Determination of rumen fungi growth on steam-treated sugarcane pith by quantitative competitive polymerase chain reaction

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of high temperature-steam treatment (180–210°C, 3 min) of sugarcane pith on rumen fungi growth using a quantitative competitive polymerase chain reaction (QC-PCR) assay. Rumen anaerobic fungi were grown in culture medium containing untreated or high temperature-steam treated sugarcane pith. Fungi growth was determined by quantitative competitive-PCR. The results showed that rumen anaerobic fungi growth was greater (P<0.05) in the medium containing steam-treated sugarcane pith compared to the untreated sugarcane pith (+0.6 vs - 0.3). Results indicated that steam processing of sugarcane pith does not negatively affect on the growth of rumen fungi.