• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.511-517
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• 1992

Ethanol was utilized by mixed rumen microbes, but addition of pentachlorophenol (25 mg/l), a methanogen inhibitor, suppressed the utilization of ethanol. Carbon monoxide (50% of the gas phase), a hydrogenase inhibitor, more strongly suppressed the utilization of ethanol, propanol, and butanol. These results suggest that the major ethanol utilizers are $H_2$ producers. Ethanol utilization was depressed at low pH (below 6.0). Since methanogens were shown to be relatively resistant to low pH, it appears that ethanol utilizers are particularly sensitive to low pH. Ruminococcus albus and R. flavefaciens in mono-culture produced ethanol from carbohydrate (glucose and cellobiose), even when a high level (170 mM) of ethanol was present. Ethanol was not utilized even in the absence of carbohydrate, but the co-culture of these bacteria with methanogens resulted in the utilization of ethanol, i.e., when $H_2$ was rapidly converted to $CH_4$, R. albus and R. flavefaciens utilized ethanol. These results suggest that ethanol is utilized when the electrons liberated by the oxidation of ethanol are rapidly removed, and ready electron disposal in ethanol-utilizing, $H_2$-producing bacteria is accomplished by the interspecies transfer of $H_2$.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.37 no.2_spc
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• pp.323-336
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• 2024

Molecular hydrogen (H₂) and formate (HCOO^-) are metabolic end products of many primary fermenters in the rumen ecosystem. Both play a vital role in fermentation where they are electron sinks for individual microbes in an anaerobic environment that lacks external electron acceptors. If H₂ and/or formate accumulate within the rumen, the ability of primary fermenters to regenerate electron carriers may be inhibited and microbial metabolism and growth disrupted. Consequently, H₂- and/or formate-consuming microbes such as methanogens and possibly homoacetogens play a key role in maintaining the metabolic efficiency of primary fermenters. There is increasing interest in identifying approaches to manipulate the rumen ecosystem for the benefit of the host and the environment. As H₂ and formate are important mediators of interspecies interactions, an understanding of their production and utilization could be a significant starting point for the development of successful interventions aimed at redirecting electron flow and reducing methane emissions. We conclude by discussing in brief ruminant methane mitigation approaches as a model to help understand the fate of H₂ and formate in the rumen ecosystem.