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* Upjohn Laboratories, The Upjohn Company, Kalamazoo, MI 49001 and Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843
The effects of grain type and processing on ruminal starch digestion are well documented but poorly understood at the biochemical and molecular levels. Waxy grains have starches high in amylopectin and are more readily digested than nonwaxy grains. However, the composition of the endosperm cell matrix and the extent to which the starch granules are embedded within it also affect starch digestion rates. Continued work is needed to determine the influence of specific cell matrix proteins, protein-starch interactions and cell wall carbohydrates on starch availability. The microbial populations that metabolize starch are diverse, differing in their capacities to hydrolyze starch granules and soluble forms of starch. Surveys show that the amylases are under regulatory control in most of these organisms, but few studies have addressed the types of amylolytic enzymes produced, their regulation and the impact of other plant polymers on their synthesis. Research in these areas, coupled with the development and use of isogeneic or near-isogeneic grain cultivars with biochemically defined endosperm characteristics, will enhance our ability to identify mechanisms to manipulate ruminal starch digestion.
KEY WORDS: starch ruminal bacteria ruminants sorghum digestion
1 Presented at the 31st Annual Ruminant Nutrition Conference, entitled "Starch Digestion: Understanding and Potential for Improvement," at the Annual Meeting of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, April 1, 1990, Washington, DC.
2 Guest editor for this symposium was C. B. Theurer, Department of Animal Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721.
3 To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Manuscript received 26 June 1991. Revision accepted 16 July 1991.
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