title: Identification of proteolytic rumen bacteria isolated from New Zealand cattle.
abstract: The protease activities of 212 strains of rumen bacteria isolated from New Zealand cattle grazing pasture were measured. Thirty-seven per cent of strains had activity greater than or equal to the proteolytic rumen bacterium Prevotella ruminicola and 43 of these isolates were identified by morphology, carbon source utilization, Gram stain, biochemical tests and fermentation end-product analysis. Hierarchical Cluster Analysis showed that the strains formed four clusters: cluster A contained 26 strains and clustered with a reference strain of Streptococcus bovis; cluster C contained three strains and clustered with a reference strain of Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens, while clusters B (10 strains) and D (three strains) did not cluster with any of the remaining rumen bacterial type strains. Further tests identified strains of cluster B as Eubacterium budayi, while cluster D strains most closely resembled B. fibrisolvens and were described as B. fibrisolvens-like. An unclustered strain, C21a, was identified as P. ruminicola. The significance of these proteolytic bacterial populations is discussed in relation to protein breakdown in New Zealand ruminants.
authors.affiliation: AgResearch Grasslands, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
authors.forename: G T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Attwood
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Reilly
mesh_terms: D000693:Anaerobiosis; D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism*; D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D050260:Carbohydrate Metabolism; D002264:Carboxylic Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D002364:Caseins / Q000378:metabolism*; D002417:Cattle / Q000382:microbiology*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D010450:Endopeptidases / Q000378:metabolism*; D005051:Eubacterium / Q000378:metabolism; D005285:Fermentation; D006089:Gram-Negative Anaerobic Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000378:metabolism; D009520:New Zealand; D012417:Rumen / Q000382:microbiology*; D016985:Streptococcus bovis / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D002264:Carboxylic Acids; D002364:Caseins; D010450:Endopeptidases