The gut microbiota of the wood-feeding termite Reticulitermes lucifugus (Isoptera; Rhinotermitidae)

Abstract

Termite gut is host to a complex microbial community consisting of prokaryotes, and in some cases flagellates, responsible for the degradation of lignocellulosic material. Here we report data concerning the analysis of the gut microbiota of Reticulitermes lucifugus (Rossi), a lower termite species that lives in underground environments and is widespread in Italy, where it causes damage to wood structures of historical and artistic monuments. A 16S rRNA gene clone library revealed that the R. lucifugus gut is colonized by members of five phyla in the domain Bacteria: Firmicutes (49 % of clones), Proteobacteria (24 %), Spirochaetes (14 %), the candidatus TG1 phylum (12 %), and Bacteroidetes (1 %). A collection of cellulolytic aerobic bacteria was isolated from the gut of R. lucifugus by enrichment cultures on different cellulose and lignocellulose substrates. Results showed that the largest amount of culturable cellulolytic bacteria of R. lucifugus belongs to Firmicutes in the genera Bacillus and Paenibacillus (67 %). These isolates are also able to grow on xylan and show the largest clear zone diameter in the Congo red test. Reticulitermes lucifugus hosts a diverse community of bacteria and could be considered an acceptable source of hydrolytic enzymes for biotechnological applications.

Harnessing microfluidic streak plate technique to investigate the gut microbiome of Reticulitermes chinensis

“…These 44 OTUs were assigned to 24 genera. We found that 12 of the 24 genera had been previously observed (Butera, Ferraro, Alonzo, Colazza, & Quatrini, ; Chou, Chen, Arun, & Young, ; Fall et al., ; Hongoh et al., ; Liu et al., ; Shinzato, Muramatsu, Matsui, & Watanabe, ; Thong‐On et al., ) but other 12 genera ( Massilia, Hydrogenophaga, Hydrogenophilus, Neisseria, Helicobacter, Thermomonas, Dokdonella, Acidiphilium, Hyphomicrobium, Paracoccus, Microvirga, and Peredibacter ) had not been reported previously for termite gut microbiota. We also found that there were eight of the 44 OTUs represented possible new taxa, as their 16S rRNA similarities to that of the currently known species were less than 97%.…”

“…We successfully cultivated a range of bacterial strains belonging to the Delftia, Comamonas, Acinetobacter, Moraxella, Luteimona, Sphingomonas, Bosea, Methylobacterium, Corynebacterium, Janibacter, Propionibacterium, and Sphingobacterium with MSP method in this study. Of note, the occurrence of these bacterial taxa in termite gut had been previously detected with molecular tools but they had not been cultivated (Butera et al, 2016;Diouf et al, 2015;Fall et al, 2007;Hongoh et al, 2005;Husseneder, Berestecky, & Grace, 2009;Matsui, Tanaka, Namihira, & Shinzato, 2012;Nakajima, Hongoh, Usami, Kudo, & Ohkuma, 2005;Thong-On et al, 2012;Visser, Nobre, Currie, Aanen, & Poulsen, 2012;Zhu et al, 2012). The members of Massilia, Hydrogenophaga, Hydrogenophilus, Neisseria, Helicobacter, Thermomonas, Dokdonella, Acidiphilium, Hyphomicrobium, Paracoccus, Microvirga, Peredibacter, Anaerococcus, Aneurinibacillus, Geobacillus, Gemella, Alicyclobacillus, Veillonella, Oribacterium, Faecalibacterium, Prevotella, Alloprevotella, Flavisolibacter, and Flavobacterium represented an unclassified member of Proteobacteria, and its 16S…”

Symbiotic cellulolytic bacteria from the gut of the subterranean termite Psammotermes hypostoma Desneux and their role in cellulose digestion

“…This study allowed to unveil the role of some prokaryotes located in the hind gut of the subterranean termite P. hypostoma and confirm their principle role in cellulose digestion and nutrition. Another important role of the aerobic cellulolytic bacteria in the termite gut may be the consumption of oxygen and the creation of appropriate anaerobic conditions for the symbiotic obligatory anaerobic microorganisms (protozoa) that are indispensable for the digestion of consumed cellulose by the termites (Brune et al 1995; Brune 1998; Butera et al 2016).…”

The gut microbiota structure of the terrestrial isopod Porcellionides pruinosus (Isopoda: Oniscidea)

“…From each region, five guts of healthy adult isopods were extracted with fine-tipped sterile forceps (Butera et al 2016), pooled and homogenized to be serially diluted in a sterile physiological solution and plated on Nutrient Agar (NA; Difco, Franklin Lakes, NJ) culture medium. After 72 h of incubation at 37°C, the colonies were counted and the mean number of bacteria per gut was determined.…”

“…Adult isopods (both males and females) were surfacesterilized with 70% ethanol, washed twice with distilled water and surface dried; their guts were dissected and used freshly for DNA extraction (Butera et al 2016). From each population, five pooled guts were used for total DNA extraction and purification using the QIAamp® DNA Stool Kit (QIAGEN, Venlo, The Netherlands) according to the manufacturer's instructions.…”