Morphological Identification of Rumen Protozoal Population in Domestic Ruminants of Chennai

Abstract

Rumen is a complex ecosystem where feed consumed by ruminants is digested by the help of symbiotic microbes (bacteria, protozoa, and fungi) and the interaction between the host and ruminal microorganisms are diverse. This provides an advantage in the ability of ruminant digestion. End products of rumen fermentation are volatile fatty acids and the microbial biomass. The distribution of rumen microbes, their numbers, type, vary in the ruminants and is altered by the type of feed fed and the geographical location where the host is reared. A study was designed to investigate the rumen protozoal population present in domestic ruminants of Chennai, India by using new methods of staining, fixing and identification of different subfamilies and genera of protozoa. A total of 30 rumen fluid samples (10 cattle, 10 sheep, 10 goat) were collected. Rumen fluid was preserved with methyl green formalin sodium chlorate (MFS) stain. The body dimension and variation of characters such as location of ciliary areas, cell shape and size, location and size of skeletal plates and the number of protozoa were examined under optical microscope. Rumen protozoal counting of three different ruminant species revealed different mean values of which highest was recorded in cattle (7.009  106/ml rumen fluid) followed by goat (5.08  106/ml 08 rumen fluid) and sheep (4.996  106/ml rumen fluid). The analysis of rumen protozoal population in cattle, sheep and goats revealed predominance of the following genres of the protozoal family: Entodinium, Epidinium, and some subtypes of subfamily of Diplodiniinae.

Keywords: Identification, rumen protozoa, ruminants

Cite this Article Gogoi J, Rajamanickam K, Leela V. Morphological identification of rumen protozoal population in domestic ruminants of Chennai. Research & Reviews: Journal of Veterinary Science and Technology. 2018; 7(1): 12–15p.