Methanogenic population and CH₄ production in swedish dairy cows fed different levels of forage.

ABSTRACT: Methanogenic community structure, methane production (CH(4)), and volatile fatty acid (VFA) profiles were investigated in Swedish dairy cows fed a diet with a forage/concentrate ratio of 500/500 or 900/100 g/kg of dry matter (DM) of total DM intake (DMI). The rumen methanogenic population was evaluated using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis, 16S rRNA gene libraries, and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Mean CH(4) yields did not differ (P > 0.05) between diets, being 16.9 and 20.2 g/kg DMI for the 500/500 and 900/100 diets, respectively. The T-RFLP analysis revealed that populations differed between individual cows and that each individual population responded differently to the diets. The 16S rRNA gene libraries revealed that Methanobrevibacter spp.

SUBMITTER: Danielsson R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3416586 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature