SELECTIVE ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF FIBROBACTER SUCCINOGENES FROM RUMEN

Fibre fermentation in the rumen is critical to the productive efficiency of ruminants, which is taken care by the microbial population of rumen. Rumen bacteria implicated in digestion of cellulose have been isolated and studied for metabolic functions (Vijayarani et al. 1994). Fibrobacter succinogenes is one of the principal bacteria responsible for cellulose degradation in the bovine rumen and intestinal tract of other animals (Frankland and Glass, 1987). Not much information is available on the microbial population of rumen especially F. succinogenes. Hence, the present study was undertaken to isolate F. succinogenes from cattle and to characterize it.