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Methane Emission from Enteric Fermentation: Methanogenesis and Fermentation

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Climate Change Impact on Livestock: Adaptation and Mitigation

Abstract

Rumen fermentation of carbohydrates plays a fundamental role in ruminant metabolism as the main source of energy. Acetic, propionic and butyric acids (namely, volatile fatty acids, VFA) are the main products of the rumen fermentation of structural and nonstructural carbohydrates contained in the ruminant’s diet. The metabolic pathways involved in VFA production are strictly linked to methane emission, because hydrogen is actively produced during the fermentation of structural carbohydrates, and it is rapidly metabolised by methanogens, in order to maintain the optimal thermodynamic condition for the metabolism of the microbe consortium in the rumen. Hydrogen plays also a fundamental role in the maintenance of the equilibrium among VFA pathways and in their interconversion. In this chapter, after a brief chemical description of dietary carbohydrates, individual VFA pathways are described in order to put in evidence the thermodynamic control points of each pathway and the production of energy and reductive equivalent. Then, the relationship between hydrogen, VFA and methane production has been reviewed, considering the role of some dietary factors, the substrate competition between different metabolic pathways and the models of VFA estimation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze delle Produzioni Agro-alimentari e dell’Ambiente, University of Florence, Florence, Italy

    Arianna Buccioni

  2. Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Agro-ambientali, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

    Alice Cappucci & Marcello Mele

Authors
  1. Arianna Buccioni
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  2. Alice Cappucci
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  3. Marcello Mele
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Correspondence to Marcello Mele .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Animal Physiology Division, ICAR-National Institute of Animal Nutrition and Physiology, Bangalore, Karnataka, India

    Veerasamy Sejian

  2. School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland, Australia

    John Gaughan

  3. Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA

    Lance Baumgard

  4. ICAR-National Institute of Animal Nutrition and Physiology, Bangalore, Karnataka, India

    Cadaba Prasad

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Buccioni, A., Cappucci, A., Mele, M. (2015). Methane Emission from Enteric Fermentation: Methanogenesis and Fermentation. In: Sejian, V., Gaughan, J., Baumgard, L., Prasad, C. (eds) Climate Change Impact on Livestock: Adaptation and Mitigation. Springer, New Delhi. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-2265-1_11

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