URBANA, Ill. – Many animal feeds contain crystalline amino acids, nitrogen-based building blocks for protein synthesis. Often, crystalline amino acids are manufactured by genetically engineered bacteria, which do not trigger any safety concerns but are capable of producing mass quantities of the protein precursors.

Once the amino acids are synthesized, they are typically filtered out and crystallized for inclusion in diets. But the industry is recognizing that the remaining deactivated bacterial biomass has intrinsic nutritional value, and some companies are testing the potential to skip the filtration step. A recent study from the University of Illinois shows that the amino acid valine in dried bacterial biomass is just as nutritious as pure crystallized valine. (Read more...)