212 The Effects of Propionibacterium Acidipropionici P169 in an in Vitro Ruminal Acidosis Model

Abstract

Abstract The objective was to evaluate the effect of Propionibacterium acidipropionici P169 (PA) concentration on fermentation characteristics in a ruminal acidosis in vitro model. Ruminal acidosis is a common metabolic disorder in feedlot cattle characterized by a low rumen pH. The experiment included 5 treatments in a completely randomized design. Treatments included a negative control (NCON), 5 × 105 colony forming units (CFU) PA (PA5), 5 × 106 CFU PA (PA6), 5 × 107 CFU PA (PA7), and a positive control with greater forage inclusion (PCON). Flasks for NCON, PA5, PA6, and PA7 contained 8.75 g of substrate (70% corn, 15% DDG, 15% silage) while substrate for PCON flasks contain additional silage (40% corn, 15% DDG, 45% silage). Treatments were run in duplicate and the experiment was replicated 3 times. All flasks included 175 mL of inoculum (4 McDougall’s buffer:1 rumen fluid). Flasks were incubated at 39◦C for 36 hours and sample aliquots were collected every 4 hours. The MIXED procedure of SAS 9.4 was used for statistical analysis with a repeated measures analysis. A treatment by hour interaction (P < 0.01) was observed for pH; at hour 8, PCON was the least and PA5 was the greatest. From 20 to 36 h, PCON had the greatest pH. There was no treatment by hour interaction (P = 0.99) observed for redox potential. However, treatment affected (P < 0.01) redox potential with PCON being greater than PA6, PA7, and NCON, with PA5 being intermediate. In vitro dry matter disappearance (IVDMD) tended (P = 0.09) to be affected by treatment; PA5, PA6, and PA7 were greater than PCON. In conclusion, Propionibacterium acidipropionici P169 concentrations affected IVDMD, pH, and redox in a ruminal acidosis in vitro model.