Is There “Room in it”?
A Symbiotic Journey Inside The Cow
By Jackie Garfield & Matt Micari
In the next 20 minutes, we’ll…
Define Ruminant
Examine digestive system of cattle
Discuss the symbionts
Describe the new metabolism
Explain how Infection occurs
What is a Ruminant?
Ruminant: (n.) any of the various cud-chewing mammals
having a stomach divided into four compartments.
Cows, sheep, moose, goats, antelope, and camels
Follow the food…
The Reticulum…
Has thick walls and is
puncture resistant
Acts as a sieve
Food is separated into layers
of liquid and solid material
The solids, known as cud,
are regurgitated, rechewed,
& reswallowed 500
times/day
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
The Rumen
A Fermentation Vat
Volume: 180-240L
Temp: 38- 42º C
pH: 6.4 to 7.2
Rumen Microflora
Unlike other symbioses, the focus is not the
specificity but the variety of microbial symbionts
Rumen Bacteria
All three types of bacteria - Cocci, Rod, & Spirllia - are present
Use cellulose, hemi-cellulose, starch, sugars, intermediate acids,
proteins, and lipids.
They regulate overall fermentation by reducing CO2 with H2 gas
to form methane.
Attachment of rumen bacteria on rice
Protozoa
Ingest bacteria for their protein source
Control bacteria numbers in the rumen
Genera of Protists
Eu Eudiplodinium
Ep Epidinium
En Entodinium
D Daystrichia
O Ostracodinium
El Enoplastron.
Rumen Fungi
Degrade cellulose and xylans
Aid in fiber digestion
Anaeromyces
New Metabolism of the
Ruminant
Almost all glucose produced by breaking
down cellulose is used by the symbiotic
bacteria.
Ruminants get their energy from the
volatile fatty acids produced by bacteria:
acetate, propionate & butyrate.
Interconnected environments
Contents in the rumen
are not homogenous
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
New and old material
are pushed by muscular
contractions & settle in
the different layers
Microbial Environments
liquid phase
solid phase
microbial attachment
Liquid Phase
Free living microbes feed on soluble
carbohydrates and protein
25% of microbial mass
Solid Phase
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Microbes digest insoluble polysaccharides like
starch and fiber
70% of microbial mass
Microbial Attachment
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Microbes attach to rumen epithelial cells or
protozoa
Ensures consistant population numbers
5% of microbial mass
Bacterial attachment to the bovine rumen epithelium
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/camb/research/
The Omasum
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Only small particles of food
pass into the omasum
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
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Also called the Butcher’s
Bible
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Contains many folds to
increase the surface area
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Water, electrolytes & more
VFA’s are absorbed
The Abomasum
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The true stomach
Walls of the stomach
secrete enzymes & HCl
pH around 2.5
Proteins from microbes
and remaining feed are
broken down
The Final Journey

To the small and large intestines
and beyond……
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
The next generation….
Does not have a
developed rumen
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Becomes infected with
microbes from drinking
from udders of mother
and grooming
Rumen develops due to
microbe activity as diet
changes
In Review

Name 2 ruminants.
Antelopes, goats, sheep, camels, & moose
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What are the four compartments of the
ruminant stomach?
Reticulum, Rumen, Omasum, & Abomasum
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What are VFA’s and why are they important to
the ruminant?
Volatile fatty acids / Energy source for cow
The End
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Works Cited
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<http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/Billy_goat.jpg/250pxBilly_goat.jpg>.
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<http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/dlc-me/zoo/zacmain.html>.
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Ishler, Virginia, Jud Heinrichs, and Gabriella Varga, comps. "From Feed to Milk:
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<http://animsci.agrenv.mcgill.ca/courses/450/extra/feed_to_milk/rumen.html>.
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