Can adaptation to nitrate supplementation and provision of fermentable energy reduce nitrite accumulation in rumen contents in vitro?

Author(s)
de Raphelis-Soissan, Victoire
Nolan, John V
Newbold, J R
Godwin, Ian
Hegarty, Roger
Publication Date
2016
Abstract
Nitrate (NO₃⁻) supplementation is a promising methane mitigation strategy for ruminants, but can cause nitrite (NO₂⁻) poisoning. Because some nitrite reductases are NADH-dependent, we hypothesised that replacing glucose with glycerol would increase the NADH yield and so enhance nitrite reductase activity and reduce ruminal NO₂⁻ accumulation and toxicity risk. We also hypothesised that adapting sheep to dietary NO₃⁻ would limit the accumulation of NO₂⁻ when NO₃⁻ was added to rumen fluid. Changes in NO₃⁻ and NO₂⁻ catabolism and CH₄ production, resulting from supplementation with glycerol to enhance NADH supply, were studied in vitro. In Experiment 1, rumen fluid from sheep adapted to dietary NO₃⁻ (2% of DM intake) or urea (1.1% of DM intake) was incubated with NO₃⁻ or urea, respectively. Additionally, ground oaten hay was added to incubations alone (control), or with glucose or glycerol. In Experiement 2, sheep were adapted for 9 weeks to dietary NO₃⁻ or urea. Nitrate (2% NO₃⁻ of substrate DM) was added to incubated digesta from NO₃⁻ - or urea-supplemented sheep, while urea (1.1% of substrate DM) was added to digesta from urea-supplemented sheep. In both studies, triplicate incubations were terminated at nine time points up to 24 h. Methane emissions were lower in all NO₃⁻ treatments (P < 0.05). Contrary to our hypotheses, both glycerol supplementation (Experiment 1) and prior adaptation to NO₃⁻ (Experiment 2) increased NO₂⁻ accumulation. In Experiment 1, there was no difference in ruminal NO₂⁻ concentration between the unsupplemented control and added glucose treatments. Nitrous oxide accumulated in NO₃⁻ treatments only with rumen fluid from sheep adapted to dietary urea (P < 0.05). In summary, NO₂⁻ accumulation in vitro was not reduced by adaptation to NO₃⁻ or by glucose or glycerol supplementation, disproving the hypotheses regarding the role of NADH availability and of NO₂⁻ adaptation in reducing ruminal NO₂⁻ accumulation and toxicity risk.
Citation
Animal Production Science, 56(3), p. 605-612
ISSN
1836-5787
1836-0939
Link
Publisher
CSIRO Publishing
Title
Can adaptation to nitrate supplementation and provision of fermentable energy reduce nitrite accumulation in rumen contents in vitro?
Type of document
Journal Article
Entity Type
Publication

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