Explanation
The alimentary canal of ruminants, such as cattle, goats, sheep, alpacas and antelope, is unable to produce the enzymes required to break down the cellulose and hemicellulose of plant matter. Accordingly, these animals have developed a symbiotic relationship with a wide range of microbes, which largely reside in the reticulorumen, and which are able to synthesize the requisite enzymes. The reticulorumen thus hosts a microbial fermentation which yields products (mainly volatile fatty acids and microbial protein), which the ruminant is able to digest and absorb. This allows digestion of less edible plants.
Read more about this topic: Cud
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