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Sinotte VM, Renelies-Hamilton J, Andreu-Sánchez S, Vasseur-Cognet M, Poulsen M. Selective enrichment of founding reproductive microbiomes allows extensive vertical transmission in a fungus-farming termite. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20231559. [PMID: 37848067 PMCID: PMC10581767 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 09/09/2023] [Indexed: 10/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Mutualistic coevolution can be mediated by vertical transmission of symbionts between host generations. Termites host complex gut bacterial communities with evolutionary histories indicative of mixed-mode transmission. Here, we document that vertical transmission of gut bacterial strains is congruent across parent to offspring colonies in four pedigrees of the fungus-farming termite Macrotermes natalensis. We show that 44% of the offspring colony microbiome, including more than 80 bacterial genera and pedigree-specific strains, are consistently inherited. We go on to demonstrate that this is achieved because colony-founding reproductives are selectively enriched with a set of non-random, environmentally sensitive and termite-specific gut microbes from their colonies of origin. These symbionts transfer to offspring colony workers with high fidelity, after which priority effects appear to influence the composition of the establishing microbiome. Termite reproductives thus secure transmission of complex communities of specific, co-evolved microbes that are critical to their offspring colonies. Extensive yet imperfect inheritance implies that the maturing colony benefits from acquiring environmental microbes to complement combinations of termite, fungus and vertically transmitted microbes; a mode of transmission that is emerging as a prevailing strategy for hosts to assemble complex adaptive microbiomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veronica M. Sinotte
- Section for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen East, Denmark
- Center for Evolutionary Hologenomics, GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen, 1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark
| | - Justinn Renelies-Hamilton
- Section for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen East, Denmark
| | - Sergio Andreu-Sánchez
- Section for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen East, Denmark
- Department of Paediatrics, University Medical Centre Groningen, University of Groningen, 9700 RB Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Mireille Vasseur-Cognet
- UMR IRD 242, UPEC, CNRS 7618, UPMC 113, INRAe 1392, Paris 7 113, Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of Paris, Bondy, France
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Paris, France
| | - Michael Poulsen
- Section for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen East, Denmark
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2
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Diouf M, Hervé V, Fréchault S, Lambourdière J, Ndiaye AB, Miambi E, Bourceret A, Jusselme MD, Selosse MA, Rouland-Lefèvre C. Succession of the microbiota in the gut of reproductives of Macrotermes subhyalinus (Termitidae) at colony foundation gives insights into symbionts transmission. Front Ecol Evol 2023. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.1055382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Termites have co-evolved with a complex gut microbiota consisting mostly of exclusive resident taxa, but key forces sustaining this exclusive partnership are still poorly understood. The potential for primary reproductives to vertically transmit their gut microbiota (mycobiome and bacteriome) to offspring was investigated using colony foundations from field-derived swarming alates of Macrotermes subhyalinus. Metabarcoding based on the fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and the bacterial 16S rRNA gene was used to characterize the reproductives mycobiome and bacteriome over the colony foundation time. The mycobiome of swarming alates differed from that of workers of Macrotermitinae and changed randomly within and between sampling time points, highlighting no close link with the gut habitat. The fungal ectosymbiont Termitomyces was lost early from the gut of reproductives, confirming the absence of vertical transmission to offspring. Unlike fungi, the bacteriome of alates mirrored that of workers of Macroterminae. Key genera and core OTUs inherited from the mother colony mostly persisted in the gut of reproductive until the emergence of workers, enabling their vertical transmission and explaining why they were found in offspring workers. These findings demonstrate that the parental transmission may greatly contribute to the maintenance of the bacteriome and its co-evolution with termite hosts at short time scales.
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Agarwal R, Gupta M, Antony A, Sen R, Raychoudhury R. In Vitro Studies Reveal that Pseudomonas, from Odontotermes obesus Colonies, can Function as a Defensive Mutualist as it Prevents the Weedy Fungus While Keeping the Crop Fungus Unaffected. MICROBIAL ECOLOGY 2022; 84:391-403. [PMID: 34495359 DOI: 10.1007/s00248-021-01798-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 06/14/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Insects that farm monocultures of fungi are canonical examples of nutritional symbiosis as well as independent evolution of agriculture in non-human animals. But just like in human agriculture, these fungal crops face constant threat of invasion by weeds which, if unchecked, take over the crop fungus. In fungus-growing termites, the crop fungus (Termitomyces) faces such challenges from the weedy fungus Pseudoxylaria. The mechanism by which Pseudoxylaria is suppressed is not known. However, evidence suggests that some bacterial secondary symbionts can serve as defensive mutualists by preventing the growth of Pseudoxylaria. However, such secondary symbionts must possess the dual, yet contrasting, capabilities of suppressing the weedy fungus while keeping the growth of the crop fungus unaffected. This study describes the isolation, identification, and culture-dependent estimation of the roles of several such putative defensive mutualists from the colonies of the wide-spread fungus-growing termite from India, Odontotermes obesus. From the 38 bacterial cultures tested, a strain of Pseudomonas showed significantly greater suppression of the weedy fungus than the crop fungus. Moreover, a 16S rRNA pan-microbiome survey, using the Nanopore platform, revealed Pseudomonas to be a part of the core microbiota of O. obesus. A meta-analysis of microbiota composition across different species of Odontotermes also confirms the widespread prevalence of Pseudomonas within this termite. These lines of evidence indicate that Pseudomonas could be playing the role of defensive mutualist within Odontotermes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renuka Agarwal
- Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science and Education Research Mohali (IISER Mohali), Knowledge City, Sector 81, Manauli, SAS Nagar, Punjab, PO 140306, India
| | - Manisha Gupta
- Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science and Education Research Mohali (IISER Mohali), Knowledge City, Sector 81, Manauli, SAS Nagar, Punjab, PO 140306, India
| | - Abin Antony
- Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science and Education Research Mohali (IISER Mohali), Knowledge City, Sector 81, Manauli, SAS Nagar, Punjab, PO 140306, India
| | - Ruchira Sen
- Sri Guru Gobind Singh College, Sector 26, Chandigarh, 160019, India
| | - Rhitoban Raychoudhury
- Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science and Education Research Mohali (IISER Mohali), Knowledge City, Sector 81, Manauli, SAS Nagar, Punjab, PO 140306, India.
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Zeng W, Liu B, Zhong J, Li Q, Li Z. A Natural High-Sugar Diet Has Different Effects on the Prokaryotic Community Structures of Lower and Higher Termites (Blattaria). ENVIRONMENTAL ENTOMOLOGY 2020; 49:21-32. [PMID: 31782953 DOI: 10.1093/ee/nvz130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The lignocellulosic digestive symbiosis in termites is a dynamic survival adaptation system. While the contribution of hereditary and habitat factors to the development of the symbiotic bacterial community of termites had been confirmed, the manner in which these factors affect functional synergism among different bacterial lineages has still not been fully elucidated. Therefore, the 16S rRNA gene libraries of Odontotermes formosanus Shiraki (Blattodea: Termitidae) and Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki (Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae) sampled from sugarcane fields (high sugar) or pine tree forests (no free sugar) were sequenced. The results verify that the prokaryotic community structures of termites could be significantly reshaped by native dietary isolation within a species. Although the most dominant phyla are convergent in all samples, their relative abundances in these two termite species exhibited a reverse variation pattern when the termite hosts were fed on the high-sugar diet. Furthermore, we showed that the taxonomic composition of the dominant phyla at the family or genus level differentiate depending on the diet and the host phylogeny. We hypothesize that the flexible bacterial assemblages at low taxonomic level might exert variable functional collaboration to accommodate to high-sugar diet. In addition, the functional predictions of Tax4Fun suggest a stable metabolic functional structure of the microbial communities of the termites in both different diet habitats and taxonomy. We propose that the symbiotic bacterial community in different host termites developed a different functional synergistic pattern, which may be essential to maintain the stability of the overall metabolic function for the survival of termites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenhui Zeng
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Animal Conservation and Resource Utilization, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Wild Animal Conservation and Utilization, Guangdong Institute of Applied Biological Resources, Guangzhou, China
| | - Bingrong Liu
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Animal Conservation and Resource Utilization, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Wild Animal Conservation and Utilization, Guangdong Institute of Applied Biological Resources, Guangzhou, China
| | - Junhong Zhong
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Animal Conservation and Resource Utilization, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Wild Animal Conservation and Utilization, Guangdong Institute of Applied Biological Resources, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qiujian Li
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Animal Conservation and Resource Utilization, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Wild Animal Conservation and Utilization, Guangdong Institute of Applied Biological Resources, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhiqiang Li
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Animal Conservation and Resource Utilization, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Wild Animal Conservation and Utilization, Guangdong Institute of Applied Biological Resources, Guangzhou, China
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5
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Hervé V, Liu P, Dietrich C, Sillam-Dussès D, Stiblik P, Šobotník J, Brune A. Phylogenomic analysis of 589 metagenome-assembled genomes encompassing all major prokaryotic lineages from the gut of higher termites. PeerJ 2020; 8:e8614. [PMID: 32095380 PMCID: PMC7024585 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.8614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2019] [Accepted: 01/21/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
"Higher" termites have been able to colonize all tropical and subtropical regions because of their ability to digest lignocellulose with the aid of their prokaryotic gut microbiota. Over the last decade, numerous studies based on 16S rRNA gene amplicon libraries have largely described both the taxonomy and structure of the prokaryotic communities associated with termite guts. Host diet and microenvironmental conditions have emerged as the main factors structuring the microbial assemblages in the different gut compartments. Additionally, these molecular inventories have revealed the existence of termite-specific clusters that indicate coevolutionary processes in numerous prokaryotic lineages. However, for lack of representative isolates, the functional role of most lineages remains unclear. We reconstructed 589 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) from the different gut compartments of eight higher termite species that encompass 17 prokaryotic phyla. By iteratively building genome trees for each clade, we significantly improved the initial automated assignment, frequently up to the genus level. We recovered MAGs from most of the termite-specific clusters in the radiation of, for example, Planctomycetes, Fibrobacteres, Bacteroidetes, Euryarchaeota, Bathyarchaeota, Spirochaetes, Saccharibacteria, and Firmicutes, which to date contained only few or no representative genomes. Moreover, the MAGs included abundant members of the termite gut microbiota. This dataset represents the largest genomic resource for arthropod-associated microorganisms available to date and contributes substantially to populating the tree of life. More importantly, it provides a backbone for studying the metabolic potential of the termite gut microbiota, including the key members involved in carbon and nitrogen biogeochemical cycles, and important clues that may help cultivating representatives of these understudied clades.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent Hervé
- Research Group Insect Gut Microbiology and Symbiosis, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
| | - Pengfei Liu
- Research Group Insect Gut Microbiology and Symbiosis, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
| | - Carsten Dietrich
- Research Group Insect Gut Microbiology and Symbiosis, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
| | - David Sillam-Dussès
- Laboratory of Experimental and Comparative Ethology EA 4443, Université Paris 13, Villetaneuse, France
| | - Petr Stiblik
- Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Šobotník
- Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Andreas Brune
- Research Group Insect Gut Microbiology and Symbiosis, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
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6
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Nalepa CA. Origin of Mutualism Between Termites and Flagellated Gut Protists: Transition From Horizontal to Vertical Transmission. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
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7
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Sinotte VM, Renelies-Hamilton J, Taylor BA, Ellegaard KM, Sapountzis P, Vasseur-Cognet M, Poulsen M. Synergies Between Division of Labor and Gut Microbiomes of Social Insects. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
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8
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Michaud C, Hervé V, Dupont S, Dubreuil G, Bézier AM, Meunier J, Brune A, Dedeine F. Efficient but occasionally imperfect vertical transmission of gut mutualistic protists in a wood‐feeding termite. Mol Ecol 2019; 29:308-324. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.15322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2019] [Revised: 11/26/2019] [Accepted: 11/27/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Michaud
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte UMR 7261 CNRS – Université de Tours Tours France
| | - Vincent Hervé
- Research Group Insect Gut Microbiology and Symbiosis Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology Marburg Germany
| | - Simon Dupont
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte UMR 7261 CNRS – Université de Tours Tours France
| | - Géraldine Dubreuil
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte UMR 7261 CNRS – Université de Tours Tours France
| | - Annie M. Bézier
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte UMR 7261 CNRS – Université de Tours Tours France
| | - Joël Meunier
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte UMR 7261 CNRS – Université de Tours Tours France
| | - Andreas Brune
- Research Group Insect Gut Microbiology and Symbiosis Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology Marburg Germany
| | - Franck Dedeine
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte UMR 7261 CNRS – Université de Tours Tours France
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9
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Moreira EA, Alvarez TM, Persinoti GF, Paixão DAA, Menezes LR, Cairo JPF, Squina FM, Costa-Leonardo AM, Carrijo T, Arab A. Microbial Communities of the Gut and Nest of the Humus- and Litter-Feeding Termite Procornitermes araujoi (Syntermitinae). Curr Microbiol 2018; 75:1609-1618. [PMID: 30209570 DOI: 10.1007/s00284-018-1567-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2018] [Accepted: 09/06/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The evolution of the symbiotic association with microbes allowed termites to decompose ingested lignocellulose from plant-derived substrates, including herbivore dung and soil humus. Representatives of the Syntermitinae (Termitidae) range in their feeding habits from wood and litter-feeding to humus-feeding species. However, only limited information is available about their feeding ecology and associated microbial communities. Here we conducted a study of the microbial communities associated to the termite Procornitermes araujoi using Illumina sequencing of the 16S and ITS rRNA genes. This species has been previously included in different feeding guilds. However, most aspects of its feeding ecology are unknown, especially those associated to its symbiotic microbiota. Our results showed that the microbial communities of termite guts and nest substrates of P. araujoi differed significantly for bacteria and fungi. Firmicutes dominated the bacterial gut community of both workers and soldiers, whereas Actinobacteria was found in higher prevalence in the nest walls. Sordariomycetes was the most abundant fungal class in both gut and nest samples and distinguish P. araujoi from the grass/litter feeding Cornitermes cumulans. Our results also showed that diversity of gut bacteria were higher in P. araujoi and Silvestritermes euamignathus than in the grass/litter feeders (C. cumulans and Syntermes dirus), that could indicate an adaptation of the microbial community of polyphagous termites to the higher complexity of their diets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edimar A Moreira
- Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas, Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC), Santo André, SP, 09210-580, Brazil
| | - Thabata M Alvarez
- Mestrado em Biotecnologia Industrial, Universidade Positivo, Curitiba, 81280-330, PR, Brazil
- Laboratório Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia do Bioetanol (CTBE), Centro Nacional de Pesquisa em Energia e Materiais, CNPEM, Campinas, 13083-970, SP, Brazil
| | - Gabriela F Persinoti
- Laboratório Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia do Bioetanol (CTBE), Centro Nacional de Pesquisa em Energia e Materiais, CNPEM, Campinas, 13083-970, SP, Brazil
| | - Douglas Antonio Alvaredo Paixão
- Laboratório Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia do Bioetanol (CTBE), Centro Nacional de Pesquisa em Energia e Materiais, CNPEM, Campinas, 13083-970, SP, Brazil
| | - Letícia R Menezes
- Departamento de Biologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Rio Claro, SP, Brazil
| | - João P Franco Cairo
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Biologia Tecidual, Instituto de Biologia, UNICAMP, Campinas, SP, Brazil
| | - Fabio Marcio Squina
- Programa em Processos Tecnológicos e Ambientais, Universidade de Sorocaba (UNISO), Sorocaba, SP, Brazil
| | - Ana M Costa-Leonardo
- Departamento de Biologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Rio Claro, SP, Brazil
| | - Tiago Carrijo
- Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas, Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC), Santo André, SP, 09210-580, Brazil
| | - Alberto Arab
- Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas, Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC), Santo André, SP, 09210-580, Brazil.
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