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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 November 2017
Microbial protein contributes about two-thirds of the amino acids absorbed by ruminants. Information on the proportion of bacterial and protozoal N passing to the duodenum would enhance our understanding of the effect of diet not only on microbial protein synthesis but also on the contribution of bacteria and protozoa to duodenal flow of others metabolites of interest. However, differentiation of the duodenal fractions has proven to be difficult because routine procedures cannot separate microbial protein at the duodenum into bacteria and protozoa (Punia et al., 1992). Molecular techniques that use group-specific rRNA-targeted probes may help overcome these problems. The objective of this experiment was to quantify the flow of protozoal N at the duodenum in steers, fed two silage diets differing in water soluble carbohydrates (WSC) content, by real-time PCR using protozoa specific primers.