The aim in this degree project is to use in vitro techniques to examine the effect of polyphenoloxidase (PPO) in red clover varieties on ruminal protein degradation and intestinal amino acid digestion.
High yielding dairy cattle require protein supplementation. Rapeseed meal outperforms soybean meal but its supply is insufficient. Red clover, with its high protein content and N utilization efficiency due to high PPO activity, reduces protein supplement needs in dairy cow diets. However, imbalanced amino acid uptake in the small intestine may limit milk N conversion from dietary N. Addressing red clover limitations could allow breeding varieties with optimal PPO levels for enhanced amino acid supply for milk synthesis. This trial is part of a larger project “Improving red clover as protein source for dairy cows”. This project supports one degree project that is perfect for a student interested in laboratory practices and sample analysis.
Project description: “Assessing in vitro intestinal digestibility of amino acids of different red clover varieties.”
You will conduct in vitro intestinal digestion experiments based on HCL-pepsin and pancreatin digestion to evaluate amino acids digestion in different red clover varieties. Work also includes sample preparation for nitrogen analysis with elemental analyser and samples for amino acid analysis.
The project includes experiments, sample analysis, data collection and analysis, literature review and report writing. The experimental work should be performed during summer 2024, in Uppsala or potentially in Umeå.
Merko Vaga, merko.vaga@slu.se
Sophie Julie Krizsan, sophie.krizsan@slu.se