What must microbes do before assimilating most biopolymers?

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Microbes must hydrolyze biopolymers into smaller units before assimilation because the cell mainly takes up small molecules, not intact polymers. Large biopolymers like starch, proteins, lipids, or nucleic acids are too bulky to cross membranes. Extracellular or cell-surface enzymes—such as amylases, proteases, lipases, and nucleases—break these polymers down into monomers (glucose, amino acids, glycerol and fatty acids, nucleotides). Once in monomer form, the nutrients can be transported into the cell and funneled into central metabolism for energy and biosynthesis. Transporting polymers directly isn’t typical, oxidation happens after uptake and breakdown, and further polymerizing them would not aid uptake or metabolism.