Ruminant livestock are important sources of human food and global greenhouse gas emissions. Feed degradation and methane formation by ruminants rely on metabolic interactions between rumen microbes and affect ruminant productivity. Rumen and camelid foregut microbial community composition was determined in 742 samples from 32 animal species and 35 countries, to estimate if this was influenced by diet, host species, or geography. Similar bacteria and archaea dominated in nearly all samples, while protozoal communities were more variable. The dominant bacteria are poorly characterised, but the methanogenic archaea are better known and highly conserved across the world. This universality and limited diversity could make it possible to mitigate methane emissions by developing strategies that target the few dominant methanogens. Differences in microbial community compositions were predominantly attributable to diet, with the host being less influential. There were few strong co-occurrence patterns between microbes, suggesting that major metabolic interactions are non-selective rather than specific.

Twenty male crossbred Texel lambs were used in a 2 × 2 factorial design experiment to assess the effect of dietary addition of nitrate (2.6% of dry matter) and sulfate (2.6% of dry matter) on enteric methane emissions, rumen volatile fatty acid concentrations, rumen microbial composition, and the occurrence of methemoglobinemia. Lambs were gradually introduced to nitrate and sulfate in a corn silage-based diet over a period of 4 wk, and methane production was subsequently determined in respiration chambers. Diets were given at 95% of the lowest ad libitum intake observed within one block in the week before methane yield was measured to ensure equal feed intake of animals between treatments. All diets were formulated to be isonitrogenous. Methane production decreased with both supplements (nitrate: -32%, sulfate: -16%, and nitrate+sulfate: -47% relative to control). The decrease in methane production due to nitrate feeding was most pronounced in the period immediately after feeding, whereas the decrease in methane yield due to sulfate feeding was observed during the entire day. Methane-suppressing effects of nitrate and sulfate were independent and additive. The highest methemoglobin value observed in the blood of the nitrate-fed animals was 7% of hemoglobin. When nitrate was fed in combination with sulfate, methemoglobin remained below the detection limit of 2% of hemoglobin. Dietary nitrate decreased heat production (-7%), whereas supplementation with sulfate increased heat production (+3%). Feeding nitrate or sulfate had no effects on volatile fatty acid concentrations in rumen fluid samples taken 24h after feeding, except for the molar proportion of branched-chain volatile fatty acids, which was higher when sulfate was fed and lower when nitrate was fed, but not different when both products were included in the diet. The total number of rumen bacteria increased as a result of sulfate inclusion in the diet. The number of methanogens was reduced when nitrate was fed. Enhanced levels of sulfate in the diet increased the number of sulfate-reducing bacteria. The number of protozoa was not affected by nitrate or sulfate addition. Supplementation of a diet with nitrate and sulfate is an effective means for mitigating enteric methane emissions from sheep.

Feeding nitrate to dairy cows may lower ruminal methane production by competing for reducing equivalents with methanogenesis. Twenty lactating Holstein-Friesian dairy cows (33.2±6.0 kg of milk/d; 104±58 d in milk at the start of the experiment) were fed a total mixed ration (corn silage-based; forage to concentrate ratio 66:34), containing either a dietary urea or a dietary nitrate source [21 g of nitrate/kg of dry matter (DM)] during 4 successive 24-d periods, to assess the methane-mitigating potential of dietary nitrate and its persistency. The study was conducted as paired comparisons in a randomized design with repeated measurements. Cows were blocked by parity, lactation stage, and milk production at the start of the experiment. A 4-wk adaptation period allowed the rumen microbes to adapt to dietary urea and nitrate. Diets were isoenergetic and isonitrogenous. Methane production, energy balance, and diet digestibility were measured in open-circuit indirect calorimetry chambers. Cows were limit-fed during measurements. Nitrate persistently decreased methane production by 16%, whether expressed in grams per day, grams per kilogram of dry matter intake (DMI), or as percentage of gross energy intake, which was sustained for the full experimental period (mean 368 vs. 310±12.5 g/d; 19.4 vs. 16.2±0.47 g/kg of DMI; 5.9 vs.4.9±0.15% of gross energy intake for urea vs. nitrate, respectively). This decrease was smaller than the stoichiometrical methane mitigation potential of nitrate (full potential=28% methane reduction). The decreased energy loss from methane resulted in an improved conversion of dietary energy intake into metabolizable energy (57.3 vs. 58.6±0.70%, urea vs. nitrate, respectively). Despite this, milk energy output or energy retention was not affected by dietary nitrate. Nitrate did not affect milk yield or apparent digestibility of crude fat, neutral detergent fiber, and starch. Milk protein content (3.21 vs. 3.05±0.058%, urea vs. nitrate respectively) but not protein yield was lower for dietary nitrate. Hydrogen production between morning and afternoon milking was measured during the last experimental period. Cows fed nitrate emitted more hydrogen. Cows fed nitrate displayed higher blood methemoglobin levels (0.5 vs. 4.0±1.07% of hemoglobin, urea vs. nitrate respectively) and lower hemoglobin levels (7.1 vs. 6.3±0.11 mmol/L, urea vs. nitrate respectively). Dietary nitrate persistently decreased methane production from lactating dairy cows fed restricted amounts of feed, but the reduction in energy losses did not improve milk production or energy balance.

S U M M A R YThe effects of two diets, formulated to be either synchronous or asynchronous with respect to the hourly supply of energy and nitrogen, on rumen fermentation and microbial protein synthesis were studied in sheep.In Expt 1, the in situ degradation characteristics of nitrogen (N), organic matter (OM) and carbohydrate (CHO) fractions were determined in winter wheat straw, winter barley, malt distillers dark grains, rapeseed meal and fishmeal. The feeds exhibited a large range in degradability characteristics of the nitrogen and energy-yielding fractions.A computer program was developed, based upon the raw material degradation characteristics obtained from the above studies. The program was used to formulate two diets with similar metabolizable energy (9-5 MJ/kg DM) and rumen degradable protein contents (96 g/kg DM) but to be either synchronous (diet A) or asynchronous (diet B) with respect to the hourly rate of release of N and energy. The program was used to predict the hourly release of N, OM and CHO and the molar production of volatile fatty acids (VFA).In Expt 2, the two diets were fed to four cannulated sheep at the rate of 1 kg/day in four equal portions, in two periods, using a change-over design. Rumen ammonia concentrations followed the predicted rate of N degradation. A maximum concentration of 105 and 7 mM for diets A and B respectively was achieved within the first hour of feeding which then fell to 7 and 3 mM respectively. Rumen VFA proportions were more stable for the synchronous diet (A) than the asynchronous diet (B) and were more stable than predicted for both diets. True ruminal degradation of OM and CHO was similar for both diets and close to that predicted, although fibre degradability in diet A was 30% lower than predicted due to a reduction in both cellulose and hemicellulose digested. Microbial protein production was estimated simultaneously with L-[4,5-3 H]leucine and a technique based on cytosine. Estimates varied with marker but mean values indicated a 27% greater production of microbial N (g N/kg DM I) with the synchronous diet (A) and an average improvement in microbial protein efficiency (gN/kg OM truly degraded or CHO apparently degraded) of 13%, although neither difference was significant. There was evidence of a greater recycling of N in the animals and a significantly lower content of rumen degradable protein when the sheep were fed the asynchronous diet (B).The results are consistent with the view that synchronizing the rate of supply of N and energyyielding substrates to the rumen micro-organisms based upon ingredient in situ degradation data can improve microbial protein flow at the duodenum and the efficiency of microbial protein synthesis.

based on the Schwarz Bayesian Information Criterion. Dry matter intake was 17.7 ± 44 1.83 kg/day, milk production was 27.0 ± 4.64 kg/day, and methane production was 45 21.5 ± 1.69 g/kg DM. Milk C8:0, C10:0, C11:0, C14:0 iso, C15:0 iso, C16:0 and 46 C17:0 anteiso were positively related (P<0.05) to methane (g/kg DM intake), whereas 47 C17:0 iso, cis-9 C17:1, cis-9 C18:1, trans-10+11 C18:1, cis-11 C18:1, cis-12 C18:1 48 and cis-14+trans-16 C18:1 were negatively related (P<0.05) to methane. Multivariate 49 analysis resulted in the equation: methane (g/kg DM) = 24.6 ± 1.28 + 8.74 ± 3.581 × 50 C17:0 anteiso -1.97 ± 0.432 × trans-10+11 C18:1 -9.09 ± 1.444 × cis-11 C18:1 + 51 5.07 ± 1.937 × cis-13 C18:1 (individual FA in g/100 g FA; R 2 = 0.73 after correction 52 for experiment effect). This confirms the expected positive relationship between 53 methane and C14:0 iso and C15:0 iso in milk FA, as well as the negative relationship 54 between methane and various trans-intermediates, particularly trans-10+11 C18:1. 55However, in contrast with expectations, C15:0 and C17:0 were not related to methane 56 production. Milk FA profiles can predict methane production in dairy cattle. 57

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of dietary nitrate on methane emission and rumen fermentation parameters in Nellore × Guzera (Bos indicus) beef cattle fed a sugarcane based diet. The experiment was conducted with 16 steers weighing 283 ± 49 kg (mean ± SD), 6 rumen cannulated and 10 intact steers, in a cross-over design. The animals were blocked according to BW and presence or absence of rumen cannula and randomly allocated to either the nitrate diet (22 g nitrate/kg DM) or the control diet made isonitrogenous by the addition of urea. The diets consisted of freshly chopped sugarcane and concentrate (60:40 on DM basis), fed as a mixed ration. A 16-d adaptation period was used to allow the rumen microbes to adapt to dietary nitrate. Methane emission was measured using the sulfur hexafluoride tracer technique. Dry matter intake (P = 0.09) tended to be less when nitrate was present in the diet compared with the control, 6.60 and 7.05 kg/d DMI, respectively. The daily methane production was reduced (P < 0.01) by 32% when steers were fed the nitrate diet (85 g/d) compared with the urea diet (125 g/d). Methane emission per kilogram DMI was 27% less (P < 0.01) on the nitrate diet (13.3 g methane/kg DMI) than on the control diet (18.2 g methane/kg DMI). Methane losses as a fraction of gross energy intake (GEI) were less (P < 0.01) on the nitrate diet (4.2% of GEI) than on the control diet (5.9% of GEI). Nitrate mitigated enteric methane production by 87% of the theoretical potential. The rumen fluid ammonia-nitrogen (NH(3)-N()) concentration was significantly greater (P < 0.05) for the nitrate diet. The total concentration of VFA was not affected (P = 0.61) by nitrate in the diet, while the proportion of acetic acid tended to be greater (P = 0.09), propionic acid less (P = 0.06) and acetate/propionate ratio tended to be greater (P = 0.06) for the nitrate diet. Dietary nitrate reduced enteric methane emission in beef cattle fed sugarcane based diet.

Two experiments were conducted to determine effects of postrumen starch infusion on milk production and energy and nitrogen utilization in lactating dairy cows. In experiment 1, four cows in early lactation fed grass silage and concentrates were continuously infused into the duodenum with water or 700, 1400, or 2100 g of purified maize starch daily for 10 to 12 d in a 4 x 4 Latin square design with 2-wk periods. Starch infusion increased milk yield linearly and decreased milk fat concentration in a quadratic manner such that increases in fat-corrected milk and calculated milk energy yield were minimal except at the highest rate of infusion. Changes in milk energy output suggest that even at the highest infusion rate metabolizable energy supplied by infused starch was used for tissue energy or oxidized. In experiment 2 energy and nitrogen balance were measured in four cows in late lactation fed a mixture of dehydrated lucerne, grass silage, and concentrates during the last 6 d of 2-wk abomasal infusions of 1200 g of purified wheat starch daily or water in a balanced switchback design with 5-wk periods. Measurements of fecal starch concentration indicated nearly all the starch infused was digested, but decreased fecal pH and apparent nitrogen digestion suggested an increase in hindgut starch fermentation. Starch infusion decreased urine nitrogen output in part because of increased tissue nitrogen retention but had no effect on milk nitrogen output. In absolute terms, numerical decreases in feed energy intake and energy digestion reduced the recovery of starch energy infused as digestible and metabolizable energy, but in terms of changes in total energy supply with starch infusion, 79% was recovered as metabolizable energy. Starch infusion had no effects on heat or milk energy but increased net energy for lactation due to a numerical increase in tissue energy, implying that in late-lactation cows, starch digested postruminally was used with high efficiency for tissue energy retention as protein and fat.

Prediction of nutrient partitioning is a long-standing problem of animal nutrition that has still not been solved. Another substantial problem for nutritional science is how to incorporate genetic differences into nutritional models. These two problems are linked as their biological basis lies in the relative priorities of different life functions (growth, reproduction, health, etc.) and how they change both through time and in response to genetic selection. This paper presents recent developments in describing this biological basis and evidence in support of the concepts involved as they relate to nutrient partitioning. There is ample evidence that at different stages of the reproductive cycle various metabolic pathways, such as lipolysis and lipogenesis, are up or down regulated. The net result of such changes is that nutrients are channelled to differing extents to different organs, life functions and end-products. This occurs not as a homeostatic function of changing nutritional environment but rather as a homeorhetic function caused by the changing expression of genes for processes such as milk production through time. In other words, the animal has genetic drives and there is an aspect of nutrient partitioning that is genetically driven. Evidence for genetic drives other than milk production is available and is discussed. Genetic drives for other life functions than just milk imply that nutrient partitioning will change through lactation and according to genotype -i.e. it cannot be predicted from feed properties alone. Progress in describing genetic drives and homeorhetic controls is reviewed. There is currently a lack of good genetic measures of physiological parameters. The unprecedented level of detail and amounts of data generated by the advent of microarray biotechnology and the fields of genomics, proteomics, etc. should in the long-term provide the necessary information to make the link between genetic drives and metabolism. However, gene expression, protein synthesis etc, have all been shown to be environmentally sensitive. Thus, a major challenge in realising the potential afforded by this new technology is to be able to be able to distinguish genetically driven and environmentally driven effects on expression. To do this we need a better understanding of the basis for the interactions between genotypes and environments. The biological limitations of traditional evaluation of genotype £ environment interactions and plasticity are discussed and the benefits of considering these in terms of trade-offs between life functions is put forward. Trade-offs place partitioning explicitly at the centre of the resource allocation problem and allow consideration of the effects of management and selection on multiple traits and on nutrient partitioning.Keywords: cattle, genotype environment interaction, nutrient partitioning, plasticity IntroductionIn its broadest sense, the term 'nutrient partitioning' refers to the processes by which available nutrients are channelled, in varying proportions, to different met...