FURTHER EXPERIMENTS ON CELLULOSE DIGESTION BY THE PROTOZOA IN THE RUMEN OF CATTLE

¹ University of Texas, Austin

Diplodinium maggii, D. multivesciculatum, D. denticulatum, and Entodinium caudatum can be grown in flask cultures using as substrates grass, cellulose, and ground wheat, either singly or in combination, depending on the species being cultured.

Clone cultures of D. denticulatum and E. caudatum show wide variations in the morphology of individuals in the clone.

A rapid synthesis of food reserves from cellulose has been demonstrated in D. maggii.

The results of cultural studies and of experiments on cellulose digestion by extracts of the protozoa show that the three species of Diplodinium digest cellulose but E. caudatum does not. Microscopic observations indicate that all species of Diplodinium digest cellulose, whereas Entodinium, Isotricha, Dasytricha, and Bütschlia do not. Thus, Diplodinium is the only protozoan which may be considered a symbiont.

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