ANFS251 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Cecum, Ruminant, Omnivore
27 Feb 2018
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Document Summary
The microorganisms living in the gut are alive. The microbes themselves and the things they secrete get mixed up with the feed passing through the git. Some of the things they secrete are good (vitamins), some are bad (methane gas) and the microbes themselves are good for food! Microorganisms aid in digestion of complex carbs, produce vitamins. Fibrous digested more efficiently by the microbes in the rumen. Cellulose and hemicellulose can be digested only by microbial enzymes. Bacteria can use simple forms of nitrogen, like urea or ammonia to synthesize more bacteria. Synthesize adequate amounts of the vitamins (except a, d, and e) Moisture and ph of rumen are maintained by the 150 or more liters of saliva secreted per day in a mature cow. Acts as a buffer and neutralizes acids produced in the rumen. But they charge a fee for those good things. High-quality dietary protein sources are partially degraded to produce ammonia (n source)
