The Isolation and Classification of Proteolytic Bacteria from the Rumen of the Sheep

SUMMARY: Proteolytic bacteria were isolated from the rumen of three sheep receiving an adequate protein diet. Using selective anaerobic conditions to suppress the majority of bacteria which were not capable of utilizing casein, proteolytic representatives of several bacterial genera were found. All of these may have been derived from the environment or food of the sheep. The most frequent organism was Bacillus licheniformis which existed in the vegetative form in the rumen, although present mostly in the form of spores in the hay fed to the animal.