Animals cannot produce enzymes to digest cellulose, yet many termite species con

Question

Animals cannot produce enzymes to digest cellulose, yet many termite species consume cellulose from plant material as a main part of their diet. How do termites access the nutrients contained in cellulose?

A. Termites have specialized mouthparts to mechanically break down the cellulose. B. Mutualistic bacteria in the hindgut of the termite digest the cellulose into sugars. C. Cellulose is digested intracellularly in the termite hindgut. D. The ingested plant material also contains enzymes for cellulose digestion.

Explanation / Answer

Option B is correct . The mutualistic bacteria is present within the hind gut of termites. These bacteria digest the cellulose into small chain fatty acids like Acetic acid is one of them. Now termites can use these acids like our cells do.

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