Where do microbes help digest plants?
Plant cell walls contain tough fibres such as cellulose. Researcher Mario Murakami explains that microbes ferment this material in the manatee’s hindgut (the rear part of the intestine), producing nutrients the animal can absorb. The diagram shows where that work fits in the digestive journey.[1]
- Plants
A manatee eats plants containing tough fibre.
- Stomach
Plant material passes through the stomach.
- Hindgut
Microbes help break down fibre, producing nutrients the animal can absorb.
The figure simplifies a complex process.
Which manatees were studied?
Researchers analysed samples from 36 Amazonian manatees and 11 marine manatees. According to Agência FAPESP’s report on the study, they found more than 6,000 decoded microbial genomes, along with thousands of genes and enzymes.[1]
The Amazonian manatees were kept at an institute in Manaus, Brazil. The marine manatees were associated with a rehabilitation programme in Ceará, including one animal sampled nearby after being reintroduced. These samples do not represent every manatee population.[1]
What other microbial ability stood out?
The report also describes a bacterium that uses a newly described enzyme to process epilactose, a sugar most known microbes cannot process. This is a separate finding from the fermentation of plant fibre.[1]