Abstract
SUMMARY: Cellulolytic iodophilic cocci have been isolated in significant numbers from rabbit caecal contents. Seven strains of the anaerobic Gram-positive cocci have been isolated on seven separate occasions from rabbits obtained from different sources and maintained on various diets. No other cellulolytic bacteria have been observed in cultures inoculated with high dilutions of caecal contents, suggesting that the isolated cocci are the most important agents of cellulose digestion in the caecum.
Of the carbohydrates tested the caecal cocei utilize only cellulose and cellobiose. The products of cellulose fermentation include acetic acid, succinic acid, a trace of formic acid, ethanol, CO2 and H2.