Preliminary Observations on the Relationship between Gas Production and Microbial Protein Synthesis in Vitro

The relationship between gas production and microbial protein synthesis was studied in vitro using the method of MENKE et al. (1979). 150 mg starch or cellulose or a mixture of 10% glucose, 40% starch and 50% cellulose was used as the carbohydrate source. The microbial protein synthesis and gas production occurring during 2 hrs after the 5th, 10th, and 23rd hr of incubation were studied. Total and net microbial synthesis were estimated using 32P as a microbial marker and by the net disappearance of NH3-N respectively. The data indicate that the type of carbohydrate and the rate of carbohydrate fermentation influence microbial protein synthesis per unit volume of gas produced. However, the relationship between total synthesis and cumulative gas production (up to 8 hrs incubation) with carbohydrate mixture as the substrate was linear. With reference to these observations, the possibilities and difficulties in using cumulative gas production as an index of microbial growth potential of the feedstuffs are discussed.