The rumen flagellate Piromonas communis: its life-history and invasion of plant material in the rumen

Abstract

The rumen flagellat Piromonas communis is the zoospore of a phycomycete fungus inhabiting the rumen. Zoosporogenesis was stimulated by a dietary component (the inducer), and inhibited by compounds affecting membrane structure and function, but not by inhibitors of protein synthesis. The zoospores showed taxis towards the tissues surrounding the inflorescence of Lolium perenne L. in the rumen, invading principally the stomata and damaged tissues. The zoospores germinated on this substratum and the rhizoids of the developing vegetative stage penetrated the tissue, taking up C14 from labelled plant material, which was incorporated into the fungal cells. The conditions for maximum flagellate production (39 degrees C, pH 6-0 to 7-0, high concentration of CO2, absence of O2) resembled those found in the rumen. The organism was cultured in an undefined medium in vitro in the absence of other flagellates.