Abstract

Samira Bahramian , Mohammad Chamani , Mehrdad Azin and Abbas Geram

Rumen bacteria, fungi and protozoa possess a wide range of enzymes which are capable of hydrolyzing most of the structural polysaccharides of the plant cell walls. In the study, the activities of cellulolytic and xylanolytic enzymes produced by anaerobic rumen flora were investigated. Mixed ruminal microorganisms were grown on wheat straw in anaerobic liquid medium that have been purged with oxygen-free CO2 and allowed to ferment for 0, 24, 48, 72 and 120 h at 39°C. Then the supernatants of each culture were analyzed for cellulase and xylanase activities with dinitrosalicylic acid (DNS) method. Results showed that optimum time for maximum activity of both enzymes is 48 h incubation at 39°C and at each time pointed, xylanase activity was much higher than cellulase activity.