• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.1708-1716
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• 2000

A study was made of diurnal changes in the ruminal bacteria associated with feed particles, i.e., non-associated (NAB), loosely associated (LAB), and tightly associated with particles (TAB), and the TAB concentration in different particle sizes from sheep fed orchardgrass (OG) or alfalfa (ALF) hay. Diaminopimelic acid (DAPA) was used to determine the TAB mass. Results showed that the bacterial masses in NAB and LAB were small, but comprised over 90% in TAB. The TAB mass in the ALF group sharply increased within 2 h after feeding and decreased afterward. The TAB mass showed the same trend in the OG group, increasing from 0 h to 2 h, but remained at the same level up to 14 h after feeding. The peak bacterial mass was, however, lower in the OG than the ALF group. The TAB concentration reflected the changes in total particulate tightly associated bacterial masses in both groups of hay fed sheep. Number of bacterial colonies per particle increased as the particulate size decreased in both groups. This difference, however, tended to decline as the postprandial period was prolonged. DAPA, however, tended to overestimate the TAB mass in the reticulo-rumen digesta of the hay fed sheep.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.66-74
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• 2012

The effects of exogenous fibrolytic enzymes (EFE; a mixture of two preparations from Trichoderma spp., with predominant xylanase and ${\beta}$-glucanase activities, respectively) on colonization and digestion of ground barley straw and alfalfa hay by Fibrobacter succinogenes S85 and Ruminococcus flavefaciens FD1 were studied in vitro. The two levels (28 and 280 ${\mu}g$/ml) of EFE tested and both bacteria were effective at digesting NDF of hay and straw. With both substrates, more NDF hydrolysis (p<0.01) was achieved with EFE alone at 280 than at 28 ${\mu}g$/ml. A synergistic effect (p<0.01) of F. succinogenes S85 and EFE on straw digestion was observed at 28 but not 280 ${\mu}g$/ml of EFE. Strain R. flavefaciens FD1 digested more (p<0.01) hay and straw with higher EFE than with lower or no EFE, but the effect was additive rather than synergistic. Included in the incubation medium, EFE showed potential to improve fibre digestion by cellulolytic ruminal bacteria. In a second batch culture experiment using mixed rumen microbes, DM disappearance (DMD), gas production and incorporation of $^{15}N$ into particle-associated microbial N ($^{15}N$-PAMN) were higher (p<0.001) with ammoniated (5% w/w; AS) than with native (S) ground barley straw. Application of EFE to the straws increased (p<0.001) DMD and gas production at 4 and 12 h, but not at 48 h of the incubation. EFE applied onto S increased (p<0.01) $^{15}N$-PAMN at 4 h only, but EFE on AS increased (p<0.001) $^{15}N$-PAMN at all time points. Prehydrolysis increased (p<0.01) DMD from both S and AS at 4 and 12 h, but reduced (p<0.01) $^{15}N$-PAMN in the early stage (4 h) of the incubation, as compared to non-prehydrolyzed samples. Application of EFE to barley straw increased rumen bacterial colonization of the substrate, but excessive hydrolytic action of EFE prior to incubation decreased it.