Abstract
The exact role of rumen protozoa in ruminant nutrition is not well defined, but it is implicit that a group of organisms which is present in all wild and domesticated ruminants and contributes as much as half the biomass of the microbial population must make a significant contribution to the economy of the system. Rumen ciliates are classified into holotrichs, which ferment a wide range of soluble carbohydrates1 and entodiniomorphs, which are principally particle feeders (i.e. cellulolytic and amylolytic).2 Some species of the latter have a limited ability to utilize soluble carbohydrates. The production of hydrogen by rumen ciliates3,4 occurs in a specialized organelle, the hydrogenosome.5,6 At some times oxygen is present in the rumen at low concentrations7 and rumen ciliates show high affinity oxygen consumption. Here we show that four different species of ciliates have oxygen-sensitive hydrogenases, so that the availability of hydrogen for interspecies hydrogen transfer will fluctuate depending on ambient oxgyen concentrations.
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References
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Ellis, J., Hillman, K., Williams, A.G., Lloyd, D. (1990). Hydrogen Production by Rumen Ciliate Protozoa. In: Bélaich, JP., Bruschi, M., Garcia, JL. (eds) Microbiology and Biochemistry of Strict Anaerobes Involved in Interspecies Hydrogen Transfer. Federation of European Microbiological Societies Symposium Series, vol 54. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0613-9_38
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0613-9_38
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