Abomasal infusion of branched-chain amino acids or branched-chain keto-acids alter lactation performance and liver triglycerides in fresh cows.

Background: Dairy cows are at high risk of fatty liver disease in early lactation, but current preventative measures are not always effective. Cows with fatty liver have lower circulating branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) concentrations whereas cows with high circulating BCAA levels have low liver triglyceride (TG). Our objective was to determine the impact of BCAA and their corresponding ketoacids (branched-chain ketoacids, BCKA) on production performance and liver TG accumulation in Holstein cows in the first 3 weeks postpartum.

Direct Measurement of Plant Cellulose Microfibril and Bundles in Native Cell Walls.

Plants use rigid cellulose together with non-cellulosic matrix polymers to build cell walls. Cellulose microfibrils comprise linear β(1,4)-glucan chains packed through inter- and intra-chain hydrogen-bonding networks and van der Waals forces. Due to its small size, the number of glucan chains and their arrangement in a microfibril remains elusive.

Real-time imaging reveals that lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase promotes cellulase activity by increasing cellulose accessibility.

Background: The high cost of enzymes is one of the key technical barriers that must be overcome to realize the economical production of biofuels and biomaterials from biomass. Supplementation of enzyme cocktails with lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase (LPMO) can increase the efficiency of these cellulase mixtures for biomass conversion. The previous studies have revealed that LPMOs cleave polysaccharide chains by oxidization of the C1 and/or C4 carbons of the monomeric units.