Effect of dried distillers’ grains and solubles when replacing corn or soybean meal on rumen microbial growth in vitro as measured using DNA as a microbial marker

Castillo-Lopez, E., Klopfenstein, T. J., Fernando, S. C. and Kononoff, P. J. 2014. Effect of dried distillers’ grains and solubles when replacing corn or soybean meal on rumen microbial growth in vitro as measured using DNA as a microbial marker. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 94: 349–356. The objectives were to evaluate the use of rDNA markers to measure the effects of dried distillers’ grains with solubles (DDGS) and the potential treatment×time interaction on microbial crude protein (MCP) synthesis in vitro and secondly to measure the contribution of yeast based protein originating from DDGS. Treatments were: (1) CONT, control with no DDGS, but with alfalfa hay, corn silage, ground corn (GC) and soybean meal (SBM) included at 25% (DM basis); (2) LOWCORN, 20% DDGS (DM basis) replacing GC; (3) LOWSBM, 20% DDGS (DM basis) replacing SBM; and (4) LOWCORNSBM, 20% DDGS (DM basis) replacing 10% GC and 10% SBM. Treatments (0.5 g) were incubated in 50 mL of inoculum in duplicate. At 0, 4, 16, 32, 48 and 96 h of fermentation...