Seasonal Variations in Soil Microbiota Profile of Termite (Syntermes wheeleri) Mounds in the Brazilian Tropical Savanna

Abstract

Eusocial animals, such as the termites, often build a nest-like structure called a mound that provides shelter with stable internal conditions and protection against predators. Termites are important components of the Brazilian Cerrado biota. This study aimed to investigate the bacterial community composition and diversity of the Syntermes wheeleri termite-mound soil using culture-independent approaches. We considered the vertical profile by comparing two different mound depths (mound surface and 60 cm) and seasonality with samplings during the rainy and dry seasons. We compared the mound soil microbiota to the adjacent soil without the influence of the mound to test the hypothesis that the Cerrado soil bacterial community was more diverse and more susceptible to seasonality than the mound soil microbiota. The results support the hypothesis that the Cerrado soil bacterial community is more diverse than the mound soil and also has a higher variability among seasons. The number of observed OTUs (Operational Taxonomic Units) was used to express bacterial richness, and it indicates that soil moisture has an effect on the community distribution and richness of the Cerrado samples in comparison to mound samples, which remain stable across seasons. This could be a consequence of the protective role of the mound for the termite colony. The overall community taxonomic profile was similar between soil samples, especially when compared to the taxonomic composition of the Syntermes wheeleri termite’s gut, which might be explained by the different characteristics and functionality between the soil and the gut microbial community.

Seasonal and Soil Microbiota Effects on the Adaptive Strategies of Wild Goitered Gazelles Based on the Gut Microbiota

“…There is no known analysis on the source tracking between the gut microbiota of herbivores and soil microbiota. Microbial diversity in soil shows different characters and seasonal changes, and seasonal changes in soil microbiota may benefit the survival and adaptation of associated animals ( Garcia-Alvarez and Ibañez, 1994 ; Guimaraes et al, 2020 ; Ishaq et al, 2020 ). For example, Gemmatimonadetes in soil has seasonal variations and uses these to adapt to changes in the soil environment ( DeBruyn et al, 2011 ).…”

Bioinformatics analysis identification of AKT3 and RAC1 as key genes in postmenopausal osteoporosis

“…Every experiment was repeated three times. P<0.05 was considered to indicate a statistically significant difference ( 15 ).…”

Exploring the region‐wise diversity and functions of symbiotic bacteria in the gut system of wood‐feeding termite, Coptotermes formosanus, toward the degradation of cellulose, hemicellulose, and organic dyes

“…A detailed account of the structure of termite guts has been reviewed elsewhere (Watanabe & Tokuda, 2010). Termite gut systems are distinct ecological niches harboring militia of bacterial phylotypes that accomplish a variety of metabolic functions for the host (Guimaraes et al ., 2020). Although several researchers have reported the occurrence of bacterial communities in termites during the last three decades (Warnecke et al ., 2007; Brune & Dietrich, 2015; Jones et al ., 2019), only recently the bacterial diversity in termites has been estimated to be far greater than previously expected and the gut community mostly consists of novel and unique microbial species (Ohkuma & Brune, 2010).…”

“…The wood‐feeding lower termites have evolved a very delicate yet highly efficient and complex gut system during the course of evolution (Xie et al ., 2014; Brune, 2015). Their gut systems are axially structured microenvironments (Kohler et al ., 2012; Guimaraes et al ., 2020) divisible into foregut, midgut, and hindgut. Each of the gut regions possesses unique physiologies (Brune & Dietrich, 2015), specially tasked for particular functions toward digestion of the food (Geng et al ., 2018).…”