Why does the establishment of the starch preferringEntodinium caudatum in the rumen decrease the numbers of the fibrolytic ciliateEudiplodinium maggii?
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Abstract
The effect of the establishment ofEntodinium caudatum on the population ofEudiplodinium maggii was examined in the rumen of three sheep fed a hay/ground barley diet. The cell concentration ofE. maggii were 15.9–38.5 and 11.7–12.4 × 103 cells per g of the rumen contents in the absence and presence ofE. caudatum, respectively. Microscopic analysis showed that starch was the only material engulfed by eudiplodinia irrespective of the time after feeding and the presence or absence ofE. caudatum. Up to 82–93 % of individuals contained starch grains whenE. maggii was the only ciliate species in the rumen; the proportion was 70–77 % after entodinia had been established. The largest quantity of starch engulfed byE. maggii ciliates was 12.4–19.0 and 6.7–7.6 mg per 100 mg protozoal dry mass in the absence and presence of entodinia, respectively. No visible engulfment of hay was observedin vivo in spite of the fact that hay particles up to 42 µm in length were dominating in rumen fluid. Ingestion of fresh particles of hay separated from the rumen digesta was found when they were added in the proportion of 1 g per 40 mL suspension of ciliates. No preferential intake of starch was observed whenE. maggii ciliates were incubatedin vitro with a mixture of hay and barley starch. It is suggested that competition for starch between the two ciliate species was responsible for the drop in the numbers ofE. maggii. This could result from a too low concentration of small particles of hay in the rumen fluid.
Keywords
Starch Amylose Rumen Fluid Rumen Content Ciliate SpeciesPreview
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