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Transgenic maize in the presence of ampicillin modifies the metabolic profile and microbial population structure of bovine rumen fluid in vitro

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 March 2007

Melanie Koch
Affiliation:
Department of Physiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Bischofsholer Damm 15/102, 30273 Hannover, Germany
Egbert Strobel
Affiliation:
Institute of Animal Nutrition, Federal Agricultural Research Centre, Braunschweig, Germany
Christoph C. Tebbe
Affiliation:
Institute of Agroecology, Federal Agricultural Research Centre, Braunschweig, Germany
John Heritage
Affiliation:
Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
Gerhard Breves
Affiliation:
Department of Physiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Bischofsholer Damm 15/102, 30273 Hannover, Germany
Korinna Huber*
Affiliation:
Department of Physiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Bischofsholer Damm 15/102, 30273 Hannover, Germany
*
*Corresponding author: Dr Korinna Huber, fax +49 511 856 7687, email [email protected]
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Abstract

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Recently, transgenic crops have been considered as possible donors of transgenes that could be taken up by micro-organisms under appropriate conditions. In an in vitro rumen simulation system, effects of ampicillin on microbial communities growing either on rumen contents with transgenic maize carrying a gene that confers resistance to ampicillin or its isogenic counterpart as substrates were examined continuously over 13 d. Rate of production of SCFA was measured to determine functional changes in the rumen model and single-strand conformational polymorphism was used to detect alterations in structure of the microbial community. Rumen contents treated with ampicillin displayed a marked decrease in the rate of production of SCFA and diversity of the microbial community was reduced severely. In the presence of transgenic maize, however, the patterns of change of rumen micro-organisms and their metabolic profiles were different from that of rumen fluid incorporating maize bred conventionally. Recovery of propionate production was observed both in the rumen fluid fed transgenic and conventional maize after a delay of several days but recovery occurred earlier in fermenters fed transgenic maize. Alterations in the microbial population structures resulting from the ampicillin challenge were not reversed during the experimental run although there was evidence of adaptation of the microbial communities over time in the presence of the antibiotic, showing that populations with different microbial structures could resume a pre-challenge metabolic profile following the introduction of ampicillin, irrespective of the source of the plant material in the growth medium.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2006

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