A re-appraisal of the diversity of the methanogens associated with the rumen ciliates.

Ciliates of the Rumen of Domestic Ruminants in Kashan.

Study of methanogen communities associated with different rumen protozoal populations

Protozoa-associated methanogens (PAM) are considered one of the most active communities in the rumen methanogenesis. This experiment investigated whether methanogens are sequestrated within rumen protozoa, and structural differences between rumen free-living methanogens and PAM. Rumen protozoa were harvested from totally faunated sheep, and six protozoal fractions (plus free-living microorganis...

Can a fermentation gas mainly produced by rumen Isotrichidae ciliates be a potential source of biohydrogen and a fuel for a chemical fuel cell?

Bacteria, fungi and protozoa inhabiting the rumen, the largest chamber of the ruminants' stomach, release large quantities of hydrogen during the fermentation of carbohydrates. The hydrogen is used by coexisting methanogens to produce methane in energy-yielding processes. This work shows, for the first time, a fundamental possibility of using a hydrogen-rich fermentation gas produced by selecte...

Community structure analysis of methanogens associated with rumen protozoa reveals bias in universal archaeal primers.

The diversity of protozoan-associated methanogens in cattle was investigated using five universal archaeal small-subunit (SSU) rRNA gene primer sets. Methanobrevibacter spp. and rumen cluster C (distantly related to Thermoplasma spp.) were predominant. Significant differences in species composition among libraries indicate that some primers used previously to characterize rumen methanogens exhi...

Xenobiotic breakdown by mixed cultures.

Conclusion The interactions of methanogens with other organisms in natural habitats are various. At a metabolic level methanogens may compete for substrates with other bacteria and are involved in mutualistic interactions with non-methanogenic bacteria. Mutualism between methanogens and protozoa also occurs and, in addition, methanogens interact physically as episymbionts of rumen ciliates. Kno...