Lactic Acid Bacteria in the Rumen

Abstract

The digestive system of ruminants is distinguished by the specialised development of the non-secreting fore-stomach to form a chamber—the rumen—in which plant material is fermented with the formation of volatile fatty acids, the major energy source for the animals. Given the dependence of ruminants on the rumen fermentation, it is inevitable that much of the research on the digestive process has been concerned with events in the rumen and the role of rumen microorganisms in digestion (Hungate, 1966).