Character of Cellulase Activity in the Guts of Flagellate-Free Termites with Different Feeding Habits

Abstract

Cellulose digestion in termites (Isoptera) is highly important for ecological reasons and applications in biofuel conversion. The speciose Termitidae family has lost flagellates in the hindgut and developed diverse feeding habits. To address the response of cellulase activity to the differentiation of feeding habits, a comparative study of the activity and distribution of composite cellulases, endo-β-1, 4-glucanase, and β-glucosidase was performed in seven common flagellate-free termites with three feeding habits: the humus-feeding termites Sinocapritermes mushae (Oshima et Maki), Malaysiocapritermes zhangfengensis Zhu, Yang et Huang and Pericapritermes jiangtsekiangensis (Kemner); the fungus-growing termites Macrotermes barneyi Light and Odontotermes formosanus (Shiraki); and the wood-feeding termites Nasutitermes parvonasutus (Shiraki) and Havilanditermes orthonasus (Tsai et Chen). The results showed that in diverse feeding groups, the wood-feeding group had the highest total composite cellulase and endo-β-1, 4-glucanase activities, while the fungus-growing group had the highest β-glucosidase activity. In terms of the distribution of cellulase activity in the alimentary canals, the cellulase activities in wood-feeding termites were concentrated in the midgut, but there was no significant difference between all gut segments in humus-feeding termites. As for the fungus-growing termites, the main site of composite cellulase activity was in the midgut. The endo-β-1, 4-glucanase activity was restricted to the midgut, but the primary site of β-glucosidase activity was in the foregut and the midgut (Mac. barneyi). The functions of the gut segments apparently differentiated between feeding groups. The results suggest that the differentiation of feeding habits in flagellate-free termites was characterized by the distribution of cellulases in the gut rather than by variations in cellulase activity.

Effect of Different Lignocellulosic Diets on Bacterial Microbiota and Hydrolytic Enzyme Activities in the Gut of the Cotton Boll Weevil (Anthonomus grandis)

“…Previous studies assessed the effect on cellulase activity in the guts of termites and beetles due to changes in the diet (Geib et al, 2009; Li et al, 2013). Geib et al (2009) studied the effect of the diets on the gut of larval Longhorned beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis .…”

Identification of blood-feeding sources in Panstrongylus, Psammolestes, Rhodnius and Triatoma using amplicon-based next-generation sequencing

“…Feeding habits can affect relevant aspects of insect life-cycles and interactions. For example, cellulase activity within digestion is affected by the feeding habits of termites [ 11 ]; in addition, infection with Mycobacterium ulcerans is conditioned by the feeding behavior of water bugs due to a possible symbiotic relationship between the host and insect [ 12 ]. Moreover, the bacterial and fungal communities in the gut of certain insects are defined by their feeding habits [ 9 , 13 ], which can affect the effectivity of insects as vectors, as has been shown for Anopheles in previous studies [ 14 – 20 ].…”

The Role of Salivary Enzymes in the Detection of Polysaccharides in the Termite Reticulitermes flavipes Kollar (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae)

“…Enzymes that digest polysaccharides are produced in two major areas of the termite gut, the salivary glands and the hindgut (Brune, 2014). The latter has a larger suit of enzymes that attach large polysaccharides due to the presence of symbiotic bacteria (König et al, 2013;Li et al, 2013;Ni & Tokuda, 2013;Raychoudhury et al, 2013;Brune, 2014). The enzymes produced in the salivary glands are generated by the termites themselves (Brune, 2014).…”