Role and Potential of Ruminal Fungi in Fiber Digestion - Review -

Anaerobic chytridiomycete fungi are now well recognized as one of the major components of rumen microflora. Since the discovery of anaerobic fungi, the knowledge upon their morphology and physiology has been accumulated. It is certain that they gave roles in ruminal fiber digestion, although their quantitative contribution to rumen digestion is still unclear. Their role in fiber digestion is complicated by the dietary factors and the interaction with other microorganisms. We aim at reviewing such information in this article. Considerable attention gas been paid to the polysaccharidase of these fungi. Analysis on the fungal genes encoding these enzymes has been performed in several laboratories. This article also covers the genetical analysis of fungal polysaccharidases.