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Extent of Cellulose and Hemicellulose Digestion in Various Forages by Pure Cultures of Rumen Bacteria¹

Department of Animal Science, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Wooster

ABSTRACT

The ability of nine pure strains of rumen bacteria to digest the cellulose and hemicellulose portions of an intact forage was investigated. Using a limiting level of substrate, the extent of digestion of these components was measured in varying maturity stages of both grasses and alfalfa. Bacteroides succinogenes strains were able to digest significantly greater amounts of cellulose from forages than were the other species. Two of the four strains of Ruminococcus flavefaciens had a markedly reduced ability to digest cellulose from alfalfa. Of the seven cellulolytic strains, only three were able to digest forage hemicelluloses. These three strains, all ruminococci, digested considerable amounts of hemicellulose from bromegrass, but had a very limited ability to digest alfalfa hemicellulose. Opposite results were obtained with Bacteroides ruminicola. Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens digested appreciable amounts of hemicellulose from both types of forage. Across all organisms and forages, the extent of both cellulose and hemicellulose digestion decreased with forage maturity. Studies on the possible synergistic effect of combining two cultures in a single fermentation were conducted with four cellulolytic strains and one noncellulolytic strain. All possible combinations of two were used, and a significant increase in the extent of cellulose digestion was consistently observed when the noncellulolytic organism, B. ruminicola, was combined with any of the four cellulolytic strains.

¹ Approved for publication as Journal Article no. 4-67 by the Associate Director of the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Wooster.

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