Characterization of Anaerobic Fungi in the Rumen of Riverine Buffalo

Total anaerobic fungal population in the rumen of riverine buffalo was determined by roll tube technique. Three riverine rumen fistulated male buffaloes were maintained on three dietary regimes viz, wheat straw: concentrate:: 50: 50 (T1), oat fodder: concentrate:: 50: 50 (T2) and wheat straw; oat fodder:: 50: 50 (T3). Average fungal population was maximum (3.17 x 10³/ml) on completely roughage based diet (T3), followed by T2 (1.60 x 10³/ml) and T1 (1.47 x 10³/ml) diets. The peak concentration of fungal population was noticed at 1 hour after feeding on all the diets. Out of the nine isolates, six were mono-centric and three were polycentric in nature. These fungal isolates did not produce propionate but acetate was detected In their growth media. Among these only B5 and B9 isolates secreted relatively higher level (15.509 mIU/ml) of endoglucanase.