The present results are the last part of a series of experiments conducted in this laboratory on metabolism of major individual rumen ciliate protozoa species and their combinations in sheep. These species were inoculated into the rumen of fauna-free (FF) sheep to study digestibility of dietary fibre and duodenal flow of N. Sixteen rumen- and duodenum-cannulated FF sheep were divided into four ...

Protozoa are commensal eukaryotes in the rumen of herbivores. Protozoa are large producers of hydrogen, which is utilized by methanogenic archaea to produce methane, a greenhouse gas. The removal of protozoa from the rumen (defaunation) decreases methanogenesis, but also negatively affects fiber digestion, which is the main function of the rumen. The aim of this study was to examine the effect ...

The effects of feeding and various reticular infusions on ruminal holotrich concentrations were studied in an attempt to identify possible factors stimulating their migration into the rumen. It was concluded that glucose entering the reticulo-rumen shortly after feeding could stimulate migration of holotrich protozoa.

Effects of supplementation with ruminal epithelial cells on fiber-degrading activity and cell growth of Ruminococcus albus (R. albus, strain 7) was tested using a basal substrate of rice straw and formulated concentrate. Cultures of R. albus alone and R. albus with rumen protozoa were grown at 39C for 48 h with an 8.4% crude protein (CP) substrate, 33% of the CP supplemented with either rumina...

The effect of rumen microbes on six mycotoxins (aflatoxin B1, ochratoxin A, zearalenone, T-2 toxin, diacetoxyscirpenol, and deoxynivalenol ) considered to be health risks for domestic animals was investigated. The mycotoxins were incubated with intact rumen fluid or fractions of rumen protozoa and bacteria from sheep and cattle in the presence or absence of milled feed. Rumen fluid had no effec...

Intact, metabolically active rumen protozoa prepared by gravity sedimentation and washing in a mineral solution at 10 to 15 degrees C had comparatively low proteolytic activity on azocasein and low endogenous proteolytic activity. Protozoa washed in 0.1 M potassium phosphate buffer (pH 6.8) at 4 degrees C and stored on ice autolysed when they were warmed to 39 degrees C. They also exhibited low...

Field studies of grazing lambs without protozoa in the rumen indicated that live weight gains were 15% higher than in faunated lambs (Bird &nd Leng 1985). Poos et al. (1979) reported that monensin decreased protozoa1 populations in the rumen but Leng et al. (1984) found no effect of monensin on half life or growth rate of protozoa. However in previous studies (Habib, G. & Preston, T.R. 1984 unp...