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Factors affecting microbial growth yields in the reticulo-rumen

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Digestive Physiology and Metabolism in Ruminants

Abstract

The reticulo-rumen may be regarded as a discontinuous fermenter in which the carbohydrate, protein and lipid of the feed are degraded with the production of volatile fatty acids (VFA), methane, ammonia, carbon dioxide and microbial biomass. Rumen fluid usually contains large numbers of bacteria and protozoa, with bacterial counts reaching more than 1010/ml and protozoal counts up to 106/ml3 3. Large numbers of microbes adhere strongly to feed particles16 and many microcolonies are closely associated with the rumen wall5. The chemical composition of rumen bacteria and protozoa has been examined by relatively few workers, and this is surprising in view of the obvious nutritional importance. The existing data have been reviewed58 and will not be quoted in detail, but it is pertinent to mention that the composition of rumen microbial biomass does vary widely with species and substrate; values from 50 to 120 g/kg DM have been obtained for bacterial N content35,44 and the equivalent values for ash range from 50 to 240 g/kg DM58,66.

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  1. D. G. Harrison
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  2. A. B. McAllan
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, National Veterinary School, Toulouse, France

    Y. Ruckebusch (Head) (Head)

  2. Laboratory of Ruminant Digestion, INRA, Theix, France

    P. Thivend (Head) (Head)

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Harrison, D.G., McAllan, A.B. (1980). Factors affecting microbial growth yields in the reticulo-rumen. In: Ruckebusch, Y., Thivend, P. (eds) Digestive Physiology and Metabolism in Ruminants. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-8067-2_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-8067-2_10

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