Plasmids are self-replicating genetic elements capable of mobilization between different hosts. Plasmids often serve as mediators of lateral gene transfer, a process considered to be a strong and sculpting evolutionary force in microbial environments. Our aim was to characterize the overall plasmid population in the environment of the bovine rumen, which houses a complex and dense microbiota th...

Considerable difficulty and uncertainty can be associated with sampling through cannulas from the reticulo-rumen of the sheep. The contents are by no means homogeneous, and for some purposes relatively large samples have to be withdrawn from various places within the organ and mixed in an external container before a subsample is taken for analysis and the unused portion returned to the rumen. I...

1. The rate of transfer of plasma urea-nitrogen to rumen ammonia was measured by infusion of 15NH4Cl and [15N]urea into sheep given brome grass (Bromus inermis) or lucerne (Medicago sativa) pellets. Urea was infused into the rumen or abomasum of two sheep given brome grass in order to increase the concentration of rumen ammonia. 2. From 6.2 to 9.8 g/d of plasma urea-N were transferred to the ru...

Total numbers of protozoa can be significantly lower in rumen fluid than in whole rumen contents, depending on the time of sampling and the procedure used to separate the fluid and solid fractions. Moreover, generic distribution in rumen fluid was significantly affected in all cases tested. The percentage of Entodinium spp. increased, whereas percentages of Diplodinium spp. and Ophryoscolex spp...

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of different levels of peptide supplementation on rumen fermentation pattern, digestibility and microbial protein synthesis. Three rumen-cannulated Holstein dairy cows were used in a 3 × 3 Latin square experiment within 21 days period. The ruminal infusion of sodium caseinate (CN) was 0 (control), 50 and 100 g/d. Dry matter intake, milk yield ...

The rumen is an important digestive organ in ruminants. Numerous regulatory factors including microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in embryonic organ development. In the present study, miRNAs expressed in the rumens of goats (Capra hircus) and their potential roles in the pathways involved in rumen development were identified using high-throughput sequencing. Histological morphology revealed a disti...

An average of 11 (range, 2 to 47) mumoles of formate per g per hr was produced and used in whole bovine rumen contents incubated in vitro, as calculated from the product of the specific turnover rate constant, k, times the concentration of intercellular formate. The latter varied between 5 and 26 (average, 12) nmoles/g. The concentration of formate in the total rumen contents was as much as 1,0...

The rumen microbial community in dairy cows plays a critical role in efficient milk production. However, there is a lack of data comparing the composition of the rumen bacterial community of the main dairy breeds. This study utilizes 16S rRNA gene sequencing to describe the rumen bacterial community composition in Holstein and Jersey cows fed the same diet by sampling the rumen microbiota via t...

Forages are the most important ingredient in a dairy cow’s ration. She is a ruminant and to be a healthy, productive cow she needs a healthy, productive rumen. High quality forages are the key to achieving a healthy rumen and a productive cow. However, because of the importance of forages in maintaining rumen health and cow performance, when deficiencies in the amount or quality of the forage i...