title: The ability of the rumen protozoan Eudiplodinium maggii to utilize chitin.
abstract: The ability was determined of the rumen ciliate Eudiplodinium maggii to utilize chitin from fungal cell wall. Cultivation experiments shoved that the population concentration (number of ciliates in vitro) was positively correlated with chitin doses. Cell extract prepared from the bacteria-free ciliates degraded colloidal chitin releasing 2.0 micromol reducing sugar per mg protein per h. End products of this reaction were chitotriose and N-acetylglucosamine. Incubation of the bacteria-free ciliates with chitin resulted in an increase in the concentration of acetic, propionic and butyric acids in the incubation medium. The production rate of total volatile fatty acids (VFA) by ciliates incubated with and without chitin was 45.0 and 30.5 pmol VFA per protozoan, respectively, the molar proportion of particular acids remaining unchanged.
authors.affiliation: The Kielanowski Institute of Animal Physiology and Nutrition Polish Academy of Sciences, 05-110, Jabłonna, Poland. r.miltko@ifzz.pan.pl
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Miltko
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bełzecki
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kwiatkowska
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Michałowski
mesh_terms: D019342:Acetic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D000117:Acetylglucosamine / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D020148:Butyric Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D002686:Chitin / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D016798:Ciliophora / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D003470:Culture Media / Q000737:chemistry; D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile / Q000378:metabolism; D005658:Fungi / Q000737:chemistry; D011422:Propionates / Q000378:metabolism; D012417:Rumen / Q000469:parasitology*; D012756:Sheep; D014312:Trisaccharides / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile; D011422:Propionates; D014312:Trisaccharides; D020148:Butyric Acid; D002686:Chitin; C041161:chitotriose; C029658:propionic acid; D019342:Acetic Acid; D000117:Acetylglucosamine