Effect of altering fiber digestibility by time of harvest and by genotype on rumen ecosystem of steers fed sugarcane silage

• Grant number: 14/19653-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: May 01, 2015
• End date: April 30, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Nutrition and Feeding
• Principal Investigator: Luis Felipe Prada e Silva
• Grantee: Júlia Avansi Marques
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Cell wall digestibility is the main factor limiting the nutritive value of forages. The identification of parameters to evaluate the quality of the fiber that actually has an impact on animal performance is of great importance to the breeding programs of sugarcane. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of changing fiber digestibility by the time of harvest and by genotype on rumen ecosystem of steers fed sugarcane silage, by quantifying cellulolytic, amylolytic, and lactate-fermenting rumen bacteria. Eight Nelore steers (350 kg body weight) will be used, being rumen cannulated steers. The experimental diets will be composed of 40% of forage on a dry matter basis. The experimental design will be a duplicated 4x4 Latin square design. Real-time PCR will be used to quantify the relative population of the major bacteria in the sample of rumen contents.