567 Ruminal characteristics and feedlot performance of feedlot steers during accelerated step-up to high-concentrate diets using Lactipro Advance®

Miller

et al. 2019

One hundred forty-four cull cows (body condition score = 2.10 ± 0.61; BW = 456 ± 47 kg) were organized into a 2 × 2 factorial design (48 pens, 12 pens/treatment, and 3 cows/pen) to evaluate the effect of dietary roughage level and oral drenching of Megasphaera elsdenii NCIMB 41125 (M. elsdenii culture; Lactipro Advance; MS Biotec Inc., Wamego, KS) on performance and carcass characteristics. Cattle were finished over a 42-day realimentation period, and aggressively stepped up over a 10-day period to either a high roughage finisher (HRF; 25% roughage) or a low roughage finisher (LRF; 10% roughage). Within diet, cattle were administered no probiotic or 100 mL of M. elsdenii culture (M. elsdenii NCIMB 41125, 2 108 cfu/mL) on day 0. No diet × probiotic interactions were detected (P ≥ 0.15), suggesting that the magnitude of the response was not influenced by the concentrate level of the diet. The main effect of diet triggered several significant responses. Decreasing roughage level tended to improve average daily gain (ADG) by 9.7% (0.26 kg, P = 0.08), while decreasing dry matter intake (DMI) by 0.9 kg (P = 0.09), provoking a 19.7% enhancement of feed efficiency (0.036 units, P < 0.01). However, interim data revealed declines of performance parameters among both diets with a significant difference between treatments only documented during the final phase of the realimentation period. During the final 14 days, LRF posted a 0.68 kg increase in ADG (P = 0.05) and a 2.0 kg decrease in DMI (P = 0.01), translating to improved feed efficiency (0.054 units, P = 0.03). This suggests that increasing the caloric density of finishing diets may help offset the regression of performance typically observed following a compensatory gain. No carcass traits were impacted by either diet or M. elsdenii culture (P ≥ 0.08). Overall, oral drenching of M. elsdenii culture tended to augment ADG (0.26 kg, P = 0.08) and carcass ADG (0.20 kg, P = 0.10). Implying that M. elsdenii culture was effective at alleviating the acidosis risk prompted by the rapid step-up period employed in the trial and may help capitalize on the narrow timeline of compensatory gain in cull cow realimentation.

Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 98%

Influence of dietary roughage level and Megasphaera elsdenii on feedlot performance and carcass composition of thin cull beef cows fed for a lean market

Miller

et al. 2019

“…These characteristics lead to a 0.26-unit decrease in calculated yield grade, although like all other parameters it was insignificant (2.28 vs. 2.54, P = 0.20). These findings are congruent with the work of previous investigators ( Leeuw et al, 2009 ; Miller, 2013 ; Ellerman et al, 2017 ), who also failed to distinguish differences among M. elsdenii culture-drenched and nontreated controls.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 92%

“…A significant difference between treatments was distinguished during the first week of the trial, where M. elsdenii culture-drenched cattle documented a 13.3% increase in rumination time (-280.58 vs. -319.85 min/d, P = 0.03). Although previous research has portrayed ambivalent performance responses to Lactipro, numerous studies have touted M. elsdenii NCIMB 41125 ability to vanquish ruminal lactate ( Kettunen et al, 2008 ; Henning et al 2010a , 2010b ; Ellerman et al, 2017 ) and accordingly mediate pH (ARC/Kemira Phosphates, 2006; McDaniel et al, 2009 ; Henning et al, 2010b ; Meissner et al, 2010 ). The results of the current study suggest that M. elsdenii culture acted as a counterbalance to the copious amounts of rapidly fermentable substrate introduced to the rumen of concentrate naïve cull cows in this 0-d step-up protocol.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous studies have documented the effect of M. elsdenii culture on ruminal ecology, principally achieved by disposing lactate and subsequently governing pH. However, a pair of studies found increased butyrate levels following M. elsdenii culture inoculation ( Henning et al 2010a ; Ellerman et al, 2017 ). Considering that nearly 90% of butyrate is metabolized by the microbiota ( Dijkstra et al, 1993 ), it is not surprising that papillae growth is strongly correlated to the ruminal availability of the VFA ( Blottière et al, 2003 ; Hoffman et al, 2018 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The influence of Megasphaera elsdenii on rumen morphometrics of cull cows immediately stepped up to a high-energy finishing diet

Miller

et al. 2019

Forty-five beef cull cows [body weight (BW) = 503 ± 58 kg; body condition score (BCS) = 2.1 ± 0.6] were randomized into two treatments to compare the effects of oral drenching of no probiotic vs. 100 mL of Megasphaera elsdenii NCIMB 41125 (M. elsdenii culture; Lactipro Advance; 2 × 108 cfu/mL; MS Biotec, Inc., Wamego, KS) on the realimentation of cull cows. The study featured a rapid 0-d step-up of concentrate-naïve cull cows to a 90% concentrate diet (1.43 Mcal/kg of NEg). The cows were finished for 35 d and were fitted with a wireless rumination tag (Allflex Flex Tag; SCR Engineers, Ltd, Netanya, Israel), which tracked head movement to record eating and chewing activity. Rumen morphometrics was recorded on the harvest floor, with each carcass assigned a rumenitis score, and a fragment of the cranial sac removed for further papillae analysis. An additional 23, thin, non-fed cull cows were harvested at the same abattoir to compare the effects of concentrate realimentation on ruminal morphometrics. Megasphaera elsdenii culture-drenched cattle registered a 13.3% increase in rumination time (39.27 min/d, P = 0.03) during the first week of the trial compared to controls. A numerical rumination advantage for M. elsdenii culture-administered cattle was observed during week 2 of trial (P = 0.17), with no differences between treatments from weeks 3 to 5 (P ≥ 0.40). Subjective rumenitis evaluations approached a tendency (P = 0.12), with non-M. elsdenii culture-drenched concentrate-fed cattle logging twice the score of their day 0 cohorts (2.52 vs. 1.17) suggesting considerable lactic insults occurred to the ruminal epithelium in the short 35-d trial. Despite the short feeding duration, concentrate realimentation prompted a significant improvement in mean papillae area (P < 0.01). Among concentrate-fed treatments, M. elsdenii culture-drenched cattle posted superior absorptive surface area (P = 0.01) and a greater ratio of papillae area of absorptive surface area (P = 0.05), suggesting that M. elsdenii culture is favorably altering the ecology of the rumen and promoting papillae growth perhaps by mitigating lactate-driven pH drops. In conclusion, M. elsdenii culture application in a 0-d step-up protocol to finishing diets can help mitigate the effects of ruminal acidosis.

“…Early weaned calves drenched with MEC documented enhanced intramuscular fat percentage and marbling scores compared with AGR and CON treatments ( P ≤ 0.05). The consensus amongst available literature suggests that MEC administration fails to alter carcass composition ( Leeuw et al, 2009 ; McDaniel et al, 2009 ; Drouillard et al, 2012 ; Ellerman et al, 2017 ). Admittedly, these investigators were evaluating carcass traits of traditional feedlot cattle compared to the early weaned calves employed in the current study.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Megasphaera elsdenii and feeding strategies on feedlot performance, compositional growth, and carcass parameters of early weaned, beef calves

Wade

et al. 2020

Simmental–Angus calves [n = 135; 72 steers and 63 heifers; body weight (BW) = 212.4 kg ± 36.1] were early weaned (~5 mo) to evaluate multiple feeding regimens (conventional vs. aggressive energy diets ± Megasphaera elsdenii NCIMB 41125 (M. elsdenii culture (MEC); Lactipro Advance; MS Biotec Inc., Wamego, KS) in order to elucidate the optimal development strategy. Objectives were measured by tracking the effects of caloric density and oral drenching of growing phase performance and subsequent carcass traits. The 72-d experiment featured three groups: 1) control (CON), fed exclusively a 35% roughage diet; 2) aggressive (AGR), fed a blend of a 10% and 35% roughage diets; 3) MEC, fed the same diet as AGR and drenched with 50 mL of M. elsdenii NCIMB 41125 on day 1. A subset of calves (n = 45) was equipped with wireless rumination tags (Allflex Flex Tag; SCR Engineers, Ltd; Netanya, Israel), which logged daily rumination and general activity. Skeletal growth variables were assessed by measuring wither and hip height pretrial and posttrial. Ultrasonography provided additional resolution concerning growing phase compositional gain, which was later verified by carcass data collection. Data were analyzed as a nested analysis of variance with BW and gender serving as blocking factors. The increased caloric density of the diets administered to MEC and AGR calves resulted in greater average daily gain and gain:feed values compared with CON even during the first 21 d of diet acclimation (P ≤ 0.05). Additional fiber concentration of CON diets led to increased rumination times in 9 of the 10 wk of trial (P ≤ 0.10). No differences amongst treatments were detected for skeletal variables or ultrasound 12th rib fat. Cattle fed CON diets posted 3.4% inferior BW at the end of the growing period trial and a 3.8% reduction in hot carcass weight (HCW), reinforcing the theory that intensifying caloric intake during the growing phase does not compromise future feedlot performance. Ultrasound marbling scores for MEC-treated cattle were 19° greater than AGR treated cattle (P ≤ 0.05) at the end of the growing phase trial. Nearly the exact same advantage (22°) was observed in the cooler 5 mo later (P = 0.42). Implying MEC metabolically imprinted cattle to favor marbling development. It appears that maximizing dietary caloric density in light-weight calves does not adversely affect the growth curve, while oral dosing of MEC during the growing period may be a precursor for enhanced quality grade.