Microbial and animal limitations to fiber digestion and utilization

The ruminal microbial populations attack, degrade and ferment structural carbohydrates in forage cell walls and thereby provide volatile fatty acids and protein to the host animal. Microbial colonization of fiber is quite rapid; however, the rate and extent to which fiber is degraded is determined to a considerable degree by factors such as microbial accessibility to substrate, physical and chemical nature of the forage and kinetics of ruminal digestion. The physical and chemical nature of forages can present a barrier to their complete digestion in the rumen, especially the association of lignin with polysaccharide constituents. Adhesin proteins allow bacteria with cell-bound enzymes to come into intimate contact with their substrates, ensuring that the degradation products are preferentially available. Research on various fibrolytic enzymes and cellulose binding domains may allow for the transfer of novel genetic material to bacteria for enhancing the hydrolysis of plant cell walls. Fungi may also play an important synergistic role in the ruminal digestion of forages by physically disrupting the lignified stem tissue. This allows the ruminal microbes greater access to the plant stem and the digestible portions of the plant. New developments in fiber utilization by ruminants are currently under investigation and include genetic manipulation of ruminal bacteria, chemical and biological treatments of forages, and manipulation of dietary inputs and feeding management.