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A recent study has discovered that specialized cells located in the intestines support pythons in digesting the skeletons of their prey. (Image credit: Zoonar GmbH / Alamy Stock Photo)ShareShare by:
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Scientists have determined that unique cells within the intestinal membrane of Burmese pythons’ (Python bivittatus) facilitate the processing of calcium obtained from the bones of their consumed meals. This aids in clarifying how these predators are capable of digesting entire organisms.
The research group made their findings public on June 25 in the Journal of Experimental Biology.
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During the digestion process, pythons decompose their prey’s bones. The bones act as a crucial origin of calcium for the snakes’ nutritional requirements; however, the pythons are incapable of utilizing all the calcium present. “Our intention was to ascertain the methods by which they manage to handle and restrict the substantial calcium uptake through the intestinal barrier,” articulated study co-author Jehan-Hervé Lignot, a biologist based at the University of Montpellier in France, as per a formal declaration.
For the purpose of observing the snakes’ management of calcium absorption, the researchers provided Burmese pythons with one of three nutritional plans: a typical consumption of intact prey; a reduced-calcium diet consisting of prey devoid of bones; and a diet incorporating boneless prey in conjunction with a calcium addition. Following multiple feeding episodes, the team scrutinized the consequence of each nutritional approach on the snakes’ intestinal systems.
The team ascertained that slender, unique cells situated within the pythons’ intestinal inner layer participate actively in bone digestion. In the snakes that consumed either whole prey or boneless prey augmented with a calcium additive, these specific cells contained compounds composed of calcium, iron, and phosphorus. Conversely, these compounds were not detected in snakes exclusively nourished with boneless prey.
It is likely that the cells are involved in eliminating the calcium that the snakes failed to assimilate. It is plausible that these cells amass the excess calcium into these particles, and then excrete the particles in correspondence with additional undigested parts into the snakes’ excretions, according to the investigators’ account in the study.
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In light of the identification of the slender intestinal cells within Burmese pythons, the scientists have additionally detected them in the intestinal tracts of supplementary pythons and boa constrictors, in addition to Gila monsters (Heloderma suspectum) — each of these species ingest their prey in its entirety. Nonetheless, as of yet, there is no confirmation that other creatures that ingest their entire prey, for example dolphins or avian species specialized in fish consumption, generate such calcium-based particles.
Additional investigation could potentially unveil the pervasiveness of these bone-digesting cells across the breadth of the animal kingdom, the researchers noted.
“Marine predators subsisting on bony fish or aquatic mammals must contend with an identical predicament” involving the digestion of skeletal matter and the clearance of surplus calcium, Lignot conveyed within the declaration. “Avian creatures that predominantly consume bones, such as the bearded vulture [Gypaetus barbatus], could additionally offer captivating possibilities.”
Skyler WareSocial Links NavigationLive Science Contributor
Skyler Ware functions as a freelance science correspondent, reporting on the subjects of chemistry, biology, paleontology, and Earth science. She held a 2023 AAAS Mass Media Science and Engineering Fellowship at Science News. Her publications have furthermore materialized in Science News Explores, ZME Science, and Chembites, among others. Skyler possesses a Ph.D. in chemistry earned from Caltech.
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