Rúmen ciliate protozoa in buffalo (Bubaíus bubalis L.) and zebu cattle (Bos indicus L.) kept in a feedlot

Abstract

Nine castrated male buffaloes and nine Zebu steers aging 18 to 24 months and weighing 330 to 350kg in average, respectively, were individually fed: 2Kg unheated ground soybean; 2 kg crushed corn ears(grains, hulls and cobs) plus sorghum silage "ad libitum" with daily control of intake, during 112 days in a feedlot experiment. All animals were killed at the end of the experiment and the content of each rumen was homogenized and sampled 30 to 40 ml of ruminal fluid, from which a 10 ml aliquot was collected in a test tube containing 20 ml of a solution (formaldehyde 1:2 in distilled water) being immediately shaken for the fixation of the ciliate protozoa. After identification and counting of the protozoa the following conclusions were achieved: 1)There was a higher concentration of ciliate protozoa in Zebu than in buffalo despite the fact that more genera of protozoa were present in buffalo; 2) ciliate protozoa, digestors of fibre, were detected in higher number in Zebu cattle; 3) Entodinium spp represented more than 80% of total ciliate protozoa both in Zebu cattle and buffalo.