Feeding Relationships and Radioisotope Techniques

McMahan, Elizabeth A.

doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-395529-6.50016-7

Cited by 60 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Individuals grouped by caste and nutritional characteristics (Howse 1968;McMahan 1969) were sacrificed to determine group differences in amounts of uric acid reserve. Three groups were analyzed: (1) the male and female "reproductive" caste, which both donate and receive nutrients during intra-colony food exchanges, (2) the "nutrient-receiving" soldier caste and first to second instar larvae, which receive nutrients during food exchanges, and (3) the "nutrient-gathering" third to penultimate instars, which principally donate nutrients during food exchanges (McMahn 1969).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamics of biparental care in the dampwood termite, Zootermopsis nevadensis (Hagen): response to nitrogen availability

Shellman-Reeve

1990

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Studies were conducted on the dampwood termite, Zootermopsis nevadensis, to examine the behavioral roles of the reproductive pair during the nestfounding period and to determine the effect of nitrogen availability on their reproduction and division of labor. Nitrogen has been hypothesized to be an important limiting nutrient for founding pairs. One nitrogenous reserve, uric acid-nitrogen, was examined in reproductives and in nutrient-receiving and nutrient-gathering colony members; it was found in highest amounts in the reproductives (i.e., alates, de-alates, and primary reproductives). Young pairs may use these nitrogenous reserves to increase their chances for reproduction. In support of this hypothesis, founding pairs that were fed a diet supplemented with uric acid-nitrogen had a significantly greater probability of producing at least one offspring than did pairs fed an unsupplemented diet. Females that were fed a nitrogen-poor diet restricted their total activity while their mates sustained a high activity during colony initiation. When fed a nitrogen-rich diet, females collected pulp more often than their mates, while males collected more water, though only in the period prior to egg laying. In all pairs, males transferred proctodeal pellets (food derived from the hindgut intestine) to their mates significantly more often than females to males, and females fed on proctodeal pellets significantly more often than did their mates. The male-female asymmetries in pellet transfer and feeding were not significant in the stage after egg deposition. Once eggs and larvae were present in the nest, a male and female spend an equal percentage of time caring for eggs and feeding larvae. Proctodeal pellets examined in reproductives were found to be rich in proteins. This suggests that in the pre-egg period, the male provides nitrogen-rich substances to the female as a form of paternal investment.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamics of biparental care in the dampwood termite, Zootermopsis nevadensis (Hagen): response to nitrogen availability

Shellman-Reeve

1990

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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“…Trophallaxis, the exchange of digestive tract fluid among colony members, is a common behavior in termites (McMahan, 1969) and has two known modes: stomodeal and proctodeal trophallaxis. Stomodeal trophallaxis is the exchange of saliva and regurgitated food, and proctodeal trophallaxis is the transfer of hindgut fluids containing symbiotic protists, digestive products of both the insect and its symbionts, and pheromones (McMahan, 1969).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Stomodeal trophallaxis is the exchange of saliva and regurgitated food, and proctodeal trophallaxis is the transfer of hindgut fluids containing symbiotic protists, digestive products of both the insect and its symbionts, and pheromones (McMahan, 1969). Proctodeal trophallaxis is thought to play an especially important role in the nutritional economy in termites, because 1) microorganisms in the hindgut may serve as a nitrogen source (Noirot and Noirot-Timothée, 1969), and 2) some intestinal bacteria convert uric acid into usable nitrogenous compounds (Potrikus and Breznak, 1981).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrogen recycling through proctodeal trophallaxis in the Japanese damp-wood termite Hodotermopsis japonica (Isoptera, Termopsidae)

Machida¹,

Kitade

Miura³

et al. 2001

Insectes soc.

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Trophallaxis is one of a variety of nutritional tactics that enable termites to conserve and recycle nitrogenous compounds. In this study, we designed three experiments to reveal the function and importance of proctodeal trophallaxis in the Japanese damp-wood termite Hodotermopsis japonica. First, our observations showed that younger instars and soldiers tended to behave as recipients of proctodeal fluid, while older instars acted mainly as donors. Secondly, nitrogen-deficient groups of termite individuals were introduced to groups of nourished individuals; results indicate that the frequency of proctodeal trophallaxis was significantly higher than in control groups. Additionally, the nitrogen content in the proctodeal fluid of nitrogen-deficient individuals increased after trophallactic interactions with well-nourished individuals. Finally, we set up three groups reared with different concentrations of nitrogenous compounds (amino acids) in their diet, to investigate the correlation between the frequency of trophallactic behavior and the protein concentration of proctodeal fluid. As expected, proctodeal fluid of low protein content was frequently exchanged among individuals in nitrogen-poor conditions, while high-protein proctodeal fluid was transferred less frequently under nitrogen-rich conditions. These results suggest that termites have plasticity of trophallactic behavior in response to their nutritional conditions, and trophallaxis contributes to the nutritional homeostasis of colonies.

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“…Since usually bacteria cannot pass through the peritrophic membrane (49) and since they are not present in any other gut regions, it is unlikely that they infect the termites at the stage when the peritrophic membrane is intact. However, the bacteria are present not only in worker insects but also in soldier insects, which cannot feed directly on wood and ingest stomodeal and/or proctodeal foods from workers (32). This suggests that a trace of the bacteria might be ingested as the contamination of stomodeal and/ or proctodeal foods and reaches the mixed segment immediately after molting, when the peritrophic membrane has not yet formed.…”

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

Localization of Symbiotic Clostridia in the Mixed Segment of the Termite Nasutitermes takasagoensis (Shiraki)

Tokuda

Yamaoka

Noda

2000

Appl Environ Microbiol

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Phylogeny and the distribution of symbiotic bacteria in the mixed segment of the wood-eating termite Nasutitermes takasagoensis (Shiraki) were studied. Bacterial 16S rRNA genes (rDNA) were amplified from the mixed segment of the gut by PCR, and two kinds of sequences were identified. The phylogenetic tree was constructed by neighbor-joining and maximum parsimony methods to identify symbionts harbored in the mixed segment. They are classified as low-G؉C-content gram-positive bacteria and are most closely related to the genus Clostridium. The distribution of these bacteria throughout the whole gut was examined by PCR using specific primers, which suggested that they are confined to the mixed segment despite the presence of bacteria throughout the gut. In situ hybridization indicated that the symbiotic bacteria were localized to the ectoperitrophic space between the midgut wall and the peritrophic membrane in the mixed segment. Electron microscopy revealed the close association between these bacteria and the mesenteric epithelium, suggesting that they have some interactions with the gut tissue of termites.It is widely known that termites cannot survive without intestinal microorganisms. The physiological functions of symbiotic prokaryotes in termites are extremely diverse and include cellulose digestion (21, 40), hemicellulose digestion (43, 47), acetogenesis (5, 29, 34), hydrogenesis (46, 47), methanogenesis (5, 35), sulfate reduction (28), and nitrogen fixation (39, 48). Moreover, intestinal bacteria contribute to creating suitable conditions for symbiotic flagellates through the production of nutrients and the maintenance of the pH and anaerobic conditions in "lower termites" (7). Such microorganisms are usually distributed in the enlarged part of the hindgut, called "the paunch"; metabolites from the microorganisms are considered to be absorbed across the hindgut wall (23). It has also been reported that termites belonging to the Termitidae, which do not have symbiotic protozoa and are known as "higher termites," possess bacteria not only in the hindgut but also in the mixed segment (1, 12).The mixed segment is a part of the gut present only in higher termites, where it is situated between the midgut and the first proctodeal segment (2). The basic structure of the mixed segment is such that the mesenteric epithelium occupies half of the gut wall and the proctodeal epithelium covers the remaining area. Though the role of the mixed segment is still ambiguous, some physiological characteristics have recently been clarified. One of the most significant features in the mixed segment is an elevated pH (3,7,8). In the case of the woodeating higher termite Nasutitermes nigriceps, a neutral pH value in the midgut increases in the mixed segment and reaches 10.23 Ϯ 0.46 in the first proctodeal segment (7). In contrast, oxygen concentration decreases in the mixed segment and becomes zero in the first proctodeal segment (7). Bacteria have been observed under such conditions in the ectoperitrophic space of the mixed segment,...

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Feeding Relationships and Radioisotope Techniques

Cited by 60 publications

References 41 publications

Dynamics of biparental care in the dampwood termite, Zootermopsis nevadensis (Hagen): response to nitrogen availability

Dynamics of biparental care in the dampwood termite, Zootermopsis nevadensis (Hagen): response to nitrogen availability

Nitrogen recycling through proctodeal trophallaxis in the Japanese damp-wood termite Hodotermopsis japonica (Isoptera, Termopsidae)

Localization of Symbiotic Clostridia in the Mixed Segment of the Termite Nasutitermes takasagoensis (Shiraki)

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