The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of inclusion of dietary S. cerevisiae on fiber digestion, dry matter intake, kinetics and ruminal environment of Nellore cattle fed with Tifton-85 hay (Cynodon spp.), receiving or not energetic supplementation. Thirty-six rumen cannulated Nellore steers, approximately 24 months old and 400 kg body weight (BW) were used at the beginning of the experiment, in a randomized complete block design with six replicates per treatment. The treatments were obtained in a 3x2 factorial arrangement, by combining three inclusion levels of S. cerevisiae (0, 8 and 40 x109 CFU/animal/day; CNCM I-1077, Lallemand®) in two diets based on Tifton-85 hay, with or without energetic supplementation (0 and 0.8% of BW). Ruminal fluid samples were collected to measure pH, short chain fatty acids (SCFA) and ammonia nitrogen, as well as the rumen evacuation to determine the volume, total mass and size of the rumen compartment. Samples of the solid and liquid phases of the rumen digesta were taken for analysis of the digesta components and population of ruminal microorganisms through the real-time PCR technique. The yeast inclusion linearly increased the dry matter intake (P = 0.03) and NDF (P = 0.01), however with no effects on rumen pH (P = 0.30). Energy supplementation increased the rumen concentration of total SCFA (P < 0.01). The yeast inclusion linearly increased in situ digestibility of NDF of the four forages after 24 h of incubation (P = 0.02). The yeast inclusion also increased the ruminal mass of DM (P = 0.02) and NDF (P = 0.02), but not the indigestible NDF (P = 0.33). There was no yeast effect on a population of the most abundant cellulolytic bacteria in the rumen (F. succinogenes, R. flavefaciens and R. albus) (P = 0.72). In conclusion, the inclusion of yeast in the diet of Nelore cattle increases the rumen digestibility of the fiber, however, it could not be explained by changes in the population of cellulolytic bacteria in the rumen. (AU) |