Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2020, Vol. 51 ›› Issue (8): 1903-1912.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2020.08.014

• ANIMAL NUTRITION AND FEEDS • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of Dietary Addition of N-carbamylglutamate on Growth Performance, Rumen Fermentation, Rumen Microflora and Methane Emission of Holstein Bulls

SUN Xueli1, LI Qiufeng1*, CAO Yufeng1*, YAN Jinling1, LIU Taotao1, ZHANG Yixian1, LI Jianguo1, GAO Yanxia1, LI Shujing2, XIE Peng3, ZHANG Xiujiang4   

  1. 1. College of Animal Science and Technology, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071001, China;
    2. Shijiazhuang Tianquan Elite Dairy Ltd., Shijiazhuang 050200, China;
    3. Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China;
    4. Baoding Municipal Bureau of Agriculture, Baoding 071051, China
  • Received:2019-11-11 Online:2020-08-25 Published:2020-08-19

Abstract: The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of N-carbamylglutamate (NCG) on growth performance, rumen fermentation, rumen microflora and methane emission of Holstein bulls. Forty-five healthy Holstein bulls (body weight (478±13.66) kg) were randomly assigned into 3 treatments with 15 replicates in each treatments, the bulls were supplemented with 0 (group Ⅰ, control), 15 (group Ⅱ) and 25 g·d-1 (group Ⅲ) of NCG per head, respectively. A 7-day adaptation period and a 90-day experimental period were included in this study. The results showed that: 1) The feed-gain ratio (F/G) was reduced by 6.91% (P<0.01) and 7.91%(P<0.01) in bulls fed 15, 25 g·d-1 NCG, respectively, compared with control; 2) The microbial protein concentration in rumen increased by 22.91% (P<0.01) and 15.17%(P<0.01) of bulls fed 15, 25 g·d-1 NCG, respectively, compared with control; The concentrations of propionic acid in rumen increased linearly (P<0.01) while NCG supplementation increased, with the highest value for 15 g·d-1 NCG group; 3) From the analysis of the relative abundance of rumen methanogenus at genus level, the relative abundances of Methanobrevibacter in rumen was the lowest when supplemented with 25 g·d-1 NCG, which relative abundance was 80.05%;The relative abundance of Methanosphaera and Methanosaeta in rumen decreased linearly (P<0.01) while NCG supplementation increased; 4) Dietary supplemented with different levels of NCG all decreased the methane emission of Holstein bulls,the methane emission were decreased by 8.44% and 10.51% in bulls fed 15, 25 g·d-1 NCG (P<0.01), respectively, compared with control. In conclusion, under the conditions of this experiment, supplemented wiht NCG can effectively regulate rumen fermentation of Holstein bulls, improve the efficiency of feed conversion ratio and reduce methane emissions. The recommended NCG supplementation level is 15 g·d-1.

Key words: N-carbamylglutamate, Holstein bulls, feed-gain ratio, microflora, methane emission

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