Award details

Microbial and molecular ecology of the digestive tract ecosystem

Reference	BBS/E/G/00003103
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor Michael Theodorou
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors
Institution	Inst of Grassland and Environmental Res
Department	Inst of Grassland and Environmental Res Department
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	564,287
Status	Completed
Type	Institute Project
Start date	01/04/1999
End date	31/03/2003
Duration	48 months

Abstract

The rumen microbial population consists of a complex mixture of anaerobic bacteria, protozoa and fungi, which function to degrade plant biomass in the rumen. Although many of the micro-organisms are known and their functions have been established, little is known about microbial successions in the rumen and the signalling mechanisms that initiate colonisation and degradation of freshly ingested plant biomass. Given that forage plant genetics is likely to have a significant influence on these mechanisms, their understanding is of paramount importance for the development of new breeding strategies and targets for forages . This research will investigate microbial succession and the initial colonisation of plant biomass in the rumen. We aim to develop molecular approaches for studying the rumen ecosystem. These techniques will allow an accurate assessment of the diversity of the microbial population within a sample, reducing the need for conventional isolation/culture procedures. They will also provide quantitative information on the relative numbers of different types of micro-organism within the population. Together, these approaches will enable a systematic study of the effect on plant biomass on microbial succession in the rumen. We will investigate spatial as well as temporal and physical separation of microbial populations, for example, considering the roles of gut fungi and rumen bacteria in the initiation and primary colonisation of freshly ingested plant fragments. Work with gut fungi will be at IGER while work with bacteria and protozoa will involve national and international collaboration. It is our view that the rumen represents an ideal model for the study of microbial ecology. This is because the rumen can be maintained at "steady-state" and may also be perturbed by dietary inputs. Thus studies on the rumen ecosystem (the best known of all complex ecosystems) may have generic value in that findings may be applicable to other complex microbial habitats.

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Closed Committee - Plant & Microbial Sciences (PMS)
Research Topics	X – not assigned to a current Research Topic
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	X - not in an Initiative
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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