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An Mn for Cu substitution on cellular prion proteins (Pr[P.sup.c]) in the brain that results in biochemical changes to Pr[P.sup.c] has been implicated in the pathogenesis of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. Recent research in the mature bovine does not support this theory. The present study tested this hypothesis by using progeny from gestating cows receiving Cu-deficient diets or Cu-deficient diets coupled with high dietary Mn. Copper-adequate cows (n = 39) were assigned randomly to 1 of 3 treatments: 1) control (adequate in Cu and Mn), 2) Cu deficient (-Cu), or 3) Cu deficient plus high dietary Mn (-Cu+Mn). Cows assigned to treatments -Cu and -Cu+Mn received no supplemental Cu and were supplemented with Mo to further induce Cu deficiency. The -Cu+Mn treatment also received 500 mg of supplemental Mn/kg of dietary DM. Calves were weaned at 180 d and maintained on the same treatments as their respective dams for 260 d. Copper-deficient calves (-Cu and -Cu+Mn) had decreased (P = 0.001) brain (obex) Cu and tended to have increased (P = 0.09) obex Mn relative to control calves. Obex Mn:Cu ratios were substantially increased (P < 0.001) in calves receiving -Cu and -Cu+Mn treatments compared with control calves and were greater (P < 0.001) in -Cu+Mn calves than in -Cu calves. Obex prion protein characteristics, including proteinase K degradability, superoxide dismutase (SOD)-like activity, and glycoform distributions, were largely unaffected. Obex tissue antioxidant capacity was not compromised by perturbations in brain metals, but Cu-deficient calves tended to have decreased (P = 0.06) Cu:Zn SOD activity and increased (P = 0.06) Mn SOD activity. Although obex Cu was decreased because of Cu deficiency and Mn increased because of exposure to high dietary Mn, the obex metal imbalance had minimal effects on Pr[P.sup.c] functional characteristics in the calves. Key words: bovine, copper, manganese, prion

Sixty Angus (n = 29) and Angus-Simmental cross (n = 31) steers, averaging 9 mo of age and 277 kg of initial BW, were used in a 148-d study to determine the bioavailability of copper glycinate (CuGly) relative to feed-grade copper sulfate (CuS[O.sub.4]) when supplemented to diets high in S and Mo. Steers were blocked by weight within breed and randomly assigned to 1 of 5 treatments: 1) control (no supplemental Cu), 2) 5 mg of Cu/kg of DM from CuS[O.sub.4], 3) 10 mg of Cu/kg of DM from CuS[O.sub.4], 4) 5 mg of Cu/kg of DM from CuGly, and 5) 10 mg of Cu/kg of DM from CuGly. Steers were individually fed a corn silage-based diet (analyzed 8.2 mg of Cu/kg of DM), and supplemented with 2 mg of Mo/kg of diet DM and 0.15% S for 120 d (phase 1). Steers were then supplemented with 6 mg of Mo/kg of diet DM and 0.15% S for an additional 28 d (phase 2). Average daily gain and G:F were improved by Cu supplementation regardless of source (P = 0.01). Final ceruloplasmin, plasma Cu, and liver Cu values were greater (P < 0.05) in steers fed supplemental Cu compared with controls. Plasma Cu, liver Cu, and ceruloplasmin values were greater (P < 0.05) in steers supplemented with 10 mg of Cu/kg of DM vs. those supplemented with 5 mg of Cu/kg of DM. Based on multiple linear regression of final plasma Cu, liver Cu, and ceruloplasmin values on dietary Cu intake in phase 1 (2 mg of Mo/kg of DM), bioavailability of Cu from CuGly relative to CuS[O.sub.4] (100%) was 140 (P = 0.10), 131 (P = 0.12), and 140% (P = 0.01), respectively. Relative bioavailability of Cu from CuGly was greater than from CuS[O.sub.4] (P = 0.01; 144, 150, and 157%, based on plasma Cu, liver Cu, and ceruloplasmin, respectively) after supplementation of 6 mg of Mo/kg of DM for 28 d. Results of this study suggest that Cu from CuGly may be more available than CuS[O.sub.4] when supplemented to diets high in S and Mo. Key words: bioavailability, cattle, copper glycinate, copper sulfate, growth

It is now widely accepted that abnormal prion proteins are the likely causative agent in bovine spongiform encephalopathy. Cellular prion proteins ([PrP.sup.c]) bind Cu, which appears to be required to maintain functional characteristics of the protein. The replacement of Cu on [PrP.sup.c] with Mn has resulted in loss of function and increased protease resistance. Twelve mature cows were used to determine the effects of Cu deficiency, alone and coupled with high dietary Mn, on brain Cu and Mn concentrations and on [PrP.sup.c] functional characteristics. Copper-adequate cows were randomly assigned to treatments: 1) control (adequate in Cu and Mn), 2) Cu-deficient (-Cu), and 3) Cu-deficient plus high dietary Mn (-Cu+Mn). Cows assigned to treatments -Cu and -Cu+Mn received no supplemental Cu and were supplemented with Mo to further induce Cu deficiency. After 360 d, Cu-deficient cows (-Cu and -Cu+Mn) tended to have lesser concentrations of Cu (P = 0.09) in the obex region of the brain stem. Brain Mn tended (P = 0.09) to be greater in -Cu+Mn cattle compared with -Cu cattle. Western blots revealed that [PrP.sup.c] relative optical densities, proteinase K degradability, elution profiles, molecular weights, and glycoform distributions were not different among treatments. The concentration of [PrP.sup.c], as determined by ELISA, was similar across treatment groups. Brain tissue (obex) Mn superoxide dismutase activity was greatest (P = 0.04) in cattle receiving -Cu+Mn, whereas immunopurified [PrP.sup.c] had similar superoxide dismutase-like activities among treatments. Immunopurified [PrP.sup.c] had similar Cu concentrations across treatments, whereas Mn was undetectable. We concluded that Cu deficiency, coupled with excessive Mn intake, in the bovine may decrease brain Cu and increase brain Mn. Copper deficiency, alone or coupled with high dietary Mn, did not cause detectable alterations in [PrP.sup.c] functional characteristics. Key words: bovine, copper, manganese, prion

This study was designed to test the efficacy of plasma diamine oxidase (DAO) activity as a biomarker of Cu deficiency in the bovine. Angus steers (n = 11) and heifers (n = 17) were assigned to 1 of 3 treatments: 1) control (adequate dietary Cu), 2) Cu-deficient (-Cu), and 3) Cu-deficient plus high dietary Mn (-Cu+Mn), and fed from weaning through finishing. Molybdenum (2 mg/kg of DM) was supplemented to treatments -Cu and -Cu+Mn to induce Cu deficiency via the formation of ruminal thiomolybdates. Samples were collected on 2 sampling dates (d 160 and 190) to determine the efficacy of plasma DAO activity as a biomarker of Cu deficiency. For both sampling dates, liver Cu, plasma Cu, and plasma ceruloplasmin activity indicated that cattle receiving diets designed to induce Cu deficiency (-Cu and -Cu+Mn) were Cu-deficient, with all indices of Cu status lower (P < 0.001) than the control animals. In addition to these traditional indices of Cu status, plasma DAO activity also effectively identified Cu-deficient animals because plasma DAO levels were reduced (P < 0.001) by 2- to 3-fold compared with controls. Correlation analysis indicated that plasma DAO activity was highly correlated to all other indices of Cu status (Pearson R = 0.73 to 0.87). During the growing phase, ADG (P = 0.09) and G:F (P = 0.002) were depressed in Cu-deficient animals compared with controls, whereas cattle performed equally well across all treatments in the finishing phase. The plasma DAO activity assay was precise and reliable based on an intraassay CV of 4.4% and interassay CV of 11.1%. Due to increased variability, freezing and thawing of plasma samples resulted in significant changes in DAO activity relative to fresh plasma DAO activity values. Thus, fresh plasma DAO activity, a relatively simple assay, may serve as an effective tool to diagnose Cu deficiency in the bovine. Key words: cattle, copper deficiency, diamine oxidase

A study was conducted to determine the effect of dietary Mn on performance of growing and finishing steers, and to evaluate the effect of pharmacological concentrations of Mn on lipid metabolism and subsequent carcass quality in steers. One hundred twenty Angus cross steers were blocked by BW and origin and assigned randomly to one of six treatments (four replicate pens per treatment) providing 0 (control), 10, 20, 30, 120, or 240 mg of supplemental Mn/ kg of DM from MnS[O.sub.4]. Steers were fed a corn silage-based growing diet for 84 d, and then switched to a corn-based finishing diet for an average of 112 d. The control growing diet analyzed 29 mg of Mn/kg of DM, whereas the control finishing diet analyzed 8 mg of Mn/kg of DM. Jugular blood samples were obtained on d 56 of the growing and finishing phase for plasma Mn and glucose analysis. Final BW, DMI, ADG, and G:F did not differ (P = 0.38 to P = 0.98) across treatments during growing and finishing phases. Plasma Mn concentrations were not affected by treatment; however, liver and LM Mn at slaughter increased linearly (P = 0.02 and 0.002, respectively) with increasing dietary Mn. Plasma glucose concentrations did not differ (P = 0.90) among treatments. Serum nonesterifled fatty acid concentrations tended (P = 0.10) to decrease linearly with increasing dietary Mn on d 56 of the finishing phase. Longissimus muscle lipid concentration was affected quadratically (P = 0.08) by dietary Mn. Muscle lipid seemed to increase slightly when steers were fed 30 or 120 mg of Mn/kg of DM, but decreased with the addition of 240 mg of Mn/kg of DM. Carcass characteristics were not affected by dietary Mn. Manganese concentrations of 29 and 8 mg/kg of DM in the growing and finishing diets, respectively, were adequate for maximizing performance of growing and finishing steers in this experiment. Supplementing physiological or pharmacological concentrations of Mn affected lipid metabolism; however, this did not result in altered carcass characteristics. Key Words: Cattle, Growth, Lipid Metabolism, Manganese

Two experiments were conducted to determine whether elevating the percentage of ruminally undegradable protein (RUP) in the diet would influence the RUP value of the protein feedstuff. A single-effluent, continuous-culture study was designed to test the effect of RUP inclusion rate in the diet on ruminal degradability of the protein. Treatments consisted (DM basis) of a control diet with no supplemental protein, control + 2.5% bloodmeal (BM-L), control + 5% bloodmeal (BM-H), control + 4.45% soybean meal (SBM-L), and control + 8.89% soybean meal (SBM-H). Proteolytic activity and total VFA concentration were not affected (P = 0.73 and P = 0.13) by treatment. Within protein source, dietary RUP value was not affected (P = 0.94) by level of inclusion. When corrected for control diet RUP flow, the RUP value of the blood meal (BM) protein was higher (P = 0.01) than soybean meal (SBM); however, level of supplementation did not affect (P = 0.07) the RUP value of BM or SBM. In Exp. 2, 32 British x Continental crossbred steers (276 [+ or -] 26.3 kg) were fed for 72 d to examine the effects of balancing the AA:energy ratio, using BM as a RUP source, on ADG, G:F, and lean tissue deposition. Diets were formulated to provide increasing levels of arginine, while ruminally degradable protein and energy were held constant. Four dietary treatments provided 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2x the required amount of arginine, whereas the control diet had no BM included. Daily DMI averaged 7.6 kg/steer and did not differ (P = 0.71) among treatments. Steers gained an average of 1.9 kg/d and average G:F was 0.260, with no differences (P = 0.60 and P = 0.97, respectively) among treatments. There was no difference (P = 0.48) in the change in 12th-rib fat depth during the study; however, change in LM area was affected quadratically as the level of BM increased in the diet, with the greatest increase in LM area occurring in steers fed the 1x and 1.5x required arginine treatments. Balancing the AA:energy ratio did not affect G:F, DMI, or ADG; however, it increased deposition of lean in the LM quadratically. Level of dietary inclusion of BM as an RUP source does not affect its RUP value or efficacy of providing postruminal AA in growing steers. Key Words: Amino Acid:Energy, Bloodmeal, Feed Efficiency, Ruminally Undegradable Protein

Discusses the abstract of the study 'Effects of RUP inclusion level on ruminal degradabity of RUP,' presented at the American Society of Animal Science's Midwestern Branch conference on March 17-19, 2003, in Des Moines, Iowa.

Discusses the abstract of the study 'Effect of degradable protein concentrations on organic acid production by mixed rumen bacteria,' presented at the American Society of Animal Science's Midwestern Branch conference on March 17-19, 2003, in Des Moines, Iowa.