Abstract
Total nitrogen requirements in the small herbivorous rodent Microtus rossiaemeridionaliswere studied. When provided with two kinds of standard laboratory food (about 20% and 0% digestible protein, respectively) ad libitum(cafeteria diet), the voles chose a diet of 14% protein. The total daily (with urine and faeces) nitrogen losses were, in this case, determined as 3.65 ± 0. 60 mg N/ g of body mass. When provided with a protein-free diet alone, the animals lost 0.90 ± 0,05 mg N/ g body mass per day, comprising about 3% of their body mass daily. It was proposed that the consumption of a low-fiber diet (about 4% in both kinds of food) could affect the gastrointestinal bacterial flora and, thus, lead to changes in the primarily herbivorous nitrogen metabolism.
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Naumova, E.I., Meshcherskii, I.G. & Ushakova, N.A. Nitrogen Requirements of Microtus rossiaemeridionalis. Biology Bulletin 28, 486–490 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016744227226
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016744227226