INTERACTIONS BETWEEN RUMEN ANAEROBIC FUNGI AND CILIATE PROTOZOA IN THE DEGRADATION OF RICE STRAW CELL-WALLS

Suspensions of mixed rumen protozoa were added to incubations of the a naerobic fungus Neocallimastix patriciarum with rice straw cell walls. The protozoa did not influence the dry matter lost from the straw, or the solubilization of monosaccharides, but they had a marked effect o n the fermentation products formed. Studies with C-14-labelled protozo a suggested that the presence of protozoa reduced the fungal carboxyme thylcellulase activity to around half of that found in pure cultures o f the fungus.