Re: digestion

[Gautam Majumdar <gautam@majumdar.demon.co.uk>]

Matt Fraser wrote
>
>The gas may never have existed (I said MAY).  The methane produced during
>mammallian digestion is due to the E. coli that reside in our gut.  I
>don't know if similar symbioses occur with birds and reptiles, or whether
>they can process vegetable matter on their own. There are certainly
>vegetarian reptiles (iguanas) and fruit eating birds.  So I suupose those
>would be the ones to get clues from.
>
Hoatzin, which eats mainly leaves, uses bacterial fermentation in the stomach
for breaking up cellulose to release simpler carbohydrates that can be
absorbed, a process similar to grazing and browsing mammals. Fruit eating
birds do not need to do so as there is very little cellulose in fruits and 
stomach
enzymes are sufficient to break down the compounds and extract nutrients.

Gautam Majumdar                 gautam@majumdar.demon.co.uk