Evaluation of methane-utilising bacteria products as feed ingredients for monogastric animals.
Bacterial proteins represent a potential future nutrient source for monogastric animal production because they can be grown rapidly on substrates with minimum dependence on soil, water, and climate conditions. This review summarises the current knowledge on methane-utilising bacteria as feed ingredients for animals. We present results from earlier work and recent findings concerning bacterial protein, including the production process, chemical composition, effects on nutrient digestibility, metabolism, and growth performance in several monogastric species, including pigs, broiler chickens, mink (Mustela vison), fox (Alopex lagopus), Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), and Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus). It is concluded that bacterial meal (BM) derived from natural gas fermentation, utilising a bacteria culture containing mainly the methanotroph Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath), is a promising source of protein based on criteria such as amino acid composition, digestibility, and animal performance and health. Future research challenges include modified downstream processing to produce value-added products, and improved understanding of factors contributing to nutrient availability and animal performance.
Øverland
Margareth
M
Aquaculture Protein Centre, CoE, Department of Animal and Aquacultural Sciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, As, Norway. margareth.overland@umb.no
Tauson
Anne-Helene
AH
Shearer
Karl
K
Skrede
Anders
A
D000821:Animal Feed; D000824:Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D000818:Animals; D004032:Diet / Q000662:veterinary; D008772:Methylococcaceae / Q000378:metabolism*; D013270:Stomach / Q000033:anatomy & histology