ABSTRACT
Conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) are produced during rumen biohydrogenation and exert a range of biological effects. The trans-10,cis-12 CLA isomer is a potent inhibitor of milk fat synthesis in lactating dairy cows and some aspects of the mechanism have been established. Conjugated linoleic acid-induced milk fat depression has also been observed in small ruminants and our objective was to examine the molecular mechanism in lactating ewes. Multiparous lactating ewes were fed a basal ration (0.55:0.45 concentrate-to-forage ratio; dry matter basis) and randomly allocated to 2 dietary CLA levels (n=8 ewes/treatment). Treatments were zero CLA (control) or 15 g/d of lipid-encapsulated CLA supplement containing cis-9,trans-11 and trans-10,cis-12 CLA isomers in equal proportions. Treatments were fed for 10 wk and the CLA supplement provided 1.5 g of trans-10,cis-12/d. No treatment effects were observed on milk yield or milk composition for protein or lactose at wk 10 of the study. In contrast, CLA treatment significantly decreased both milk fat percentage and milk fat yield (g/d) by about 23%. The de novo synthesized fatty acids (FA;