Biotechnological Advances for Animal Nutrition and Feed Improvement

Shortage of animal feed in most developing countries and the increasing cost of feed ingredients mean that there is a need to improve feed utilization. Although developing countries accommodate a majority of the world’s people, there is a risk that biotechnology research and development may by-pass their requirements. However, there are beginnings of using biotechnology in animal production particularly animal nutrition these days. The advances of biotechnology in recent years allowed the use of non-toxic fungi to improve fibrous feeds like straw or poor quality roughages. In particular, the white rot fungi have been used because of their ability to delignify the plant material. In addition to antibiotics, a wide variety of feed additives, are known to modify rumen fermentation. They include components that can reduce methanogenesis, enhance propionic acid production, reduce protein degradation, improve microbial protein synthesis and inhibit protozoa. Among such additives are antibiotics, microbes, and specific substrates like oligosaccharides. In addition, effective enzyme preparations can now be produced in large quantities and relatively inexpensively. Therefore, supplementation of the diet as a means of improving nutritive value is becoming commonplace. The ultimate goal of using biotechnology in animal nutrition is to improve the plane of nutrition through increasing availability of nutrients from feed and to reduce the wastage of the feed. Their potential in developing countries is less than in developed countries, mainly because the successful application usually requires better feed quality and management.