Isolation of Proteolytic Bacteria from the Sheep Rumen

Abstract

Several different culture media were used in attempts to isolate the bacteria from the sheep rumen. Only a small proportion of the bacteria which developed were actively proteolytic, and these belonged to a limited number of types. These bacteria were found in sheep on different diets, but comparison with the proteolytic activity of whole rumen contents suggests that they represented only a fraction of the proteolytic organisms of the rumen.