In the Discipline of Animal and Poultry Sciences

The aim of this study was to determine firstly if there exist variations in fibrolysis among herbivore microbial ecosystems and secondly, the effect on fibre hydrolysis of compositing the most active systems with ruminal microbial ecosystem harvested from a Jersey cow. A literature review pointed to the complexity of carbohydrate (fibre) and how the physical and chemical nature of the forage carbohydrate can present barriers that hinder digestion in the rumen, especially its association with hemicelluloses, pectin, lignin and tannins. Fresh rumen fluid was collected from fistulated herbivores (Jersey cow and sheep) and faecal samples from non-fistulated herbivores (buffalo, horse, impala, camel, elephant, llama, sheep, wildebeest and elephant). Crude protein samples were precipitated with 60 % ammonium sulfate. Sample activities were monitored and optimised by incubating with carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) for 2 h at 39°C. The crude protein samples precipitated from the 11 herbivore microbial ecosystems were active. This was confirmed by an increase in enzyme specific activity with a decreas