Effect of carbon-4 and carbon-5 volatile fatty acids on growth of mixed rumen bacteria in vitro.

Mixed ruminal bacteria (400 mg cells/liter) were incubated in artificial media containing ammonia, sodium carbonate, macrominerals, vitamins, sulfide, microminerals, acetate, propionate, and butyrate. When mixed carbohydrates (equal parts glucose, maltose, sucrose, cellobiose, and soluble starch) were added at 155 mg/liter per h for 10 h, average bacterial growth rate was slow, and dry weight yield was greater than 23%. Additions of isobutyrate, valerate, isovalerate, and 2 methylbutyrate had little influence on synthesis of bacterial dry weight, deoxyribonucleic acid, ribonucleic acid, or carbohydrate. When a timothy hay inoculum was used, isovalerate and 2 methyl-butyrate increased protein synthesis by 11.2 and 16.4%, but isobutyrate and valerate alone were without effect. All four acids combined increased bacterial protein by 18.7%. Responses with an inoculum of 60% concentrate and mixed hay were smaller and not statistically different from control incubations. Low concentrations of Trypticase (less than 250 mg/liter) improved efficiency of microbial protein synthesis from organic matter, but more was associated with decreased efficiency and utilization of extracellular ammonia.