Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University, Blichers Alle 20, 8830 Tjele, Denmark.
Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University, Blichers Alle 20, 8830 Tjele, Denmark.
Animal. 2023 May;17(5):100798. doi: 10.1016/j.animal.2023.100798. Epub 2023 Apr 3.
The global demand for sustainably produced protein feeds for animal production is increasing. Methanotrophic bacteria grow on methane and convert it into microbial cell protein (MCP) that has been shown to have high nutritive value for growing pigs. The present aimed to investigate how increasing amounts of MCP in diets fed during the first 15 days after weaning affect the growth performance of piglets from weaning until day 43 postweaning. Furthermore, the effect of MCP on intestinal morphology and histopathology was assessed on day 15 after weaning. During seven consecutive weeks, approximately 480 piglets were recruited for the experiment per batch. The piglets were divided into four groups and housed in eight double pens with 60 piglets per pen. The piglets were fed one of four experimental diets with 0, 3, 6, or 10% of MCP included at the expense of fishmeal and subsequently potato protein for the first 15 days postweaning. Thereafter, all pigs were fed commercial weaner diets in two phases (days 16-30 and days 31-43) until day 43 postweaning. All diets were without medicinal zinc. Feed intake and growth were registered on double pen level during all three phases. On day 15 after weaning, 10 piglets per treatment were randomly selected, autopsied, and sampled for intestinal morphology and histopathology. Daily gain during the first 15 days postweaning tended (P = 0.09) to be affected by the inclusion of MCP in the weaning diet being lowest in the group fed 10% MCP. Treatment did not affect daily feed intake; however, Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) was significantly affected (P = 0.003) showing the highest FCR in piglets fed 10% MCP. Growth performance was not affected by the experimental treatment during the following phases. In the small intestine, villous height tended (P = 0.09) to show a quadratic response to level of MCP in the diet with the longest villi observed after feeding 6% MCP. Dietary treatment did not affect crypt depth. The villous height to crypt depth (VC) ratio showed a quadratic response to increased dietary inclusion of MCP (P = 0.02) with piglets fed 6% MCP having the highest VC ratio. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that MCP could constitute 6% of diets as-fed (22% of total CP), at the expense of fishmeal and potato protein, for newly weaned piglets without negative effects on growth rates and FCR. The inclusion of MCP in diets for newly weaned piglets could be part of improving the sustainability of pig production.
全球对用于动物生产的可持续生产的蛋白质饲料的需求正在增加。甲烷营养菌以甲烷为食,并将其转化为微生物细胞蛋白(MCP),已被证明对生长猪具有很高的营养价值。本研究旨在探讨在断奶后 15 天内,日粮中添加不同水平的 MCP 如何影响断奶至断奶后 43 天的仔猪生长性能。此外,还评估了 MCP 对断奶后 15 天仔猪肠道形态和组织病理学的影响。在连续的七周内,每批实验大约有 480 头仔猪被招募。仔猪被分为四组,每组 60 头,饲养在 8 个双栏中。仔猪在断奶后的前 15 天内,喂食四种实验日粮之一,其中 0、3、6 或 10%的 MCP 取代了鱼粉和随后的马铃薯蛋白。此后,所有仔猪在两个阶段(第 16-30 天和第 31-43 天)中都喂食商业断奶仔猪日粮,直到断奶后 43 天。所有日粮均不含药用锌。在所有三个阶段,均在双栏水平上记录饲料摄入量和生长情况。在断奶后 15 天,每个处理组随机选择 10 头仔猪进行剖检和取样,以进行肠道形态和组织病理学分析。断奶后 15 天的日增重趋势(P=0.09)受断奶日粮中 MCP 含量的影响,10% MCP 组的日增重最低。处理方式不影响日采食量;然而,饲料转化率(FCR)受到显著影响(P=0.003),10% MCP 组的 FCR 最高。在随后的阶段,实验处理对生长性能没有影响。在小肠中,绒毛高度表现出对日粮中 MCP 水平的二次响应趋势(P=0.09),在饲喂 6% MCP 时观察到最长的绒毛。日粮处理不影响隐窝深度。绒毛高度与隐窝深度(VC)的比值对 MCP 的日粮添加量呈二次响应(P=0.02),饲喂 6% MCP 的仔猪 VC 比值最高。总之,本研究表明,MCP 可以替代鱼粉和马铃薯蛋白,占新断奶仔猪饲料的 6%(总 CP 的 22%),而不会对生长速度和 FCR 产生负面影响。在新断奶仔猪的日粮中添加 MCP 可以成为提高养猪可持续性的一部分。