Carbohydrases in Soil and Litter Invertebrates
- 1 January 1962
- Vol. 13 (2) , 200-+
- https://doi.org/10.2307/3565085
Abstract
Thirty-four species of soil and litter invertebrates were tested. In most forms the digestive tract was dissected out and extracted, but in the majority of the Enchytraeidae, the worms were extracted whole. The extracts were tested for their hydrolytic action on a number of substrates. Most forms could digest disaccharides and trisaccharides, including those such as lactose that they would be unlikely to encounter in nature. Soluble starch and glycogen likewise were hydrolysed by all species. [beta]-glucosidases and [beta]-galactosidases were widely distributed. Snails and slugs contained cellulase, xylanase and pectinase. Cellulase and chitinase were detected in some examples of the oligochaete Dendrobaena octaedra. It is concluded that most primary decomposition in the soil and litter is performed by the microflora, supplemented by some of the tested species, and that the main importance of the invertebrates is in their effects upon the activity of the microflora.This publication has 10 references indexed in Scilit:
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