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Bacterial Ingestion by the Rumen Ciliates Entodinium and Diplodinium
Author(s) -
GUTIERREZ J.,
DAVIS R. E.
Publication year - 1959
Publication title -
the journal of protozoology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.067
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1550-7408
pISSN - 0022-3921
DOI - 10.1111/j.1550-7408.1959.tb04361.x
Subject(s) - rumen , biology , bacteria , microbiology and biotechnology , starch , ingestion , agar plate , agar , food science , fermentation , biochemistry , genetics
SYNOPSIS. In cattle fed a high‐starch diet, species of Entodinium and Diplodinium ingested associated ruminal bacteria. Stained preparations of diluted rumen contents showed Entodinium caudatum, E. minimum, E. dubardi , (syn. E. simplex ), E. longinucleatum, E. bursa, E. nanellum, E. exiguum , and E. vorax contained gram‐positive diplococci. Starch grains with adherent gram‐positive diplococci were observed within Entodinium spp. Diplodinium ecaudatum forma ecaudatum, D. ecaudatum forma caudatum, D. neglectum and an unidentified species of Diplodinium also ingested ruminal diplococci. Bacteria were isolated from mixed species of Entodinium by washing and culturing the protozoa in a starch feed‐extract agar medium. The strains isolated from the ciliates were gram‐positive diplococci, 0.8 times 1–1.5 μm, which attached themselves to starch granules and were able to digest the starch. Conclusive evidence of bacterial ingestion by the oligotrichs was obtained by providing the bacterial cultures to Entodinium species ( E. dubardi and E. minimum ) which had been starved 24 hr. Gram‐stained preparations showed the ciliates readily ingested the bacteria. The amylolytic cocci utilized by Entodinium spp. were identified as Streptococcus bovis.