BACKGROUND A complex community of microorganisms is responsible for efficient plant cell wall digestion by many herbivores, notably the ruminants. Understanding the different fibrolytic mechanisms utilized by these bacteria has been of great interest in agricultural and technological fields, reinforced more recently by current efforts to convert cellulosic biomass to biofuels. METHODOLOGY/PRI...

The microbial communities in the gastrointestinal tract of a young calf are essential for the anatomical and physiological development that permits a transition from milk to solid feed. Selected methanogens, fibrolytic bacteria, and proteobacteria were quantified in the rumen fluid and tissue, abomasum fluid, cecum fluid and tissue, and feces of Holstein bull calves on day 0 (0-20 mins after bi...

Methods for detecting and measuring the quantity of fibrolytic enzyme preparations added to feeds were investigated by enzymatic and tracer methods. Enzyme preparations added to corn silage, ryegrass silage, and a total mixed ration containing both silages and a concentrate could not be detected using their enzymatic activities. Glycosidase activities of solubles washed from the feed were more ...