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Some animals, particularly ruminants and termites, can digest cellulose with the help of symbiotic micro-organisms that live in their guts, such as Trichonympha. In human nutrition , cellulose is a non-digestible constituent of insoluble dietary fiber , acting as a hydrophilic bulking agent for feces and potentially aiding in defecation .
A monogastric organism is contrasted with ruminant organisms (which have four-chambered complex stomachs), such as cattle, goats, and sheep. Herbivores with monogastric digestion can digest cellulose in their diets by way of symbiotic gut bacteria. However, their ability to extract energy from cellulose digestion is less efficient than in ...
Ribbon representation of the Streptomyces lividans β-1,4-endoglucanase catalytic domain - an example from the family 12 glycoside hydrolases [1]. Cellulase (EC 3.2.1.4; systematic name 4-β-D-glucan 4-glucanohydrolase) is any of several enzymes produced chiefly by fungi, bacteria, and protozoans that catalyze cellulolysis, the decomposition of cellulose and of some related polysaccharides:
Trichonympha is a vital part of the hindgut microbiota of these organisms. Lower termites and wood roaches have a diet composed almost exclusively of wood and wood-related items, such as leaf litter, [12] and therefore, need to digest large quantities of cellulose, lignocellulose and hemicellulose. [12]
Cellulase enzymes are used to break down cellulose which is found in plants' cell walls. The termites, the gut protist Trichonympha, and the cellulase-producing bacteria are all involved in a 3-way obligate symbiotic mutualism. The termites benefit from the other two species because they transform the wood into nutrients that the termites can ...
While foregut fermentation is generally considered more efficient, and monogastric animals cannot digest cellulose as efficiently as ruminants, [5] hindgut fermentation allows animals to consume small amounts of low-quality forage all day long and thus survive in conditions where ruminants might not be able to obtain nutrition adequate for their needs.
The earliest humans had a specialized organ whose chief purpose was to help digest cellulose (among other things): the appendix. Now that it's vestigial, certain foods that are very high in ...
Cellulose is a polymer made with repeated glucose units bonded together by beta-linkages. Humans and many animals lack an enzyme to break the beta-linkages, so they do not digest cellulose. Certain animals, such as termites can digest cellulose, because bacteria possessing the enzyme are present in their gut. Cellulose is insoluble in water.