Abstract
The present study proposes a modification of the technique described by PURSER & MOIR (1959) for the quantitative evaluation of rumen ciliate based on an adaptation described by DEHORITY (I984). The modifying process includes: the replacement of two drops of brilliant green dye, for at least four hours, by three drops of lugol solution, for at least 15 minutes. It was made a comparative evaluation of these stainings. It was concluded that lugol solution can replace the brilliant green dye showing the following advantages: staining time reduction and subsequent speeding of sample processing; evidence of skeletal plates of entodiniomorphs making its identification easier; improved observation of small ciliates and inconspicuous structures; improved total counting and generic identification of the ciliates.
Rumen ciliate; quantitative evaluation; lugol solution; technique
Evaluation of lugol solution used for counting rumen ciliates
Marta D'AgostoI; Maria Elisa CarneiroII
IDepartamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora. 36036-330 Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brasil. E-mail: dagosto@icb.ufjf.br
IIDepartamento de Parasitologia Animal, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro. 23851-970 Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
ABSTRACT
The present study proposes a modification of the technique described by PURSER & MOIR (1959) for the quantitative evaluation of rumen ciliate based on an adaptation described by DEHORITY (I984). The modifying process includes: the replacement of two drops of brilliant green dye, for at least four hours, by three drops of lugol solution, for at least 15 minutes. It was made a comparative evaluation of these stainings. It was concluded that lugol solution can replace the brilliant green dye showing the following advantages: staining time reduction and subsequent speeding of sample processing; evidence of skeletal plates of entodiniomorphs making its identification easier; improved observation of small ciliates and inconspicuous structures; improved total counting and generic identification of the ciliates.
Key words: Rumen ciliate, quantitative evaluation, lugol solution, technique.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. We are grateful to Fundação de Amparao à Pesquisa de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG) by the support.
Recebido em 13.I.1998; aceito em 19.VII.1999.
- DEHORITY, B.A. 1984. Evaluation of subsampling and fixation procedures used for counting rumen protozoa. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 48: 182-185.
- D'AGOSTO, M. & M.R. DE SANTA ROSA. 1994. Aspectos morfológicos de ciliados do rumen (Entodiniomorphida, Ophryoscolecidae) revelados pelas técnicas do protargol e da reação de Feulgen. Revta bras. Zool. 11: 215-225.
- OGIMOTO, K. & S. IMAI. 1981. Atlas of Rumen Microbiology. Tokyo, Japan Scientific Societies Press, VII+231p.
- PURSER, D.B. & R.J. MOIR. 1959. Ruminal flora studies in the sheep.IX. The effect of pH on the ciliate population of the rumen in vivo. Aust. Jour. Agric. Res. 10: 555-564.
Publication Dates
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Publication in this collection
15 June 2009 -
Date of issue
1999
History
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Accepted
19 July 1999 -
Received
13 Jan 1998
