[Campbell Biology P.121] A cow is given antibiotics to treat an infection. After the treatme... | Practice Question

A cow is given antibiotics to treat an infection. After the treatment, a vet provides the animal with a drink containing various prokaryotes gut culture . Based on the information provided in the text, why is this action necessary for the cow's health?

  • A: The antibiotics might have destroyed the cow's own digestive enzymes, and the gut culture provides new enzymes.
  • B: The gut culture helps to re-establish the population of cellulose-digesting microorganisms that were likely harmed by the antibiotics.
  • C: The prokaryotes in the gut culture are essential for synthesizing vitamins that the cow can no longer produce after antibiotic treatment.
  • D: The gut culture prevents the cow from developing a secondary fungal infection after the antibiotic treatment.

Explanation

The text states that 'A cow harbors cellulose-digesting prokaryotes and protists in its gut. These microbes hydrolyze the cellulose of hay and grass and convert the glucose to other compounds that nourish the cow.' Antibiotics would kill these beneficial prokaryotes, thus disrupting the cow's ability to digest cellulose. The gut culture is necessary to re-establish these crucial microbes.