Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T17:50:11.730Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Effects of dietary phosphorus and nitrogen deficiencies on the intake, growth and metabolism of lambs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

J. H. Ternouth ,
B. P. McLachlan ,
J. M. Clarke  and
B. J. Thomas
J. H. Ternouth
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, University of Queensland, Queensland 4072, Australia
B. P. McLachlan
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, University of Queensland, Queensland 4072, Australia
J. M. Clarke
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, University of Queensland, Queensland 4072, Australia
B. J. Thomas
Affiliation:
School of Physics, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland 4001, Australia
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

The effects of dietary deficiencies of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) were studied in 28 lambs allotted to seven treatments for 18 weeks. The lambs in four treatments were offered roughage-based diets ad libitum containing high (H) or low (L) levels of P (4·13 or 0·98 g/kg dry matter (DM)) and N (108 or 68 g crude protein/kg DM). The lambs in the remaining three treatments were fed the same quantities of DM of the HNHP diet as the lambs receiving the three deficient diets (HNLP, LNHP and LNLP). A dietary deficiency of P caused a reduced DM intake and liveweight gain, lower yields of N and DM in carcass muscle and reduced DM, N and P contents of bone. A dietary deficiency of N resulted in reductions in DM intake, liveweight gain, DM digestibility, N balance, and in carcass muscle and bone DM and N. The deficiencies of N and P were not additive in lowering food intake but were additive in reducing the mineralization of the bones. The DM intake of the lambs offered their diets ad libitum was closely correlated to the log of the plasma inorganic P and urea N concentrations (R =0·72). Feeding lambs with restricted quantities of diet HNHP resulted in higher liveweight gains and DM and N digestibilities than when any of the deficient diets were offered. Measurement of the N content of the lambs by a neutron capture gamma ray analysis technique showed that the changes were occurring progressively over the experimental period. The P content of the metatarsal bone, measured by a neutron activation technique, showed progressive changes. Although the faecal endogenous losses of P were related to P intake, high urinary losses were observed in those lambs which had their food intake limited by low dietary N alone, or had their food intakes restricted. The total endogenous P losses of the lambs were most closely dependent upon the DM intake and plasma inorganic P together. The efficiency of P absorption was high (> 0·75) in all lambs except for those given the HNHP diet ad libitum. The glucose entry rate was reduced in the lambs offered diets deficient in either N or P. Mechanisms by which the N and P deficiencies reduce DM intake are discussed.

Type
Animals
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 121 , Issue 3 , December 1993 , pp. 409 - 419
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1993

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Agricultural Research Council (1980). The Nutrient Requirements of Ruminant Livestock. Slough: Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux.Google Scholar
Bergman, E. N., Roe, W. E. & Kon, K. (1966). Quantitative aspects of propionate metabolism and gluconeogenesis in sheep. American Journal of Physiology 211, 793–799.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bortolussi, G., Ternouth, J. H. & McMeniman, N. P. (1988). Dietary nitrogen and phosphorus interactions in bos indicus cross cattle. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society of Australia 13, 124.Google Scholar
Braithwaite, G. D. (1975). Studies on the absorption and retention of calcium and phosphorus by young and mature Ca-deficient sheep. British Journal of Nutrition 34, 311–324.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Braithwaite, G. D. (1984). Some observations on phosphorus homeostasis and requirements of sheep. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 102, 295–306.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Byers, F. M. & Moxon, A. L. (1980). Protein and selenium levels for growing and finishing beef cattle. Journal of Animal Science 50, 1136–1144.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Challa, J., Braithwaite, G. D. & Dhanoa, M. S. (1989). Phosphorus homeostasis in growing calves. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 112, 217–226.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clarke, J. M. (1990). The effects of phosphorus deficiency on food intake regulation in the ruminant. PhD thesis, University of Queensland.Google Scholar
Coates, D. B. & Ternouth, J. H. (1992). Phosphorus kinetics of cattle grazing tropical pastures and implications for the estimation of their phosphorus requirements. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 119, 401–409.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davies, H. M. S. (1985). The assessment of dietary and body phosphorus deficiency in sheep. MAgrSc thesis, University of Queensland.Google Scholar
Field, A. C., Suttle, N. F. & Nisbet, D. I. (1975). Effect of diets low in calcium and phosphorus on the development of growing lambs. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 85, 435–442.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fiske, C. H. & Subbarrow, Y. (1925). The colorimetric determination of phosphorus. Journal of Biological Chemistry 66, 375–400.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gartner, R. J. W., Murphy, G. M. & Hoey, W. A. (1982). Effects of induced, subclinical phosphorus deficiency on feed intake and growth of beef heifers. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 98, 23–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hill, R. (1962). The provision and metabolism of calcium and phosphorus in ruminants. World Review of Nutrition and Dietetics 3, 131–148.Google Scholar
Hoey, W. A., Murphy, G. M. & Gartner, R. J. W. (1982). Whole body composition of heifers in relation to phosphorus status with particular reference to the skeleton. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 98, 31–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horl, W. H., Kreusser, W., Heidland, A. & Ritz, E. (1984). Effect of phosphate depletion on gluconeogenesis in isolated rat hepatocytes. Mineral Electrolyte Metabolism 10, 275–280.Google ScholarPubMed
Judson, G. J. & Leng, R. A. (1968). Effect of diet on glucose synthesis in sheep. Proceedings of the Australian Society of Animal Production 7, 354–358.Google Scholar
Judson, G. J. & Leng, R. A. (1973). Studies on the control of gluconeogenesis in sheep: effect of propionate, casein and butyrate infusions. British Journal of Nutrition 29, 175–195.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Komisarczuk-Bony, S. & Durand, M. (1991). Nutrient requirements of rumen microbes. In Recent Advances on the Nutrition of Herbivores (Eds Ho, Y. W., Wong, H. K., Abdullah, N. & Tajuddin, Z. A.), pp. 133–141. Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Society of Animal Production.Google Scholar
Little, D. A. (1984). Definition of an objective criterion of body phosphorus reserves in cattle and its evaluation in vivo. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 64 (Supplement), 229–231.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Little, D. A., Robinson, P. J., Playne, M. J. & Haydock, K. P. (1971). Factors affecting blood inorganic phosphorus determinations in cattle. Australian Veterinary Journal 47, 153–156.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maynard, L. A., Loosli, J. K., Hintz, H. F. & Warner, R. G. (1979). Animal Nutrition. 7th Edn.New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGregor, B. A. & McLaughlin, J. W. (1980). The influence of dietary protein and energy concentration on the growth of Merino weaner sheep. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture and Animal Husbandry 20, 308–315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mehrez, A. Z., Ørskov, E. R. & McDonald, I. (1977). Rates of rumen fermentation in relation to ammonia concentration. British Journal of Nutrition 38, 437–443.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Milford, R. & Minson, D. J. (1965). Intake of tropical pasture species. In Proceedings of the Ninth International Grassland Congress, Vol. 1, pp. 815–822. Sāo Paulo, Brazil: Department of Animal Production of the Agricultural Secretariat.Google Scholar
Mills, S. E., Armentano, L. E., Russell, R. W. & Young, J. W. (1981). Rapid and specific isolation of radioactive glucose from biological samples. Journal of Dairy Science 64, 1719–1723.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Milton, J. T. B. & Ternouth, J. H. (1985). Phosphorus metabolism in ruminants. II. Effects of inorganic phosphorus concentration upon food intake and digestibility. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 36, 647–654.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ørskov, E. R., McDonald, I., Fraser, C. & Corse, E. L. (1971). The nutrition of the early weaned lamb. III. The effect of ad libitum intake of diets varying in protein concentration on performance and on body composition at different liveweights. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 11, 351–361.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Owens, F. N. & Bergen, W. G. (1983). Nitrogen metabolism of ruminant animals: historical perspective, current understanding and future implications. Journal of Animal Science 57 (Supplement 2), 498–518.Google ScholarPubMed
Petri, A., Muschen, H., Breves, G., Richter, O. & Pfeffer, E. (1989). Response of lactating goats to low phosphorus intake. 2. Nitrogen transfer from rumen ammonia to rumen microbes and proportion of milk protein derived from microbial amino acids. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 111, 265–271.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Preston, R. L. & Pfander, W. H. (1964). Phosphorus metabolism in lambs fed varying phosphorus intakes. Journal of Nutrition 83, 369–378.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Scott, D., McLean, A. F. & Buchan, W. (1984). The effect of variation in phosphorus intake on net intestinal phosphorus absorption, salivary phosphorus secretion and pathway of excretion in sheep fed roughage diets. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Physiology 69, 439–452.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Siebert, B. D., Newman, D. M. R., Hart, B. & Michell, G. L. (1975). Effects of feeding varying levels of protein and phosphorus in relation to bone disorders in cattle. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture and Animal Husbandry 15, 321–324.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steel, J. W. & Leng, R. A. (1968). Effect of plane of nutrition and pregnancy on glucose entry rates in sheep. Proceedings of the Australian Society of Animal Production 7, 342–347.Google Scholar
Technical Committee of Responses to Nutrients (1991). A reappraisal of the calcium and phosphorus requirements of sheep and cattle. Nutrition Abstracts and Reviews (Series B) 61, 573–612.Google Scholar
Ternouth, J. H. (1989). Endogenous losses of phosphorus by sheep. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 113, 291–297.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ternouth, J. H. & Sevilla, C. C. (1990). The effects of low levels of dietary phosphorus upon the dry matter intake and metabolism of lambs. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 41, 175–184.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ternouth, J. H., Davies, H. M. S., Whineray, S. & Thomas, B. J. (1980). Methods of measuring phosphorus status in sheep. Proceedings of the Australian Society of Animal Production 13, 213–216.Google Scholar
Thomas, B. J., Ternouth, J. H., Cleary, J. & Charles, D. D. (1983). Measurement of lean body mass in animals by thermal neutron capture gamma-ray analysis. Proceedings of the Australian Conference on Nuclear Technology and Analysis 3, 56.Google Scholar
Tomas, F. M. (1974). Phosphorus homeostasis in sheep. III. Relationship between the amount of salivary phosphorus secreted and the quantities of phosphorus excreted via the urine and faeces. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 25, 495–507.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tuen, A. A., Wadsworth, J. C. & Murray, M. (1984). Absorption of calcium and phosphorus by growing cattle during dietary protein deficiency. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society of Australia 9, 144—147.Google Scholar
Van Niekerk, B. D. H. & Jacobs, G. A. (1985). Protein, energy and phosphorus supplementation of cattle fed lowquality forage. South African Journal of Animal Science 15, 133–136.Google Scholar
Veira, D. M. & Ivan, M. (1982). The effect of dietary protein on digestion and fermentation in the gastrointestinal tract of sheep. Annales de Recherches Vétérinaires 13, 213–220.Google ScholarPubMed
Wang, X.-L., Gallagher, C. H., McClure, T. J., Reeve, V. E. & Canfield, P. J. (1985). Bovine post-parturient haemoglobinuria: effect of inorganic phosphate on red cell metabolism. Research in Veterinary Science 39, 333–339.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weston, R. H. (1971). Factors limiting the uptake of feed by sheep. V. Feed intake and the productive performance of the ruminant lamb in relation to the quantity of crude protein digested in the intestines. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 22, 307–320.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wiedmeier, R. D., Males, J. R. & Gaskins, C. T. (1983). Effect of dietary crude protein on the dry matter digestibility of wheat straw diets in cattle. Journal of Animal Science 57, 1568–1575.CrossRefGoogle Scholar