Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T03:46:30.191Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Possible causes of the high death rate of ciliate protozoa in the rumen

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

G. S. Coleman
G. S. Coleman
Affiliation:
Biochemistry Department, Agricultural and Food Research Council, Institute Animal Physiology, Babraham, Cambridge, CB2 4AT
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

The protozoa in washed suspensions of rumen ciliates were killed by freezing or heating at 49 °C for 5 min before incubation at 39 °C, aeration during incubation or incubation in hypotonic salt solution (30% of ncrmal) and released their intracellular cellulose and amylase during 4–6 h. With the last two treatments it was only necessary to expose the protozoa to the conditions for 2 min to obtain over 50% of maximal enzyme release 4–6 h later. It is suggested that death of the protozoa during exposure to air and/or hypotonic salt solution for short times during drinking and rumination by the host animal could be the explanation for the high postulated protozoal death rate in the rumen. The amylase and cellulase released from the protozoa tested were stable in the presence of mixed rumen bacteria for 1·5 h and could be of importance in the degradation of plant constituents in the rumen.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 105 , Issue 1 , August 1985 , pp. 39 - 43
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1985

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Coleman, G. S. (1978). Rumen entodiniomorphid protozoa. In Methods of Cultivating Parasites in vitro(ed. Baker, J. R. and Taylor, A. E. R.), pp. 39–54. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Coleman, G. S. (1983). Preliminary observations on the separation of the cellulascs of the rumen ciliates Eremoplastron bovis and Eudiplodinium maggii. Journal of Protozoology 30, 36A.Google Scholar
Coleman, G. S. (1985). The cellulase content of 15 species of entodiniomorphid protozoa, mixed bacteria and plant debris isolated from the ovine rumen. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 104, 349–360.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coleman, G. S., Davies, J. I. & Cash, M. A. (1972). The cultivation of the rumen ciliates Epidinium ecaudatum caudatum and Polyplastron multivesiculatum in vitro. Journal of General Microbiology 73, 509–521.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Coleman, G. S. & Laurie, J. I. (1977). The metabolism of starch, glucose, amino acids, purines, pyrimidines and bacteria by the rumen ciliate Polyplastron multivesiculatum. Journal of General Microbiology 98, 579–588.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coleman, G. S., Laurie, J. I. & Bailey, J. E. (1977). The cultivation of the rumen ciliate Entodinium bursa in the presence of Entodinium caudatum. Journal of General Microbiology 101, 253–258.Google Scholar
Coleman, G. S., Laurie, J. I., Bailey, J. E. & Holdgate, S. A. (1976). The cultivation of cellulolytic protozoa isolated from the rumen. Journal of General Microbiology 95, 144–150.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Coleman, G. S. & Sandford, D. C. (1980). The uptake and metabolism of bacteria, amino acids, glucose and starch by tho spined and spineless forms of the rumen ciliate Entodinium caudatum. Journal of General Microbiology 117, 411–418.Google Scholar
Eadie, J. M. (1962). Interrelationships between certain rumen ciliate protozoa. Journal of General Microbiology 29, 570–588.Google Scholar
Eadie, J. M. (1967). Studies on the ecology of certain rumen ciliate protozoa. Journal of General Microbiology 49, 175–194.Google Scholar
Harrison, D. G., Beever, D. E. & Osbourn, D. F. (1979). The contribution of protozoa to the protein entering the duodenum of sheep. British Journal of Nutrition 41, 521–527.Google Scholar
Hungate, R. E., Reichl, J. & Prins, R. (1971). Parameters of rumen fermentation in a a continuously fed sheep: evidence of a microbial rumination pool. Applied Microbiology 22, 1104–1113.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leng, R. A. (1982). Dynamics of protozoa in the rumen of sheep. British Journal of Nutrition 48, 399–415.Google Scholar
Lowry, O. H., Rosebrough, N. J., Farr, A. L. & Randall, R. J. (1951). Protein measurement with the Folin phenol reagent. Journal of Biological Chemistry 193, 265–275.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lubinsky, G. (1955 a). On some parasites of parasitic protozoa. 1. Sphaerita hoari sp. n. – a chytrid parasitising Eremoplastron bovis. Canadian Journal of Microbiology 1, 440–450.Google Scholar
Lubinsky, G. (1955 b). On some parasites of parasitic protozoa 2. Sagittospora cameroni gen. n. sp. n. – a phycomycete parasitising Ophryoscolecidae. Canadian Journal of Microbiology 1, 675–684.Google Scholar
Nelson, N. (1944). A photometric adaptation of the Somogyi method for the determination of glucose. Journal of Biological Chemistry 153, 375–380.Google Scholar
Steinhour, W. D., Stokes, H. R., Clark, J. H., Rogers, J. A., Davis, C. L. & Nelson, D. R. (1982). Estimation of the proportion of non-ammonianitrogen reaching the lower gut of the ruminant derived from bacterial and protozoal nitrogen. British Journal of Nutrition 48, 417–431.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weller, R. A. & Pilgrim, A. F. (1974). Passage of protozoa and volatile fatty acids from the rumen of the sheep and from a continuous in vitro fermentation system. British Journal of Nutrition 32, 341–351.Google Scholar