Isolation and identification of mixed linked beta -glucan degrading bacteria in the intestine of broiler chickens and partial characterization of respective 1,3-1,4-beta -glucanase activities.

Media with 1,3-1,4-beta -glucans as selective markers were used for isolation of non-starch-polysaccharide (NSP) degrading bacteria from the intestinal tract of broiler chicken. Formerly unknown 1,3-1,4-beta endoglucanase activities in various bacterial species were identified in this study. E. faecium , Streptococcus , Bacteroides and Clostridium strains seem to be responsible for degradation of mixed linked beta -glucans in the small intestine and in the hind gut of chickens. Strict anaerobic bacteria (Bacteroides ovatus , B. uniformis , presumably B. capillosus and Clostridium perfringens ) as well as an unidentified bacterium with 98% 16S rDNA homology to an uncultered chicken cecum bacterium were isolated. Additionally, Streptococcus bovis with 1,3-1,4-beta -endoglucanase activity was also detected. Different 1,3-1,4-beta -endoglucanase activity profiles were observed in SDS/PAGE zymograms.