386 Past, present and future of protein and N metabolism in ruminants

Abstract

Abstract By 1900, research identified urea, ammonia, and protein as the basic components of N metabolism in ruminants. Energy and protein metabolic interactions were outlined, amino acids were individually recognized as constituents of protein molecules, and the concept of enzyme-catalyzed reactions was established. Research stations were publishing research results and feeding recommendations. By 2000, the National Research Council built on the work of Henry and Morrison to create and revise publications of nutrient requirements for various classes of ruminants. Use of surgically altered animals, isotopically labelled molecules, and standardized laboratory analyses created quantitative information on ingestion, digestion, absorption, and metabolism of N-containing compounds. Protein composition and structure as well as the role of protein turnover to determine the concentration of cellular proteins were elucidated. Hypothesis-driven, statistically valid experimental designs created quantitative information on protein and amino acid requirements. Methionine was identified as the likely first-limiting amino acid for several ruminant species and production states. The internet and the advent of international symposia provided links among researchers around the globe. Today, multidisciplinary research teams are needed to enlarge the data base, to describe proteomics and metabolomics, and to integrate “big data” into insightful and useful models. Those models currently use or estimate rates and daily amounts of ruminal (in)degradability of dietary protein, ammonia production, urea recycling, microbial protein synthesis, postruminal protein digestion, metabolic fecal nitrogen, and amino acid absorption and metabolism. They predict use of metabolizable amino acids for maintenance, milk yield, growth, and fetal growth. Directions of future research include integration of functional roles of amino acids into recommended dietary supply and requirements, and focus on solutions to challenges presented by climate change, (in)sustainability of livestock production, and changes in public perception of humans’ use of ruminants and other animals.