Why Don't More Animals Eat Wood?

To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: Xylophagy: the eating of wood Lignin: a class of complex organic polymers that form key structural materials in the support tissues of vascular plants and help make wood rigid. Cellulose: a polysaccharide consisting of chains of glucose monomers, which is the main constituent of plant cell walls. Lignin oxidation: a depolymerization method to break bonds in lignin molecules such as ether or carbon–carbon bonds by applying an oxidant such as oxygen. Depolymerization: the process of breaking down a polymer, such as lignin, into simpler monomers Trichonympha agilis: a specialized protist that lives in the hindguts of many termite species that breaks down the cellulose in the wood they eat and may contribute to the lignin oxidation process. MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://neptunestudios.info⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ If you like what we do, you can help us! - Become our patron: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Buy our merch: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://dftba.com/minuteearth⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Buy our book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://minuteearth.com/books⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Sign up to our newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://news.minuteearth.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Share with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices