The gut microflora of Reticulitermes flavipes, its relation to oxygen, and evidence for oxygen-dependent acetogenesis by the most abundant Enterococcus sp.

Tholen, Anne

doi:10.1016/s0168-6496(97)00053-6

Cited by 29 publications

(73 citation statements)

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“…The bacterial strains from R. flavipes were isolated during a previous study of the gut microflora of this termite (Tholen et al 1997). The type strains of Enterococcus cecorum (DSM 20682 T ) and Lactococcus lactis ssp.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Termites were degutted, and the isolated guts were pooled and thoroughly homogenized with a glass homogenizer in sterile buffered saline solution (BSS; Tholen et al 1997). Triplicate serial dilutions of the gut homogenates were prepared in substrate-free medium and then spread on agar plates (Tholen et al 1997).…”

Section: Enumeration and Isolation Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It has been suggested that this discrepancy might be explained by a shift in the fermentation balance of lactic acid bacteria from lactate towards acetate formation when oxygen is present, as has been demonstrated for strain RfL6 isolated from the R. flavipes hindgut (Tholen et al 1997). However, considering that only a small proportion of the morphologically diverse gut microbiota of R. flavipes has been cultivated, it still remains to be established whether oxygen-reducing, coccoid lactic acid bacteria indeed form a significant fraction of the microbial community.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…This situation is reflected in the metabolic properties of the gut microbiota. It has been shown that the majority of the carbohydrate-utilizing bacteria cultivated from the hindguts of the lower termite Reticulitermes flavipes (Rhinotermitidae) are aerotolerant lactic acid bacteria, accompanied by other, facultatively anaerobic, or even strictly aerobic bacteria (Schultz and Breznak 1978;Tholen et al 1997). To date, the presence of coccoid lactic acid bacteria in the gut microflora has been established for all species of wood-feeding termites that have been investigated, representing three of the five families of lower termites (Masto-, Kalo-, and Rhinotermitidae) and only one species of higher termites (Termitidae; Eutick et al 1978;Schultz and Breznak 1978;Tholen et al 1997, and references therein).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite the presence of lactic acid bacteria in the hindgut of R. flavipes, lactate is not a major metabolite in the hindgut fluid (Odelson and Breznak 1983;Tholen et al 1997). It has been suggested that this discrepancy might be explained by a shift in the fermentation balance of lactic acid bacteria from lactate towards acetate formation when oxygen is present, as has been demonstrated for strain RfL6 isolated from the R. flavipes hindgut (Tholen et al 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Characterization of abundance and diversity of lactic acid bacteria in the hindgut of wood- and soil-feeding termites by molecular and culture-dependent techniques

et al. 1999

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Lactic acid bacteria have been identified as typical and numerically significant members of the gut microbiota of Reticulitermes flavipes and other wood-feeding lower termites. We found that also in the guts of the higher termites Nasutitermes arborum (wood-feeding), Thoracotermes macrothorax, and Anoplotermes pacificus (both soil-feeding), lactic acid bacteria represent the largest group of culturable carbohydrate-utilizing bacteria (3.6-5.2x10(4) bacteria per gut; 43%-54% of all colonies). All isolates were coccoid and phenotypically difficult to distinguish, but their enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus sequence (ERIC) fingerprint patterns showed a significant genetic diversity. Six different genotypes each were identified among the isolates from R. flavipes and T. macrothorax, and representative strains were selected for further characterization. By 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, strain RfL6 from R. flavipes was classified as a close relative of Enterococcus faecalis, whereas strain RfLs4 from R. flavipes and strain TmLO5 from T. macrothorax were closely related to Lactococcus lactis. All strains consumed oxygen during growth on glucose and cellobiose; oxygen consumption of these and other isolates from both termite species was due to NADH and pyruvate oxidase activities, but did not result in H2O2 formation. In order to assess the significance of the isolates in the hindgut, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis was used to compare the fingerprints of 16S rRNA genes in the bacterial community of R. flavipes with those of representative isolates. The major DNA band from the hindgut bacterial community was further separated by bisbenzimide-polyethylene glycol electrophoresis, and the two resulting bands were sequenced. Whereas one sequence belonged to a spirochete, the second sequence was closely related to the sequences of the Lactococcus strains RfLs4 and TmLO5. Apparently, those isolates represent strains of a new Lactococcus species which forms a significant fraction of the complex hindgut community of the lower termite R. flavipes and possibly also of other termites.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Enumeration and Isolation Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Characterization of abundance and diversity of lactic acid bacteria in the hindgut of wood- and soil-feeding termites by molecular and culture-dependent techniques

et al. 1999

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Spatial distribution of bacterial phylotypes in the gut of the termite Reticulitermes speratus and the bacterial community colonizing the gut epithelium

Nakajima¹,

Hongoh²,

Usami³

et al. 2005

FEMS Microbiology Ecology

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The bacterial community colonizing the gut wall of the termite Reticulitermes speratus was characterized without cultivation. Analysis of 16S rRNA genes after fractionation of the gut revealed that the bacterial composition on the gut wall was diverse and significantly different from that able to move unconfined in the gut fluid or physically associated with the gut protists. Actinobacteria, Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were dominant on the gut wall, but Spirochaetes and the Termite group 1 phylum, abundant in the gut lumen, were relatively rare. A sequence-specific probe enabled the in situ detection of a rod-shaped Actinobacteria member, abundantly colonizing the gut paunch epithelium.

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Life at the oxic–anoxic interface: microbial activities and adaptations

Brune¹

2000

FEMS Microbiology Reviews

231

166

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Molecular oxygen is one of the most important reactants in biogeochemical cycles. Due to its low solubility in water, the consumption of oxygen leads to the development of oxic-anoxic interfaces, which separate aerobic from anaerobic processes in virtually all environments, ranging in scale from oceanic sediments to the fecal pellets of a small soil invertebrate. Three case studies were selected to illustrate the basic situation and the specific characteristics of oxic-anoxic interfaces: sediments, the rhizosphere of aquatic plants, and the intestinal tract of insects. Each system is governed by the same general principles, but striking differences arise from, e.g., the nature of the major microbial activities and the mechanisms controlling metabolite fluxes. Also scale and dimensional differences as well as the consequences of temporal fluctuations are of fundamental importance. Recent developments in microbial ecology, which often combine traditional and modern approaches, have significantly furthered our understanding of the specific microniches and the metabolic and behavioral adaptations of microorganisms to life at the oxic-anoxic interface. New concepts help to define the targets of future studies: the spatial organization of microbial populations, their microenvironments and in situ activities, and the functional interactions within structured microbial communities.

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The gut microflora of Reticulitermes flavipes, its relation to oxygen, and evidence for oxygen-dependent acetogenesis by the most abundant Enterococcus sp.

Cited by 29 publications

References 0 publications

Characterization of abundance and diversity of lactic acid bacteria in the hindgut of wood- and soil-feeding termites by molecular and culture-dependent techniques

Characterization of abundance and diversity of lactic acid bacteria in the hindgut of wood- and soil-feeding termites by molecular and culture-dependent techniques

Spatial distribution of bacterial phylotypes in the gut of the termite Reticulitermes speratus and the bacterial community colonizing the gut epithelium

Life at the oxic–anoxic interface: microbial activities and adaptations

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