upon the microbiology of the rumen (Chapter 5 and 6). Grazing occurred during summer/autumn for 10 weeks with two treatment groups; control (short drought pasture; n=7) at an allowance of 0.8 kg DM/ewe/d and ewes grazing short drought pasture at 0.8 kg DM/ewe/d plus a supplement of fresh willow at 1.4 kg fresh willow/ewe/d (n=7) . Blood samples for the quantification of plasma amino acids were collected at week 5 and 10, with L W and BCS measured at fortnightly intervals. Short drought pasture in this experiment had a low pasture mass (2000 k g DM/ha) and a low nutritive value (8 MJ/kg DM), whilst willow had a higher M E of 10 MJ/kg OM. Both groups of ewes lost live weight at the rate of 50 g/d. Plasma concentration of 3 methylhistidine (3-MTH; 88 vs 127μ mole/L) at week 5 and non essential amino acids (NEAA; 1082 vs 1417μ mo1e/L) at week 5 and ( 1155 vs 1324 μ mole/L) at week 10, were substantially lower (P<0 .05) in w illow supplemented ewes than control ewes. It was concluded that the increased reproductive rate from willow supplementation in ewes grazing drought pasture might be partly explained by reduced body protein catabolism, besides also increasing plasma branched chain amino acids CBCAA) and essential amino acids (EAA) concentrations. To investigate the effects of willow supplementation on rumen microbes, rumen samples were collected during the 2005 experiment with fistulated ewes over a 10 week period. The study involved the use of a molecular technique ( Chapter 5), denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), to compare the rumen microbial populations between the control and supplemented ewes and a cultivation technique (Chapter 6) to study the effect on rumen bacteria of ewes grazing drought pastures with and with out willow supplementation. DGGE analysis of the V3 region of 16S ribosomal RNA genes in DNA extracted from samples of rumen contents taken fortnightly over a 10 week feeding period showed a distinct difference in banding patterns between treatment groups which progressively developed over time, showing rumen microbial adaptation to willow supplementation. However, phylogenetic analysis of the DNA sequences retrieved from the DGGE bands from willow-supplemented and control ewes did not cluster by treatment group. It was deduced that willow supplementation induced a change in rumen bacterial populations through selecting sub-populations of organisms already present in the rumen. The changes in the rumen bacterial populations is attributed to the ability of these bacteria to metabolise secondary compounds in willow such as phenolicglycosides and flavanoid monomers and their ability to resist the inhibitory effects of condensed tannins. The cultivation study involved enumeration, isolation and purification of bacterial colonies on Complete Carbohydrate, Salicin, Xylan, Cellulose and Willow media followed by full characterisation of a representative set of pure bacterial cultures. Total bacterial counts on the above media at week 5 and week 10 were generally lower in willow-supplemented ewes compared to control ewes and the 16S rRNA gene sequences of the majority of iso lates characterised from both Salicin and Xylan media, were most closely related to species from the Pseudobutyrivibrio genus. Isolates from Willow medium clustered as two distinct groups. One group (mostly isolated from control ewes) was made up of mainly of organisms not usually associated with the rumen and probably represent non-resident organisms that are passing through the rumen. The other group of bacteria were mainly retrieved from willow-supplemented ewes and were most closely related to species of the Ofsenella genus. Compared to bacteria isolated on Salicin and Xylan media, isolates on Willow medium showed little ability to ferment various carbohydrates or trypticase (hydrolysed protein) but were able to utilise secondary compounds from willow. It was concluded that willow fodder blocks are useful sources of supplementary fodder for mating ewes during drought situations. Both the field and m icrobiological studies showed adaptation to the willow supplementary diet, including the detection of Olsenelfa-like bacteria for the first time in the rumen. It is suggested that the principal purpose of the rumen investigation is the degradation of secondary compounds present in willow.

Diss. (sammanfattning). Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., 2003. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet, 2004. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning). Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., 2003. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet, 2006. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Thesis (M. Sc.(Agric.))( Animal Science)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-03T11:52:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2014-02-07Bitstream added on 2015-03-03T12:07:10Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 000807003.pdf: 1969028 bytes, checksum: ffdf99374d166fada9ca950a025cb45d (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O Brasil lidera o ranking de maior exportador de carne bovina no mundo desde 2008. Garantir a segurança microbiológica desses alimentos tem sido um dos principais focos da indústria processadora de carnes. A aplicação de análises nas diversas etapas do processo industrial tem sido vital para implantar e manter programas de autocontrole como o APPCC. Entre as enfermidades mais frequentes causadas pela ingestão de alimentos contaminados, especialmente os de origem animal, destacam-se as salmoneloses, sendo que sua transmissão se dá primariamente pela via fecal oral. Diante disso, esse trabalho teve como objetivo pesquisar a presença de Salmonella spp. em amostras de conteúdo ruminal coletadas durante o abate de bovinos em uma planta frigorífica localizada na região metropolitana de Curitiba - PR. Duzentos e dois animais distribuídos em oito lotes foram avaliados entre os meses de agosto a dezembro de 2013. Ao final do experimento, 37,5% dos lotes mostraram-se positivos para o agente sendo que 2,97% (6/202) das amostras de conteúdo ruminal isolaram o micro-organismo. A totalidade dos animais positivos recebia como alimento apenas pasto de azevém e aveia. Não foi observada a influência de fatores como o estresse do transporte ou temperatura ambiental sobre o isolamento do patógeno. Entretanto a detecção do mesmo sorovar, Salmonella Schwarzengrund na totalidade dos isolamentos nos permite levantar a hipótese de que a contaminação dos animais tenha se dado na própria indústria, a partir das estruturas físicas, responsáveis por conter os bovinos ou conduzi-los ao box de insensibilização / Brazil leads the world ranking of bovine meat exportation since 2008. To ensure the microbiological safety of these food products has been one of the primary focuses of the meat processing industry. The application of analyses on diverse stages of the industrial process has been vital for deploy and keeping of self-control programs like APPCC. Beyond the most frequent diseases caused by the ingestion of contaminated food, specially animal origin ones, the salmonellosis stand out being transmitted primarily via fecal-oral route. In light of this, the work had the objective to research the presence of Salmonella spp. in rumen fluid samples collected during cattle slaughter at a slaughtering plant localized in Curitiba’s metropolitan area. Two hundred animals distributed over eight lots was evaluated between august and december, 2013. At the end of the experiment, 37.5% of the lots were positive for the agent of which 2.97% (6/202) of samples of rumen contents isolated the micro-organism.The total of the positive animals had been feed with ryegrass pastures and oat. Not the influence of factors like transportation stress or environment temperature over pathogen isolation was observed. However, the detection of the same serovar, Salmonella Schwarzengrund on overall insulation allow us to raise the hypothesis that all animal contamination have been given inside the industry itself, from the infrastructure responsible of holding the cattle or conducting it to the stunning box

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential 21 times that of carbon dioxide. Globally, ruminants are the main anthropogenic contributors to methane release to the atmosphere. Methane is produced in the gastrointestinal tract of ruminants, mostly within the rumen by methanogenic archaea. However, methane production represents a loss of 2 to 12% of dietary gross energy for the animal, which could otherwise be available for growth or milk production. Therefore, mitigation of methane production by ruminants could produce both economic and environmental benefits, with more sustainable and energy efficient livestock, and offering a promising way of slowing global warming. Despite extensive research undertaken to find ways of reducing methane emissions from ruminants, progress has been relatively limited. Furthermore, there is still a lack of studies linking rumen microbiology and ruminant nutrition and production. The central purpose of this research was to investigate feed additives to reduce methane emissions and to understand associated changes that occur in the rumen microbiota. For the first experiment (Chapter 2), biochar was evaluated as an antimethanogenic compound for beef cattle. The in vitro gas production technique was used to study the effects of biochar on rumen fermentation and methane production. Overall, methane production was reduced by 5% by the addition of biochar compounds (10 g/kg of substrate). The observed reduction in methane produced was not associated with a change in volatile fatty acid profile suggesting biochar primarily inhibited fermentation. Ammonia concentration was significantly reduced with biochar inclusion. Because different biochars had different effects on methane production, further investigation of relationships between the physicochemical properties of biochars and antimethanogenic effects are necessary. However, due to the small reduction in methane production recorded, research with biochar was discontinued. Encapsulated nitrate was then explored as an antimethanogenic additive and as an alternative non-protein nitrogen source to urea (Chapter 3). The effect of using encapsulated nitrate as a replacement for urea or dietary protein, plus the addition of inorganic sulphur, on enteric methane emissions, nutrient digestibility, nitrogen utilization and microbial protein synthesis from crossbred beef steers were studied. In addition, nitrate toxicity and eating behaviour were investigated. The inclusion of encapsulated nitrate reduced methane production compared to urea and a true protein source, with no adverse effects on rumen fermentation or nitrogen metabolism and no effects with the inclusion of elemental sulphur. The level of addition of encapsulated nitrate (14.3 g nitrate /kg DM) and the time of adaptation chosen for this study (14 days) were adequate to avoid nitrate toxicity. Finally, the effects of adding nitrate inclusion to different basal diets on rumen microbial populations and relationships of these populations with methane production were investigated (Chapter 4). The V4 hypervariable regions of the bacterial and archaea 16S rRNA genes were amplified and sequenced. Effects on microbial population induced by nitrate were dependant on the basal diet but nitrate altered specific archaeal and bacterial OTUs consistently between studies. A direct and strong correlation between some archaea taxonomic groups and OTUs with methane production was observed.

Orientador: Jane Maria Bertocco Ezequiel / Banca: Ivanete Susin / Banca: Edson Ramos de Siqueira / Banca: Mauro Dal Secco de Oliveira / Banca: Alexandre Amstalden Moraes Sampaio / Resumo: Os objetivos deste trabalho foram verificar os efeitos das relações amido:fibra solúvel em detergente neutro (FSDN) das dietas sobre os parâmetros ruminais, digestivos e de desempenho de ovinos Dorper x Santa Inês. As dietas foram caracterizadas pelas altas concentrações de amido (25%MS) ou de FSDN (25%MS) ou concentrações equivalentes destes nutrientes (18%amido+18%fibra solúvel na MS). No primeiro experimento foram utilizados seis borregos canulados ruminalmente, distribuídos em delineamento quadrado latino duplo (3 dietas x 3 períodos) para avaliação ruminal da concentração de amônia, pH e qualificação de massa microbiana. O segundo experimento avaliou o consumo, a digestibilidade total da matéria seca e dos nutrientes e os balanços de nitrogênio e energia das dietas experimentais, utilizando 15 borregos distribuídos em delineamento inteiramente casualizado. No terceiro experimento realizou-se um confinamento utilizando 24 borregos não castrados distribuídos em delineamento em blocos completos casualizados. Após 74 dias de confinamento os animais foram avaliados quanto ao ganho em peso, consumo, conversão e eficiência alimentar. Posteriormente foram abatidos e avaliados quanto ao peso de abate, características de carcaças e composição química do músculo Longissimus. Os valores de pH (6,29) não diferiam (P>0,05) entre as dietas enquanto que a maior concentração de amônia foi encontrada para a dieta com 25% de FSDN. Aproximadamente 60% dos microrganismos ruminais estavam associados a fase líquida, contudo as dietas não interferiram (P>0,05) na população microbiana ruminal. Elevados coeficientes de digestibilidade foram observados, independentementemente do tipo de carboidrato solúvel utilizado em maior proporção. O consumo de matéria seca foi menor para a dieta FSDN (1,075 kg) quanto comparado às demais dietas, afetando a maioria das variáveis ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of dietary starch:neutral detergent soluble fiber (NDSF) relation on ruminal, digestibility and performance of Dorper x Santa Inês ram lambs. The diets were characterized by high concentrations of starch (25% DM) or NDSF (25% DM) or equivalent concentrations of these nutrients (18% starch +18% soluble fiber at MS). In the first experiment six lambs with ruminal cannula were used, distributed in Latin square design (3 diets x 3 periods) to assess ruminal ammonia concentration, pH and classification of microbes. The second experiment assessed intake, total digestibility of dry matter and nutrients and nitrogen balance and energy of diets, using 15 lambs distributed in a completely randomized design. In the third experiment ram lambs were distributed in a complete randomized block design. After 74 days of confinement all animals were evaluated weight gain, intake, feed conversion and efficience. Later were slaughter and evaluated by slaughter weight, carcass characteristics and Longissimus chemical composition. Average pH (6.29) did not differ (P>0.05) amoung diets while the highest concentration of ammonia was found for the diet with 25% of NDSF. Approximately 60% of ruminal microorganisms were associated with the liquid phase, however the diets did not affect (P>0.05) ruminal microbial populations. High digestibility coefficients were observed, regardless of the type of soluble carbohydrate used. Dry matter intake was lower (P<0.05) for NDSF (1.075 kg) compared to the other diets, affecting most of the performance variables. It is recommended the use of diets with 18% starch and 18% of fsdn to sheep fed high proportions of concentrate / Doutor

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No. of bitstreams: 1 MariaVFGM_TESE.pdf: 2255574 bytes, checksum: d3cf0b423233b9046e82012595a64ce4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-08-21 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of whey powder associated with powdered milk as a substitute for whole milk without breastfeeding until 60 days of age on the development of pre-stomachs, growth and proliferation rate Cellular of the ruminal papillae, as well as an influence of the diets on as chymosin and pepsinogen producing cells of the calf abomasum through the immunohistochemical technique. To that end, 24 crossbred calves with one week of life were distributed in a completely randomized design with four treatments and six replicates: LI: whole milk (Control); LP: milk powder; LPS1: 80% milk powder + 20% whey powder; LPS2: 60% milk powder + 40% whey powder cheese. For the methods of dry matter (DM) consumption, measurements of hay consumption and concentrate are made by the supply / surplus method. The animals were slaughtered at 60 days of age. The cavity organs were weighed with contents, and soon thereafter emptied and newer, registering, full and empty weights, respectively. The weight of the stomach and its compartments were determined with absolute values (kg) and relative (%) as a function of the empty body weight (%PCVZ) and as a function of the weight of the whole stomach (%PE). Fragments of approximately one square centimeter (1cm2) of tissues were collected from 4 regions of the world: rumen atrium, dorsal sac, caudate-dorsal blind sac and ventral sac from where they are measured as heights of ruminal papillae. Proliferative activity was evaluated in tissue samples collected by counting Argirophilic Nucléole Organisms (AgNOR). Tissue samples of 1 cm2 of the abomasum were collected for immunohistochemistry. There was no difference for dry matter intake (P> 0.05). As averages obtained for absolute and relative weights as a function of the empty body weight of the digital compartments did not present significant residues (P> 0.05) between the treatments. Regarding the development of non-rumen papillae There were significant (P <0.05) for a height variable in the ventral sac, where animals receiving whole milk had higher averages. There were no significant differences (P> 0.05) for the rate of cell proliferation in ruminal papillae. The percentage of acini with immunoreactive cells to the chymosin and pepsinogen antibodies presented a statistical difference (P <0.05), where the calves that received a 100% whole milk diet presented a mean percentage of marking for upper chymosin (95.11%), Animals that consumed 60% milk powder + 40% whey powder (89.59%) / Objetivou-se avaliar o desenvolvimento dos pré-estômagos, o crescimento e a taxa de proliferação celular das papilas ruminais, em bezerros aleitados com sucedâneos (leite em pó e soro de queijo em pó) durante os 60 primeiros dias de vida. Verificar se a dieta pode influenciar as células produtoras de quimosina e pepsinogênio. Para isso, 24 bezerros mestiços com uma semana de vida foram distribuídos em um delineamento inteiramente casualizado com 4 (quatro) tratamentos e 6 (seis) repetições: LI: leite integral (Controle); LP: leite em pó; LPS1: 80% leite em pó + 20% de soro de queijo em pó; LPS2: 60% leite em pó + 40% de soro de queijo em pó. Para os cálculos de consumo de matéria seca (MS) foram feitas medições diárias de consumo de feno e concentrado pelo método de oferta/sobra. Os animais foram abatidos aos 60 dias de vida. Os órgãos cavitários foram pesados com conteúdo, e logo em seguida, esvaziados e novamente pesados, registrando-se, os pesos cheios e vazios, respectivamente. Foi determinado o peso dos estômagos e de seus compartimentos com valores absolutos (kg) e relativos (%) em função do peso de corpo vazio (% PCVZ) e em função do peso do estômago completo (% PE). Foram retirados fragmentos de aproximadamente um centímetro quadrado (1cm2) de tecidos de 4 regiões do rúmen: átrio ruminal, saco dorsal, saco cego caudo-dorsal e saco ventral de onde foram medidas as alturas das papilas ruminais. A atividade proliferativa foi avaliada em amostras de tecidos retiradas do rúmen por meio da contagem de Regiões Organizadoras de Nucléolos Argirofílicos (AgNOR). Foram coletadas amostras teciduais de 1cm2 do abomaso para a realização da imunohistoquímica. Não houve diferença significativa para o consumo de matéria seca (P>0,05). As médias obtidas para pesos absolutos e relativos em função do peso do corpo vazio dos compartimentos gástricos não apresentaram diferenças significativas (P>0,05) entre os tratamentos. Quanto ao desenvolvimento de papilas no rúmen houve diferenças significativas (P<0,05) para a variável altura no saco ventral, onde os animais que receberam leite integral possuíram maiores médias. Não houve diferenças significativas (P>0,05) para a taxa de proliferação celular nas papilas ruminais. Os percentuais de ácinos contendo células imunorreativas aos anticorpos quimosina e pepsinogênio apresentaram diferença estatística (P<0,05), onde os bezerros que receberam a dieta 100% leite integral, apresentaram média percentual de marcação para quimosina superior (95,11%), aqueles animais que consumiram a dieta 60% leite em pó + 40% de soro de queijo em pó (89,59%) / 2017-11-27