Fibrolytic

Biological characteristics

Fibrolytic bacteria use glycolysis and the pentosephosphate pathway as the main metabolic routes to catabolizecarbohydrates in order to obtain energy and carbon backbones. They use ammonia as the major and practically exclusive source of nitrogen, and they require several B-vitamins for their development. They often depend on other microorganisms to obtain some of their nutrients. Although their growth rate is considered slow, it can be enhanced in the presence of considerable amounts of short-chain fatty acids (isobutyric and isovaleric). These compounds are normally generated as a product of the amino acidfermentative activity of other microorganisms. Because of their habitat conditions, most fibrolytic bacteria are anaerobic.