Effects of nitroethane and monensin on ruminal fluid fermentation characteristics and nitrocompound-metabolizing bacterial populations.

Nitroethane is a potent inhibitor of ruminal CH 4 production, a digestive inefficiency resulting in the loss of 2-15% of a ruminant's gross energy intake and an important emission source of this greenhouse gas. To assess the effect of nitroethane on methanogenesis and characterize ruminal adaptation observed with low treatment doses to this inhibitor, ruminal microbes were cultured in vitro with supplements of water (controls), 4.5 and 9 mM nitroethane, and 0.09 mM monensin, with or without 9 mM nitroethane. All treatments decreased CH 4 production >78% compared to controls; however, differential effects of treatments were observed on CO 2, butyrate isobutyrate, and valerate production. Treatments did not affect H 2 accumulation or acetate and propionate production. Most probable numbers of nitrometabolizing bacteria were increased with 4.5 and 9 mM nitroethane compared to numbers recovered from controls or monensin-containing treatments, which may explain ruminal adaptation to lower nitroethane treatments.