Author:
Wallace R. J.,West Aileen A.
Abstract
SUMMARYThe concentrations of adenosine 5′-mono-, -di-, and -triphosphate (AMP, ADP and ATP) in sheep digesta were measured by a new bioluminescence method. ATP in rumen digesta varied with time after feeding and diet, and most markedly according to the size of the population of ciliate protozoa: the ATP content of rumen digesta from ciliate-free sheep was less than a quarter of that of faunated animals receiving the same diet. The adenylate energy charge (EC) (ATP + ADP/[ATP + ADP + AMP]), an indicator of metabolic activity, was high (0·77–0·94) in all rumen samples, but did not appear to be as useful a measurement of activity as ATP alone. As digesta passed along the alimentary tract, the ATP content decreased progressively, from 0·9–2·2 μmol/g dry matter in the rumen to 0·5–1·0μmol/g in the abomasum and duodenum, 07middot;03–0·08 μmol/g in ileal digesta and 0·01–0·02 μmol/g in faeces. EC also tended to decrease, further emphasizing the large decrease in microbial activity which occurs in the hindgut.
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Subject
Genetics,Agronomy and Crop Science,Animal Science and Zoology
Cited by
18 articles.
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