1. Welcome

2. RUMEN BIOTECHNOLOGY

3. Rumen Biotechnology
Application of knowledge of fore stomach fermentation and the use and management of both natural and recombinant microorganisms to improve the efficiency of digestion of fibrous feedstuffs by ruminants.
(Cunningham, 1990)

4. Ruminants …?
A ruminant is any hooved animal that digests its food in two steps-
a) By eating the raw material and regurgitating a semi digested form known as cud
b) then eating the cud, a process called ruminating
Ruminants share another common feature that they all have an even number of toes.
Examples are: cattle, goat, sheep, camel, giraffe, buffalo and dear etc.

5. Digestive tract of Ruminants

6. Reticulum www.vivo.colostate.edu Honeycomb lining
Formation of food bolus
Regurgitation initiated here
Collects hardware (nails, wire)

7. Rumen Digestion and fermentation vat Contains anaerobic microbes
Papillae lining
Absorption of VFA

8. Omasum Laminae/manyply lining Reduces particle size
muscular folds
Reduces particle size
Absorption of water
Absorption of VFA

9. Abomasum True gastric stomach Proteolytic enzymes Gastric digestion
Decreased pH from 6 to 2.5
Denatures proteins
Kills bacteria and pathogens
Dissolves minerals (e.g., Ca3(PO4)2)

10. Microbial Population Many Microbial Munchers
The rumen is home to billions and billions of microbes, including bacteria, protists, fungi, and viruses. These many different rumen microbes form a complex community of organisms that interact with one another, helping the animal digest its food.

11. Fermentation in Ruminants
Rumen is a fermentation chamber filled with microorganisms (Gregg, 1995).
Anaerobic process-thus host can absorb energetic by-products from bacteria fermentation.
Utilizes enzymes produced by rumen microorganisms to digest the ingested material .
Benefits two distinguished groups: host (ruminant) and the microorganisms.

12. Rumen Microbes Protozoa (Yokoyama and Johnson, 1988)
Large ( microns) unicellular organisms
Ingest bacteria and feed particles
Engulf feed particles and digest carbohydrates, proteins and fats
Numbers affected by diet
(Yokoyama and Johnson, 1988)

13. Entodinium (Rumen Protozoa)

14. Rumen Microbes Fungi www.animsci.agrenv.mcgill.ca/feed
Known only for about 20 years
Numbers usually low
Digest recalcitrant fiber

15. Bacterial Populations
Cellulolytic bacteria (fiber digesters)
digest cellulose
require pH 6-7
utilize N in form of NH3
require S for synthesis of sulfur-containing amino acids (cysteine and methionine)
produce acetate, propionate, little butyrate, CO2
predominate from roughage diets

16. Contd…. Amylolytic bacteria (starch, sugar digesters) digest starch
require pH 5-6
utilize N as NH3 or peptides
produce propionate, butyrate and lactate
predominate from grain diets
rapid change to grain diet causes lactic acidosis (rapidly decreases pH)

17. Contd….. Methane-producing bacteria produce methane (CH4)
utilized by microbes for energy
represent loss of energy to animal
released by eructation

18. Improvement of Forage Quality
Pre-ingestive Methods
Post-ingestive Methods

19. Pre-ingestive Methods
Reducing lignin content and increasing fermentable carbohydrate. Increasing available proteins.
Reducing concentration of secondary compounds. (Ulyatt, 1993).
Use of exogenous fibrolytic enzymes to improve feed utilisation.

20. Post-ingestive Methods
Increasing fibre digestion.
Improving efficiency of nitrogen metabolism.
Modification of ruminal ecosystems.
Recombinant ruminal Microorganisms.
Hoover and Stokes, 1991; McSweeny et al., 1994.

21. GI Microbes in livestock development.
Microbial degradation of antinutritional factors.
Tannins Toxic Non-protein amino acids.
Oxalates
Fluoroacetate
Pyrrolizidine
(Allison et al., 1985; Nelson et al., 1995)

22. GI Microbial enzymes In Industry
Tannase in food, beverages, in preparation of instant tea and as clarifier in fruit juices and beer.
Phytase as feed additives in monogastric’s foods to increase phosphate utilisation.
Source of restriction enzymes for e.g.. Sru I and Sru4DI from ruminal selenomonades
Lactobacillus species for disease treatment as probiotics.
(Cheng, 1999).

23. Future Prospect and Conclusion
Provide a natural barrier for controlling the entry of enteric pathogens into the human food chain.
Intensive livestock production in the future.
In various industries apart from the Livestock production
Easy and economical way to enhance economy of developing countries.

24. Thank You