Summary of the impact

When Rowett Research Institute (now Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Aberdeen; RINH) scientists discovered that yeast, when used as a feed additive in ruminants, protected vulnerable, anaerobic microorganisms in the rumen from oxygen toxicity, the finding made sense of a range of disparate observations made previously by RINH scientists and others. The removal of oxygen leads to a cascade of benefits to ruminal fibre digestion, lactate metabolism and bacterial growth efficiency, which in turn benefits animal health and productivity. This seminal discovery transformed confidence among the livestock industry in the benefits of yeast as a feed additive. The use of live yeast in ruminant livestock production increased enormously as a result, such that the great majority of cattle in North America, and millions of cattle in Europe, now receive yeast routinely as a feed additive. Productivity has increased significantly as a consequence. Claimed impacts have therefore been on animal health, husbandry, animal production yields, and hence on the economy, commerce and industry.