Can any animal digest cellulose (fiber) by itself without bacterial help?

gmackematix

The long straight cellulose molecules contain hydroxide groups and are therefore tightly bound together by hydrogen bonding. This makes cellulose insoluble and impervious to many chemicals. This is why cellulose is so good as the strengthening material in plant cell walls and is why evolution has led to it being one of the commonest organic chemicals on the planet. One chemical that can break it down is hydrolytically, by the action of an enzyme called cellulase and that takes time (hence chewing the cud). Cellulase can be made artificially, and animals that digest cellulose do so by having certain cellulase producing bacteria in their stomachs (which create a lot of methane in the process). Why no other animals except bacteria seem able to produce this enzyme is a mystery to me. Jun 14 04, 6:41 PM