Phylogenetic Diversity, Abundance, and Axial Distribution of Bacteria in the Intestinal Tract of Two Soil-Feeding Termites ( Cubitermes spp.)

Abstract

The hindgut of soil-feeding termites is highly compartmentalized and characterized by pronounced axial dynamics of the intestinal pH and microbial processes such as hydrogen production, methanogenesis, and reductive acetogenesis. Nothing is known about the bacterial diversity and the abundance or axial distribution of the major phylogenetic groups in the different gut compartments. In this study, we showed that the variety of physicochemical conditions is reflected in the diversity of the microbial communities in the different gut compartments of two Cubitermes species (Termitidae: Termitinae). 16S rRNA gene clones from the highly alkaline first proctodeal segment (

Diversity and Genomes of Uncultured Microbial Symbionts in the Termite Gut

“…The taxonomic compositions of gut bacteria have been examined in various termite species by 16S rRNA clone analysis (Table 1). 7,8,[20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] More than 1,500 phylotypes in total (with a criterion of >97% sequence identity in near-full length 16S sequence) have been obtained to date, most of which have never been detected in other environments and show low sequence similarities to cultured bacterial strains. In both lower and higher termites, it has been estimated that a single termite species harbors several hundred or more gut bacterial phylotypes.…”

Degradation of and sensitivity to cholate in Pseudomonas sp. strain Chol1

“…Phylogenetic analysis of strain Chol1 was performed as described earlier (Schmitt-Wagner et al 2003).…”

Possible sources of methane-derived carbon for chironomid larvae

“…Additionally, the gut transfer itself most likely influences the composition of the microbial community, leading to activation or inactivation of special groups of microorganisms associated with the gut content. Consequently, this causes the establishment of a specialised gut microflora, as observed for example in termites or beetle larvae (Egert et al 2003, Schmitt-Wagner et al 2003, which seems in the anaerobic environment of the chironomid gut to be dominated by (facultatively) anaerobic Eubacteria (discussed in detail in Stief & Eller 2006).…”