Oxalate Degradation
Only a few plants contain sufficient amounts of sodium and potassium oxalate
to be considered toxic. Moreover, ruminants that consume these plants develop
increasing amounts of tolerance to oxalate. An oxalate degrading anaerobe
microorganism has been isolated from pure culture of rumen bacteria. This
organism, Oxalobacter formigens, uses oxalate as a sole energy source
and produces carbon dioxide and formate as end products. This ability is
extremely rare among anaerobic bacteria and therefore this organism occupies
an unique niche in the rumen's microflora. The ability of the ruminant
to adapt and tolerate high oxalate diets directly depends on the selection
of oxalate- degrading microorganisms.
This series of web pages was created by an undergraduate student at Cornell University for the AS625 class. All comments and suggestions are welcome.
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These web pages are only meant to be informative. Neither Cornell University nor the author of this site endorse or recommend the use of these plants.
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