Nutritional requirements of Actinomyces isolated from rumen of goat

The objective of this work was to investigate the nutritional requirements for the growth of Actinomyces sp. 9RCC5 isolated from the rumen of a native goat in Korea. The growth of strain 9RCC5 on the basal medium or the medium minus certain ingredients from the basal medium demonstrated that strain 9RCC5 showed absolute requirement of vitamin B complex mixture, while hemin and volatile fatty acids (VFA) were stimulatory to growth to some extent. The 9RCC5 strain grew well with casein hydrolysate as the sole added nitrogen source. However, neither a complex of 18 amino acids nor ammonium sulfate effectively replaced casein hydrolysate. Vitamins such as riboflavin and pantothenate were essential for growth, while thiamin and biotin were stimulatory. With regard to VFA, the growth was stimulated by acetic acid but inhibited by valeric acid. Relatively large quantities of Na+, K+ and Ca2+ were absolutely required for growth. Supplementation of clarified rumen fluid to the basal medium in a range of 0-10% (vol/vol) resulted in an increased rate of growth as well as an increased extent of growth.