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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 November 2017
Rumen fungi produce a wide range of polysaccharide degrading enzymes during growth on cell walls and can degrade 0.25 -0.65 of plant tissue dry weight in pure cultures (Orpin, 1983). It has been proposed that sodium hydroxide may break-down hemicellulose and cellulose and expose them to microbial attachment and improve digestibility (Goto et al., 1993). The aim of the present study was to determine in vitro rumen fungal growth using a quantitative competitive PCR assay (QC-PCR) and dry matter (DM) and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) disappearance from a medium containing untreated (US) or sodium hydroxide treated wheat straw (TS).