White Ants Eat Wood, but Many Do Not Produce Enzymes

Multiple Choice

White ants eat wood, but many do not produce enzymes themselves that will digest the cellulose in the wood. Instead, some white ants house a complex community of protozoa, bacteria, and archaea that could help digest the cellulose. Imagine an experiment that fed white ants either wood only or wood and antibiotics, and then measured the amount of energy extracted from the wood. If both groups gained equal amounts of energy, which of the conclusions is the most logical?

A) We would conclude that the protozoa contributed to digestion of cellulose and lignin.
B) We would conclude that the archaea contributed to digestion of cellulose and lignin.
C) We would conclude that the bacteria did not contribute to digestion of cellulose and lignin.
D) We would conclude that none of the three groups were needed to digest cellulose and lignin.