Open AccessEstablishment of cellulolytic bacteria in the digestive tract of conventionally reared young mice: effect of the dietary cellulose content in the adult
Author(s) -
Boulahrouf Abderrahmane,
Fonty Gérard,
Gouet Philippe
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1990.tb04180.x
Subject(s) - cellulose , caecum , bacteria , food science , biology , population , microbiology and biotechnology , biochemistry , medicine , genetics , environmental health
Cellulolytic bacteria became established 12 days after birth in the caecum and colon of conventionally‐reared mice fed a diet containing 5 p. 100 crude cellulose (Weende). Their population reached a level between 10 6 and 10 7 bacteria per gram of digestive contents in 25‐day‐old animals. However, variations between animals were very large; 20 to 50% of the individuals were free of cellulolytic bacteria. A low cellulolytic population was observed in adult mice fed a cellulose‐free diet. The amount of cellulose in the diet and its nature (crude or pure cellulose) affected the number of cellulolytic bacteria: the higher the percentage of cellulose in the diet, the higher the number of cellulolytic bacteria, in particular with crude cellulose‐containing diet.