ABSTRACT.    To better understand the physiology of colonic fermentation of great apes faunated with entodiniomorphid ciliates, the cultivation experiments on chimpanzee colonic ciliate Troglodytella abrassarti have been performed. From eight inoculations of feces contaminated with T. abrassarti in vitro only three were partly successful under anaerobic cultivation conditions. The maximal lifespan of T. abrassarti in in vitro culture was up to 30 days. The ciliate concentration in vitro ranged from 20 to 300 cells/ml. The physical (pH, osmolality) and chemical composition of cultivation media, and substrates were tested. Optimal pH about 7.0 with low media osmolality (about 120 mosmol/kg) was required for ciliate growth. Six different mineral media were tested (Hungate, Michalowski, Ringer, Coleman's caudatum-medium, 100% chimpanzee feces extract, and McDougall). The McDougall buffer with 10% supplement of chimpanzee feces extract seems to be the most suitable. Although T. abrassarti are able to engulf the cellulose material, the complex substrates with starch as essential substrate component are required. However, long-term cultivation of T. abrassarti was still unsuccessful. The reason probably lies in the fact that some bacteria essential for the ciliate growth disappeared under in vitro conditions.
The study was supported by funds from Grant Agency of Slovak Ministry of Education and the Slovak Academy of Sciences VEGA 2/6175/26, APVT 51-007-6004 and GACR 524/06/0264.