Natural viability and diurnal fluctuations within the bacteriophage population of the rumen

A study was conducted on the diversity of phage populations in various animal species, in animals found separately or together and variation in animals over time. Differences were investigated through the use of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Phage activity was found to vary between groups of animals and individual animals, and a noticeable diurnal variation within animals fed once a day was observed.