Concentration of ammonia across cell membranes of mixed rumen bacteria

When mixed ruminal bacteria were provided with growth rate limiting amounts of mixed carbohydrates, more than 50 mg ammonia/L were required for maximal protein synthesis. Microbial protein synthesis declined when ammonia concentration was less than 50 mg/L and unfermented carbohydrates increased. Ammonia starvation also decreased growth efficiency. Intracellular ammonia increased as a linear function of extracellular ammonia, but the intracellular concentration was always at least 160 mg/L higher than the extracellular concentration. Maximal protein synthesis was not observed until intracellular ammonia was greater than 220 mg/L. The concentration gradient of ammonia across cell membranes ranged from 15-fold to 1.8-fold and indicated that some of the ruminal bacteria may have active transport mechanisms for ammonia. These concentration gradients were, however, far less than those reported for bacteria from other habitats. The ruminal bacteria left more than 12 mg ammonia/L when carbohydrates were still available, and this observation was consistent with the assumption that active ammonium transport was not readily or maximally induced.