Microbial Communities of the Gut and Nest of the Humus- and Litter-Feeding Termite Procornitermes araujoi (Syntermitinae).
Curr Microbiol
; 75(12): 1609-1618, 2018 Dec.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-30209570
ABSTRACT
The evolution of the symbiotic association with microbes allowed termites to decompose ingested lignocellulose from plant-derived substrates, including herbivore dung and soil humus. Representatives of the Syntermitinae (Termitidae) range in their feeding habits from wood and litter-feeding to humus-feeding species. However, only limited information is available about their feeding ecology and associated microbial communities. Here we conducted a study of the microbial communities associated to the termite Procornitermes araujoi using Illumina sequencing of the 16S and ITS rRNA genes. This species has been previously included in different feeding guilds. However, most aspects of its feeding ecology are unknown, especially those associated to its symbiotic microbiota. Our results showed that the microbial communities of termite guts and nest substrates of P. araujoi differed significantly for bacteria and fungi. Firmicutes dominated the bacterial gut community of both workers and soldiers, whereas Actinobacteria was found in higher prevalence in the nest walls. Sordariomycetes was the most abundant fungal class in both gut and nest samples and distinguish P. araujoi from the grass/litter feeding Cornitermes cumulans. Our results also showed that diversity of gut bacteria were higher in P. araujoi and Silvestritermes euamignathus than in the grass/litter feeders (C. cumulans and Syntermes dirus), that could indicate an adaptation of the microbial community of polyphagous termites to the higher complexity of their diets.
Texto completo:
1
Bases de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Isópteros
/
Microbiota
Tipo de estudo:
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Curr Microbiol
Ano de publicação:
2018
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Brasil