Question

Generally, animals cannot digest (hydrolyze) the glycosidic linkages between the glucose molecules in cellulose. How then do cows get enough nutrients from eating grass?A. They have to eat a lot of it.B. Microorganisms in their digestive tracts hydrolyze the cellulose to individual glucose units.C. Cows and other herbivores are exceptions and make some cellulose-digesting enzymes.D. The flat teeth and strong stomach of herbivores break the cellulose fibers so that the cows get enough nutrition from the cell contents.E. All of the above.

Answer 1

Answer:

B. Microorganisms in their digestive tracts hydrolyze the cellulose to individual glucose units.

Explanation:

Cows are ruminants.  They lack the cellulose digesting enzymes. However, they have a stomach with four chambers. The first two chambers of their stomach house symbiotic bacteria and protists. These microbes have the ability to digest cellulose into simple sugars. These simple sugars are then used by the host and the bacteria themselves. The microbes digesting the cellulose produce the enzyme cellulase and breakdown cellulose anaerobically.