Abstract
The influence of diet composition on rumen fungal population was studied by offering successively to a rumen fistulated cow 11 different diets rich in fibre, starch or soluble carbohydrates. At the same time, the colonization of four different plant substrates introduced into the rumen in nylon bags (soya bean teguments, lucerne stems, maize stalks and beet pulps) was investigated. The population of rumen anaerobic fungi, particularly abundant with lignocellulose-rich diets, decreased with starch or soluble-carbohydrate-rich diets; the fungi selectively colonized the plant tissues with thick or lignified cell walls of soya bean tegument, lucerne or maize stalks, but seldom the beet pulp. The development of rumen fungi depended both on the substrate on which they became attached and on the ruminal medium. The fungi, which were normally present in the duodenum, caecum and faeces, were eliminated by the unfavourable diet but rapidly proliferated once the feed ingredients became more favourable.
Published Version
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