In addition to the bacteria in the rumen there are many larger (5–250/mm long) organisms which at various times have been designated protozoa Of these the ‘ovals’ (Quin’s and Eadie’s) are now known to be large bacteria (Orpin, 1976) and the ‘flagellates’ Neocallimastix frontalis, Piromonas communis and Sphaeromonas communis are the zoospores of phycomycete fungi (Orpin, 1977a, b) There are genuine flagellates in the rumen, eg Trichomonas spp, Monoceromonas sp and Chilomastix sp, but almost nothing is known about their metabolism (Jensen and Hammon, 1964) The largest, most obvious and most important protozoa are the ciliates, of which there are two groups both in the subclass Trichostomatia The so called ‘holotrich’ protozoa belong to the order Vestibuliferida and the entodiniomorphs to the order Entodiniomorphida, suborder Entodiniomorphina and family Ophryoscolecidae As the properties and metabolism of these two protozoal groups are different, they will be considered separately below

The Rumen Protozoa

Influence of hydrogen on rumen methane formation and fermentation balances through microbial growth kinetics and fermentation thermodynamics

Some biochemical aspects pertaining to beef eating quality and consumer health: A review

Genetic and environmental effects on meat quality

The objective of this study was to investigate the growth- and breed-related changes of muscle fiber characteristics in cattle and their importance to meat quality Four cattle breeds with different growth impetus and muscularity were reared and slaughtered under experimental conditions German Angus as a beef type, Galloway as a hardy type, Holstein Friesian as a dairy type, and double-muscled Belgian Blue as an extreme type for muscle growth were used Between 5 and 17 bulls of each breed were slaughtered at 0, 2, 4, 6, 12, 18, and 24 mo of age Muscle fiber traits were determined and classified by computerized image analysis, and several measures of meat quality were also determined, including shear force value, meat color, and im fat content The postnatal growth of semitendinosus muscle in cattle was characterized by a nearly 10-fold increase of muscle fiber area from birth to 24 mo of age In the first few months after birth, a transformation of type IIA fibers into IIB fibers was found, whereas type I fibers were nearly unaffected by age The apparent total muscle fiber number of semitendinosus muscle did not increase during postnatal life These results confirm that the fiber number is determined in embryonic development Throughout the study, the double-muscled Belgian Blue (BBDM) bulls had almost twice the fiber number of the other breeds, emphasizing a more extensive hyperplasia of muscle fibers during embryonic development in BBDM compared with the other three breeds The apparent number of type I fibers was, however, not affected by breed, which suggests that the additional fibers found in BBDM postnatally were type IIB and IIA fibers We did not find significant differences in muscle fiber total number, muscle fiber type frequencies, or meat quality characteristics among breeds, with the exception of BBDM Having pooled the four breeds, paler meat was related to a higher frequency of type IIB fibers, a lower area of type IIA and type I fiber, and a higher total muscle fiber number These findings based on data of double muscling give us some hints for biological causes for the variation of meat quality Further investigation, in particular within each breed, is necessary to identify the superior fiber traits for bovine meat production

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Growth- and breed-related changes of muscle fiber characteristics in cattle.

Relationship between fat depots in carcasses of beef bulls and effect on meat colour and tenderness.

Effects of double-muscling on carcass quality, beef tenderness and myofibrillar protein degradation in Belgian Blue White bulls.

The effect of defaunation on the growth of lambs fed three urea containing diets

Effects of increasing amounts of Lupinus albus seeds without or with whole egg powder in the diet of growing pigs on performance

In order to investigate differences in carcass and meat quality between lines of different stress susceptibility, 150 pigs were slaughtered on 15 slaughter days, consisting of equal numbers of stress-susceptible (nn) pigs of a boar line, stress-resistant (NN) pigs of a sow line and stress-carrier (Nn) crosses of these two lines. Carcass quality was determined by a SKGII-device which combined four physical measurements into a carcass lean estimate and a conformation score, and meat quality traits were measured on the carcass and on a loin slice. Killing-out proportion was lower for the NN line compared with the Nn crosses and the nn line. Lean content increased and conformation score improved as the number of n alleles in the respective genotypes increased but the Nn genotype was closer to the nn genotype than to the NNgenotype. Similarly, a large difference in meat quality was found between the NN and the nn line, whereas the difference in meat quality between the Nn and the nn genotype was smaller than expected. This was probably due to the low-voltage stunning procedure. In addition, the method of transporting the pigs to the abattoir (by truck or by foot, for a distance 125 m) had a pronounced effect on meat quality in the loin.

G. Van de Voorde

Papers

Relationship between fat depots in carcasses of beef bulls and effect on meat colour and tenderness.

Effects of double-muscling on carcass quality, beef tenderness and myofibrillar protein degradation in Belgian Blue White bulls.

The effect of defaunation on the growth of lambs fed three urea containing diets

Effects of increasing amounts of Lupinus albus seeds without or with whole egg powder in the diet of growing pigs on performance

Meat and carcass quality in two pig lines of different stress-susceptibility genotype and their crosses