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Gile GH. Protist symbionts of termites: diversity, distribution, and coevolution. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2024; 99:622-652. [PMID: 38105542 DOI: 10.1111/brv.13038] [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: 08/07/2023] [Revised: 11/28/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
The symbiosis between termites and their hindgut protists is mutually obligate and vertically inherited. It was established by the late Jurassic in the cockroach ancestors of termites as they transitioned to wood feeding. Since then, protist symbionts have been transmitted from host generation to host generation by proctodeal trophallaxis (anal feeding). The protists belong to multiple lineages within the eukaryotic superphylum Metamonada. Most of these lineages have evolved large cells with complex morphology, unlike the non-termite-associated Metamonada. The species richness and taxonomic composition of symbiotic protist communities varies widely across termite lineages, especially within the deep-branching clade Teletisoptera. In general, closely related termites tend to harbour closely related protists, and deep-branching termites tend to harbour deep-branching protists, reflecting their broad-scale co-diversification. A closer view, however, reveals a complex distribution of protist lineages across hosts. Some protist taxa are common, some are rare, some are widespread, and some are restricted to a single host family or genus. Some protist taxa can be found in only a few, distantly related, host species. Thus, the long history of co-diversification in this symbiosis has been complicated by lineage-specific loss of symbionts, transfer of symbionts from one host lineage to another, and by independent diversification of the symbionts relative to their hosts. This review aims to introduce the biology of this important symbiosis and serve as a gateway to the diversity and systematics literature for both termites and protists. A searchable database with all termite-protist occurrence records and taxonomic references is provided as a supplementary file to encourage and facilitate new research in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gillian H Gile
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
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2
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Alom MS, Cen Y, Tang R, Chen D, Dou H, Mo Z, Du H. Change of termite hindgut metabolome and bacteria after captivity indicates the hindgut microbiota provides nutritional factors to the host. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2024; 11:1228918. [PMID: 38288244 PMCID: PMC10823432 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1228918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 01/31/2024] Open
Abstract
The gut-dwelling microbiota is an indispensable part of termites. It is influenced by a series of factors, such as diet and captivity. The objectives of this study were to study the metabolic functions of hindgut microbiota and to investigate the influence of captivity on the hindgut microbiota. The dampwood termite Hodotermopsis sjostedti was reared in the laboratory for 6 months. We conducted the metabolome analysis of the fat body from the freshly-collected workers (FBF), the hindgut fluid of the freshly-collected workers (HFF), and the hindgut fluid of laboratory-maintained workers. In addition, the 16S rRNA genes from the hindgut bacteria in the freshly-collected and laboratory-maintained workers were sequenced. According to our results, the concentrations of metabolites associated with amino acid biosynthesis, vitamin biosynthesis, fatty acid biosynthesis, and cofactor biosynthesis were higher in HFF compared with those in FBF, suggesting that the hindgut microbiota provides nutritional factors to the host. However, after captivity, the concentrations of metabolites in the hindgut associated with amino acid biosynthesis, nucleotide sugar metabolism, vitamin biosynthesis, and carbon metabolism decreased, while those associated with the steroid hormone biosynthesis and ovarian steroidogenesis increased. Meanwhile, the 16S amplicon study revealed that the abundance of certain bacteria changed after captivity, such as uncultured Termite Group 1 bacterium, Candidatus Symbiothrix dinenymphae, and unclassified Desulfovibrio. Our findings show that captivity influences the hindgut microbiota and shed light on the metabolic potential of the hindgut microbiota.
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Affiliation(s)
- Most Shormi Alom
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management in Agriculture, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Wild Animal Conservation and Utilization, Institute of Zoology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- College of Plant Protection, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yijing Cen
- College of Plant Protection, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Rui Tang
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management in Agriculture, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Wild Animal Conservation and Utilization, Institute of Zoology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Dasong Chen
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management in Agriculture, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Wild Animal Conservation and Utilization, Institute of Zoology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Hongliang Dou
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Silviculture, Protection and Utilization, Guangdong Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhenzuan Mo
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management in Agriculture, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Wild Animal Conservation and Utilization, Institute of Zoology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- College of Plant Protection, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - He Du
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management in Agriculture, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Wild Animal Conservation and Utilization, Institute of Zoology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
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Ashraf A, Qadeer S, Ullah S, Asad M, Fatima H, Nasir MF, Shaheen N, Qureshi NA. Characterization and in-vitro plant-based control of hindgut bacteria isolated from Odontotermes obesus Rambur (Termitidae) and Heterotermes indicola Wasmann (Rhinotermitidae). Sci Prog 2024; 107:368504241236026. [PMID: 38490163 PMCID: PMC10943747 DOI: 10.1177/00368504241236026] [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] [Indexed: 03/17/2024]
Abstract
Termites cause a serious menace to wooden structures all over the world. They rely mostly on entozoic fauna residing in their hindgut for the digestion of cellulosic and hemicellulosic materials. One of the ways to control termites is through their gut symbionts. The present study was designed to characterize the hindgut bacteria isolated from Odontotermes obesus and Heterotermes indicola. Furthermore, the growth inhibitory effect of eight tropical plant extracts was investigated to find out potential control agents for these bacterial isolates. The characterization of bacteria was carried out based on their morphology, Gram staining, biochemical and amplification of 16SrRNA gene. Amplified products were sequenced to confirm their relationship with bacterial isolates from termites of other regions. The growth inhibitory effect of ethanolic leaf extracts of eight plants was evaluated in an invitro agar well diffusion method. Qualitative and quantitative phytochemical analysis of the most effective plant was carried out to learn about bioactive agents. The results confirmed the presence of five bacteria from each termite species. The Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, and Lysinibacillus fusiformis were common to both termites whereas Lysinibacillus xylanilyticus and Lysinibacillus macrolides were found in O. obesus only and H. indicola harbor Bacillus subtilis and Shigella sonnei in addition to common three ones. Among the plant extracts of Carica papaya, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Osmium basilicum, Grevillea robusta, Eucalyptus globulus, Pongamia pinnata, Mentha longifolia, and Melia azedarach, the G. robusta > E. camaldulensis > O. basilicum were found to have growth inhibitory effects with increasing concentrations from 100 to 2000 µg/mL. The biodiversity of the bacterial fauna is important for the biological control of termites. Leaf extracts of these medicinal plants can be used to control termite infestation in an environment-friendly manner to save huge economic loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asma Ashraf
- Department of Zoology, Division of Science and Technology, University of Education, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - Saima Qadeer
- Department of Zoology, Division of Science and Technology, University of Education, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - Sana Ullah
- Department of Zoology, Division of Science and Technology, University of Education, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Asad
- Department of Zoology, Division of Science and Technology, University of Education, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - Huma Fatima
- Department of Zoology, Women University Mardan, Mardan, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Farhan Nasir
- Department of Zoology, Division of Science and Technology, University of Education, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - Nargis Shaheen
- Department of Animal Sciences, Faculty of Biological Science, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan
| | - Naveeda Akhtar Qureshi
- Department of Animal Sciences, Faculty of Biological Science, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan
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Takahashi K, Kuwahara H, Horikawa Y, Izawa K, Kato D, Inagaki T, Yuki M, Ohkuma M, Hongoh Y. Emergence of putative energy parasites within Clostridia revealed by genome analysis of a novel endosymbiotic clade. THE ISME JOURNAL 2023; 17:1895-1906. [PMID: 37653056 PMCID: PMC10579323 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-023-01502-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2023] [Revised: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 09/02/2023]
Abstract
The Clostridia is a dominant bacterial class in the guts of various animals and are considered to nutritionally contribute to the animal host. Here, we discovered clostridial endosymbionts of cellulolytic protists in termite guts, which have never been reported with evidence. We obtained (near-)complete genome sequences of three endosymbiotic Clostridia, each associated with a different parabasalid protist species with various infection rates: Trichonympha agilis, Pseudotrichonympha grassii, and Devescovina sp. All these protists are previously known to harbor permanently-associated, mutualistic Endomicrobia or Bacteroidales that supplement nitrogenous compounds. The genomes of the endosymbiotic Clostridia were small in size (1.0-1.3 Mbp) and exhibited signatures of an obligately-intracellular parasite, such as an extremely limited capability to synthesize amino acids, cofactors, and nucleotides and a disrupted glycolytic pathway with no known net ATP-generating system. Instead, the genomes encoded ATP/ADP translocase and, interestingly, regulatory proteins that are unique to eukaryotes in general and are possibly used to interfere with host cellular processes. These three genomes formed a clade with metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) derived from the guts of other animals, including human and ruminants, and the MAGs shared the characteristics of parasites. Gene flux analysis suggested that the acquisition of the ATP/ADP translocase gene in a common ancestor was probably key to the emergence of this parasitic clade. Taken together, we provide novel insights into the multilayered symbiotic system in the termite gut by adding the presence of parasitism and present an example of the emergence of putative energy parasites from a dominant gut bacterial clade.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kazuki Takahashi
- School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan.
| | - Hirokazu Kuwahara
- School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan
| | - Yutaro Horikawa
- School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan
| | - Kazuki Izawa
- School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan
| | - Daiki Kato
- School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan
| | - Tatsuya Inagaki
- School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan
| | - Masahiro Yuki
- Japan Collection of Microorganisms, RIKEN BioResource Research Center, Tsukuba, 305-0074, Japan
| | - Moriya Ohkuma
- Japan Collection of Microorganisms, RIKEN BioResource Research Center, Tsukuba, 305-0074, Japan
| | - Yuichi Hongoh
- School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan.
- Japan Collection of Microorganisms, RIKEN BioResource Research Center, Tsukuba, 305-0074, Japan.
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Chakraborty A, Šobotník J, Votýpková K, Hradecký J, Stiblik P, Synek J, Bourguignon T, Baldrian P, Engel MS, Novotný V, Odriozola I, Větrovský T. Impact of Wood Age on Termite Microbial Assemblages. Appl Environ Microbiol 2023; 89:e0036123. [PMID: 37067424 PMCID: PMC10231148 DOI: 10.1128/aem.00361-23] [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: 03/03/2023] [Accepted: 03/25/2023] [Indexed: 04/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The decomposition of wood and detritus is challenging to most macroscopic organisms due to the recalcitrant nature of lignocellulose. Moreover, woody plants often protect themselves by synthesizing toxic or nocent compounds which infuse their tissues. Termites are essential wood decomposers in warmer terrestrial ecosystems and, as such, they have to cope with high concentrations of plant toxins in wood. In this paper, we evaluated the influence of wood age on the gut microbial (bacterial and fungal) communities associated with the termites Reticulitermes flavipes (Rhinotermitidae) (Kollar, 1837) and Microcerotermes biroi (Termitidae) (Desneux, 1905). We confirmed that the secondary metabolite concentration decreased with wood age. We identified a core microbial consortium maintained in the gut of R. flavipes and M. biroi and found that its diversity and composition were not altered by the wood age. Therefore, the concentration of secondary metabolites had no effect on the termite gut microbiome. We also found that both termite feeding activities and wood age affect the wood microbiome. Whether the increasing relative abundance of microbes with termite activities is beneficial to the termites is unknown and remains to be investigated. IMPORTANCE Termites can feed on wood thanks to their association with their gut microbes. However, the current understanding of termites as holobiont is limited. To our knowledge, no studies comprehensively reveal the influence of wood age on the termite-associated microbial assemblage. The wood of many tree species contains high concentrations of plant toxins that can vary with their age and may influence microbes. Here, we studied the impact of Norway spruce wood of varying ages and terpene concentrations on the microbial communities associated with the termites Reticulitermes flavipes (Rhinotermitidae) and Microcerotermes biroi (Termitidae). We performed a bacterial 16S rRNA and fungal ITS2 metabarcoding study to reveal the microbial communities associated with R. flavipes and M. biroi and their impact on shaping the wood microbiome. We noted that a stable core microbiome in the termites was unaltered by the feeding substrate, while termite activities influenced the wood microbiome, suggesting that plant secondary metabolites have negligible effects on the termite gut microbiome. Hence, our study shed new insights into the termite-associated microbial assemblage under the influence of varying amounts of terpene content in wood and provides a groundwork for future investigations for developing symbiont-mediated termite control measures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amrita Chakraborty
- EVA 4.0 Unit, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Šobotník
- Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Kateřina Votýpková
- EVA 4.0 Unit, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jaromír Hradecký
- Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Stiblik
- EVA 4.0 Unit, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Synek
- EVA 4.0 Unit, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Thomas Bourguignon
- Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
- Okinawa Institute of Science & Technology Graduate University, Okinawa, Japan
| | - Petr Baldrian
- Institute of Microbiology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Michael S. Engel
- American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, USA
- Division of Entomology, Natural History Museum, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA
| | - Vojtěch Novotný
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Iñaki Odriozola
- Institute of Microbiology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Tomáš Větrovský
- EVA 4.0 Unit, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
- Institute of Microbiology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
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6
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Dukes HE, Tinker KA, Ottesen EA. Disentangling hindgut metabolism in the American cockroach through single-cell genomics and metatranscriptomics. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1156809. [PMID: 37323917 PMCID: PMC10266427 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1156809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 05/08/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Omnivorous cockroaches host a complex hindgut microbiota comprised of insect-specific lineages related to those found in mammalian omnivores. Many of these organisms have few cultured representatives, thereby limiting our ability to infer the functional capabilities of these microbes. Here we present a unique reference set of 96 high-quality single cell-amplified genomes (SAGs) from bacterial and archaeal cockroach gut symbionts. We additionally generated cockroach hindgut metagenomic and metatranscriptomic sequence libraries and mapped them to our SAGs. By combining these datasets, we are able to perform an in-depth phylogenetic and functional analysis to evaluate the abundance and activities of the taxa in vivo. Recovered lineages include key genera within Bacteroidota, including polysaccharide-degrading taxa from the genera Bacteroides, Dysgonomonas, and Parabacteroides, as well as a group of unclassified insect-associated Bacteroidales. We also recovered a phylogenetically diverse set of Firmicutes exhibiting a wide range of metabolic capabilities, including-but not limited to-polysaccharide and polypeptide degradation. Other functional groups exhibiting high relative activity in the metatranscriptomic dataset include multiple putative sulfate reducers belonging to families in the Desulfobacterota phylum and two groups of methanogenic archaea. Together, this work provides a valuable reference set with new insights into the functional specializations of insect gut symbionts and frames future studies of cockroach hindgut metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helen E Dukes
- Department of Microbiology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Kara A Tinker
- National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Elizabeth A Ottesen
- Department of Microbiology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
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Aoki H, Masahiro Y, Shimizu M, Hongoh Y, Ohkuma M, Yamagata Y. Agarose gel microcapsules enable easy-to-prepare, picolitre-scale, single-cell genomics, yielding high-coverage genome sequences. Sci Rep 2022; 12:17014. [PMID: 36257967 PMCID: PMC9579161 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-20923-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2022] [Accepted: 09/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
A novel type of agarose gel microcapsule (AGM), consisting of an alginate picolitre sol core and an agarose gel shell, was developed to obtain high-quality, single-cell, amplified genomic DNA of bacteria. The AGM is easy to prepare in a stable emulsion with oil of water-equivalent density, which prevents AGM aggregation, with only standard laboratory equipment. Single cells from a pure culture of Escherichia coli, a mock community comprising 15 strains of human gut bacteria, and a termite gut bacterial community were encapsulated within AGMs, and their genomic DNA samples were prepared with massively parallel amplifications in a tube. The genome sequencing did not need second-round amplification and showed an average genome completeness that was much higher than that obtained using a conventional amplification method on the microlitre scale, regardless of the genomic guanine-cytosine content. Our novel method using AGM will allow many researchers to perform single-cell genomics easily and effectively, and can accelerate genomic analysis of yet-uncultured microorganisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroyoshi Aoki
- grid.509457.aUltrahigh Precision Optics Technology Team, Advanced Photonics Technology Group, RIKEN Center for Advanced Photonics, 3-1, Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198 Japan
| | - Yuki Masahiro
- grid.509462.cJapan Collection of Microorganisms (JCM), RIKEN BioResource Research Center, 3-1-1, Koyadai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0074 Japan
| | - Michiru Shimizu
- grid.509462.cJapan Collection of Microorganisms (JCM), RIKEN BioResource Research Center, 3-1-1, Koyadai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0074 Japan
| | - Yuichi Hongoh
- grid.509462.cJapan Collection of Microorganisms (JCM), RIKEN BioResource Research Center, 3-1-1, Koyadai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0074 Japan ,grid.32197.3e0000 0001 2179 2105School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Moriya Ohkuma
- grid.509462.cJapan Collection of Microorganisms (JCM), RIKEN BioResource Research Center, 3-1-1, Koyadai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0074 Japan
| | - Yutaka Yamagata
- grid.509457.aUltrahigh Precision Optics Technology Team, Advanced Photonics Technology Group, RIKEN Center for Advanced Photonics, 3-1, Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198 Japan
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8
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Arora J, Kinjo Y, Šobotník J, Buček A, Clitheroe C, Stiblik P, Roisin Y, Žifčáková L, Park YC, Kim KY, Sillam-Dussès D, Hervé V, Lo N, Tokuda G, Brune A, Bourguignon T. The functional evolution of termite gut microbiota. MICROBIOME 2022; 10:78. [PMID: 35624491 PMCID: PMC9137090 DOI: 10.1186/s40168-022-01258-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2021] [Accepted: 03/16/2022] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Termites primarily feed on lignocellulose or soil in association with specific gut microbes. The functioning of the termite gut microbiota is partly understood in a handful of wood-feeding pest species but remains largely unknown in other taxa. We intend to fill this gap and provide a global understanding of the functional evolution of termite gut microbiota. RESULTS We sequenced the gut metagenomes of 145 samples representative of the termite diversity. We show that the prokaryotic fraction of the gut microbiota of all termites possesses similar genes for carbohydrate and nitrogen metabolisms, in proportions varying with termite phylogenetic position and diet. The presence of a conserved set of gut prokaryotic genes implies that essential nutritional functions were present in the ancestor of modern termites. Furthermore, the abundance of these genes largely correlated with the host phylogeny. Finally, we found that the adaptation to a diet of soil by some termite lineages was accompanied by a change in the stoichiometry of genes involved in important nutritional functions rather than by the acquisition of new genes and pathways. CONCLUSIONS Our results reveal that the composition and function of termite gut prokaryotic communities have been remarkably conserved since termites first appeared ~ 150 million years ago. Therefore, the "world's smallest bioreactor" has been operating as a multipartite symbiosis composed of termites, archaea, bacteria, and cellulolytic flagellates since its inception. Video Abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jigyasa Arora
- Okinawa Institute of Science & Technology Graduate University, 1919-1 Tancha, Onna-son, Okinawa, 904-0495, Japan.
| | - Yukihiro Kinjo
- Okinawa Institute of Science & Technology Graduate University, 1919-1 Tancha, Onna-son, Okinawa, 904-0495, Japan
| | - Jan Šobotník
- Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Aleš Buček
- Okinawa Institute of Science & Technology Graduate University, 1919-1 Tancha, Onna-son, Okinawa, 904-0495, Japan
| | - Crystal Clitheroe
- Okinawa Institute of Science & Technology Graduate University, 1919-1 Tancha, Onna-son, Okinawa, 904-0495, Japan
| | - Petr Stiblik
- Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Yves Roisin
- Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Lucia Žifčáková
- Okinawa Institute of Science & Technology Graduate University, 1919-1 Tancha, Onna-son, Okinawa, 904-0495, Japan
| | - Yung Chul Park
- Division of Forest Science, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Republic of Korea
| | - Ki Yoon Kim
- Division of Forest Science, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Republic of Korea
| | - David Sillam-Dussès
- Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
- University Sorbonne Paris Nord, Laboratory of Experimental and Comparative Ethology, LEEC, UR 4443, Villetaneuse, France
| | - Vincent Hervé
- Research Group Insect Gut Microbiology and Symbiosis, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
| | - Nathan Lo
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Gaku Tokuda
- Tropical Biosphere Research Center, Center of Molecular Biosciences, University of the Ryukyus, Nishihara, Okinawa, 903-0213, Japan
| | - Andreas Brune
- Research Group Insect Gut Microbiology and Symbiosis, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
| | - Thomas Bourguignon
- Okinawa Institute of Science & Technology Graduate University, 1919-1 Tancha, Onna-son, Okinawa, 904-0495, Japan.
- Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic.
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9
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Igai K, Kitade O, Fu J, Omata K, Yonezawa T, Ohkuma M, Hongoh Y. Fine-scale genetic diversity and putative ecotypes of oxymonad protists coinhabiting the hindgut of Reticulitermes speratus. Mol Ecol 2021; 31:1317-1331. [PMID: 34865251 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2021] [Revised: 11/22/2021] [Accepted: 11/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The hindgut of lower termites is generally coinhabited by multiple morphologically identifiable protist species. However, it is unclear how many protist species truly coexist in this miniaturized environment, and moreover, it is difficult to define the fundamental unit of protist diversity. Species delineation of termite gut protists has therefore been guided without a theory-based concept of species. Here, we focused on the hindgut of the termite Reticulitermes speratus, where 10 or 11 morphologically distinct oxymonad cell types, that is, morphospecies, coexist. We elucidated the phylogenetic structure of all co-occurring oxymonads and addressed whether their diversity can be explained by the "ecotype" hypothesis. Oxymonad-specific 18S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing analyses of whole-gut samples, combined with single-cell 18S rRNA sequencing of the oxymonad morphospecies, identified 210 one-nucleotide-level variants. The phylogenetic analysis of these variants revealed the presence of microdiverse clusters typically within 1% sequence divergence. Each known oxymonad morphospecies comprised one to several monophyletic or paraphyletic microdiverse clusters. Using these sequence data sets, we conducted computational simulation to predict the rates of ecotype formation and periodic selection, and to demarcate putative ecotypes. Our simulations suggested that the oxymonad genetic divergence is constrained primarily by strong selection, in spite of limited population size and possible bottlenecks during intergenerational transmission. A total of 33 oxymonad ecotypes were predicted, and most of the putative ecotypes were consistently detected among different colonies and host individuals. These findings provide a possible theoretical basis for species diversity and underlying mechanisms of coexistence of termite gut protists.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katsura Igai
- School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Osamu Kitade
- College of Science, Ibaraki University, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Jieyang Fu
- School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kazumi Omata
- Center for Clinical Sciences, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Hematology, Rheumatology and Infectious Disease, Kumamoto University Hospital, Kumamoto, Japan
| | - Takahiro Yonezawa
- Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Moriya Ohkuma
- Microbe Division/Japan Collection of Microorganisms, RIKEN BioResource Research Center, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Yuichi Hongoh
- School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan.,Microbe Division/Japan Collection of Microorganisms, RIKEN BioResource Research Center, Ibaraki, Japan
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Li T, Zhang Q, Zhang X, Wan Q, Wang S, Zhang R, Zhang Z. Transcriptome and microbiome analyses of the mechanisms underlying antibiotic-mediated inhibition of larval development of the saprophagous insect Musca domestica (Diptera: Muscidae). ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY 2021; 223:112602. [PMID: 34385061 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2021.112602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2021] [Revised: 07/15/2021] [Accepted: 08/03/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Antibiotics are designed to treat bacterial infections in humans and animals; however, the overuse of various antibiotics and consequent contamination in the environment can have adverse effects on aquatic, soil, and saprophytic organisms. The house fly, an important decomposer in ecosystems, has been used for bioconversion of human and animal waste. Vermireactors have been used to remove antibiotics from waste for pollution control, but the effects of antibiotics on fly larvae are unclear. In the present work, we aimed to reveal the mechanism underlying the effects of antibiotics on larval growth in house flies at the transcriptome and microbiome levels and the relationships between genes and the microbiota. Observation of house flies after antibiotic exposure showed that gentamicin sulfate and levofloxacin hydrochloride inhibited larval development to a greater extent than amoxicillin. Transcriptome analysis revealed that biological pathways related to protein synthesis and the metabolism of fatty acids, pentose, and glucuronate were significantly enriched in flies exposed to gentamicin sulfate and levofloxacin hydrochloride. Crucial genes in these pathways were identified as candidates for future study. Microbiome analysis revealed three key bacteria that were closely correlated with gentamicin sulfate and levofloxacin hydrochloride exposure. The correlation network between the differentially expressed genes and bacteria identified an important microbic effector, Pseudomonas and its associated genes. This work will improve the knowledge about the mechanism underlying the effects of antibiotics on the larval development of house flies in the environment and provide guidance for improving the application of house fly bioconversion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ting Li
- Collaborative Innovation Center for the Origin and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Shandong First Medical University (Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences), No. 619, Changcheng Road, Taian 271016, Shandong, China; School of Basic Medical Science, Shandong First Medical University (Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences), Taian 271016, Shandong, China; School of Life Science, Shandong First Medical University (Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences), Taian 271016, Shandong, China
| | - Qian Zhang
- Collaborative Innovation Center for the Origin and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Shandong First Medical University (Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences), No. 619, Changcheng Road, Taian 271016, Shandong, China; School of Basic Medical Science, Shandong First Medical University (Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences), Taian 271016, Shandong, China
| | - Xinyu Zhang
- Collaborative Innovation Center for the Origin and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Shandong First Medical University (Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences), No. 619, Changcheng Road, Taian 271016, Shandong, China; School of Basic Medical Science, Shandong First Medical University (Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences), Taian 271016, Shandong, China
| | - Qing Wan
- Collaborative Innovation Center for the Origin and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Shandong First Medical University (Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences), No. 619, Changcheng Road, Taian 271016, Shandong, China; School of Basic Medical Science, Shandong First Medical University (Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences), Taian 271016, Shandong, China
| | - Shumin Wang
- Collaborative Innovation Center for the Origin and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Shandong First Medical University (Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences), No. 619, Changcheng Road, Taian 271016, Shandong, China; School of Basic Medical Science, Shandong First Medical University (Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences), Taian 271016, Shandong, China
| | - Ruiling Zhang
- Collaborative Innovation Center for the Origin and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Shandong First Medical University (Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences), No. 619, Changcheng Road, Taian 271016, Shandong, China; School of Basic Medical Science, Shandong First Medical University (Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences), Taian 271016, Shandong, China.
| | - Zhong Zhang
- Collaborative Innovation Center for the Origin and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Shandong First Medical University (Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences), No. 619, Changcheng Road, Taian 271016, Shandong, China; School of Basic Medical Science, Shandong First Medical University (Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences), Taian 271016, Shandong, China.
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Jo Y, Rhee C, Choi H, Shin J, Shin SG, Lee C. Long-term effectiveness of bioaugmentation with rumen culture in continuous anaerobic digestion of food and vegetable wastes under feed composition fluctuations. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2021; 338:125500. [PMID: 34265595 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2021.125500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2021] [Revised: 06/26/2021] [Accepted: 06/29/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Biogas plants treating food waste (FW) often experience feed load and composition fluctuations. In Korea, vegetable waste from the preparation of kimchi comprises over 20% of the total FW production during the Kimjang season. The large production of Kimjang waste (KW) can cause mechanical and operational problems in FW digesters. This study investigated the long-term effectiveness of bioaugmentation with rumen culture (38 months) in an anaerobic reactor co-digesting FW with varying amounts of KW. The bioaugmented reactor maintained better and stabler performance under recurrent fluctuations in feed characteristics than a non-bioaugmented control reactor, particularly under high ammonia conditions. Bioaugmentation increased microbial diversity, thereby improving the resilience of the microbial community. Some augmented microorganisms, especially Methanosarcina, likely played an important role in it. The results suggest that the proposed bioaugmentation strategy may provide a means to effectively treat and valorize KW-and potentially other seasonal lignocellulosic wastes-by co-digestion with FW.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yeadam Jo
- Department of Urban and Environmental Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), 50 UNIST-gil, Eonyang-eup, Ulju-gun, Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea; Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd., Hyundai Bldg. 75 Yulgok-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul 03058, Republic of Korea
| | - Chaeyoung Rhee
- Department of Energy Engineering, Future Convergence Technology Research Institute, Gyeongsang National University, 501 Jinju-daero, Jinju, Gyeongnam 52828, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyungmin Choi
- Department of Urban and Environmental Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), 50 UNIST-gil, Eonyang-eup, Ulju-gun, Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea
| | - Juhee Shin
- Department of Energy Engineering, Future Convergence Technology Research Institute, Gyeongsang National University, 501 Jinju-daero, Jinju, Gyeongnam 52828, Republic of Korea
| | - Seung Gu Shin
- Department of Energy Engineering, Future Convergence Technology Research Institute, Gyeongsang National University, 501 Jinju-daero, Jinju, Gyeongnam 52828, Republic of Korea
| | - Changsoo Lee
- Department of Urban and Environmental Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), 50 UNIST-gil, Eonyang-eup, Ulju-gun, Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea.
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12
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Jiang M, Dong FY, Pan XY, Zhang YN, Zhang F. Boric acid was orally toxic to different instars of Blattella germanica (L.) (Blattodea: Blattellidae) and caused dysbiosis of the, gut microbiota. PESTICIDE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY 2021; 172:104756. [PMID: 33518048 DOI: 10.1016/j.pestbp.2020.104756] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2020] [Revised: 12/06/2020] [Accepted: 12/08/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Boric acid, a well-established chemical insecticide, has a good control effect on various types of cockroaches. In this study, we investigated the oral virulence effect of boric acid on German cockroach (Blattella germanica) of various instars and characterized its effect on the gut microbiota by high-throughput sequencing technology. The results of an oral toxicity test showed that the toxicity of boric acid was positively correlated with its concentration and negatively correlated with the instar of cockroach nymphs. The 1-3 instar nymphs showed the strongest sensitivity to boric acid, which exhibited a median lethal time of only 3.16 d, while the 6-7 instar nymphs showed the weakest sensitivity, and exhibited a median lethal time of 10.15 d. There was no significant difference between male and female insects regarding their sensitivity to boric acid. Oral treatment of boric acid resulted in severe dysbiosis in cockroaches, the relative abundances of Bacteroides, which can degrade a variety of complex macromolecules, and Enterococcus, which can inhibit pathogenic microorganisms, were significantly reduced, while the relative abundance of the opportunistic pathogenic bacterium Weissella was significantly increased. It was speculated that dysbiosis of gut microbiota might accelerate the toxicity of boric acid on German cockroaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Resistance Biology of Shandong Province, College of Life Science, Shandong Normal University, 88 East Wenhua Road, Jinan 250014, People's Republic of China
| | - Feng-Yue Dong
- Key Laboratory of Animal Resistance Biology of Shandong Province, College of Life Science, Shandong Normal University, 88 East Wenhua Road, Jinan 250014, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiao-Yuan Pan
- Key Laboratory of Animal Resistance Biology of Shandong Province, College of Life Science, Shandong Normal University, 88 East Wenhua Road, Jinan 250014, People's Republic of China
| | - Ya-Nan Zhang
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Pollutant Sensitive Materials and Environmental Remediation, College of Life Sciences, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei, China.
| | - Fan Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Resistance Biology of Shandong Province, College of Life Science, Shandong Normal University, 88 East Wenhua Road, Jinan 250014, People's Republic of China.
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Lima RAT, De Oliveira G, Souza AA, Lopes FAC, Santana RH, Istvan P, Quirino BF, Barbosa J, De Freitas S, Garay AV, Krüger RH. Functional and structural characterization of a novel GH3 β-glucosidase from the gut metagenome of the Brazilian Cerrado termite Syntermes wheeleri. Int J Biol Macromol 2020; 165:822-834. [PMID: 33011259 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.09.236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2020] [Revised: 09/24/2020] [Accepted: 09/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
In this study, a GH3 family β-glucosidase (Bgl7226) from metagenomic sequences of the Syntermes wheeleri gut, a Brazilian Cerrado termite, was expressed, purified and characterized. The enzyme showed two optimum pHs (pH 7 and pH 10), and a maximum optimum temperature of about 40 °C using 4-Nitrophenyl β-D-glucopyranoside (pNPG) as substrate. Bgl7226 showed higher enzymatic activity at basic pH, but higher affinity (Km) at neutral pH. However, at neutral pH the Bgl7226 enzyme showed higher catalytic efficiency (kcat/Km) for pNPG substrate. Predictive analysis about the enzyme structure-function relationship by sequence alignment suggested the presence of multi-domains and conserved catalytic sites. Circular dichroism results showed that the secondary structure composition of the enzyme is pH-dependent. Small conformational changes occurred close to the optimum temperature of 40 o C, and seem important for the highest activity of Bgl7226 observed at pH 7 and 10. In addition, the small transition in the unfolding curves close to 40 o C is typical of intermediates associated with proteins structured in several domains. Bgl7226 has significant β-glucosidase activity which could be attractive for biotechnological applications, such as plant roots detoxification; specifically, our group is interested in cassava roots (Manihot esculenta) detoxification.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Gideane De Oliveira
- Department of Cell Biology, Darcy Ribeiro Campus, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF 70910-900, Brazil
| | - Amanda Araújo Souza
- Department of Cell Biology, Darcy Ribeiro Campus, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF 70910-900, Brazil
| | | | - Renata Henrique Santana
- Instituto Federal de Brasília, Planaltina Campus, Brasília, DF 70910-900, Brazil; Genomic Sciences and Biotechnology, Universidade Católica de Brasília, Brasília, DF 70790-160, Brazil
| | - Paula Istvan
- Department of Cell Biology, Darcy Ribeiro Campus, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF 70910-900, Brazil; Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben- Gurion University of the Negev, Department of Environmental Hydrology & Microbiology, Israel
| | - Betania Ferraz Quirino
- Embrapa Agroenergy, Parque Estação Biológica (PqEB), PqEB s/n°, Brasília, DF 70770-901, Brazil
| | - João Barbosa
- Department of Cell Biology, Darcy Ribeiro Campus, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF 70910-900, Brazil
| | - Sonia De Freitas
- Department of Cell Biology, Darcy Ribeiro Campus, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF 70910-900, Brazil
| | - Aisel Valle Garay
- Department of Cell Biology, Darcy Ribeiro Campus, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF 70910-900, Brazil
| | - Ricardo Henrique Krüger
- Department of Cell Biology, Darcy Ribeiro Campus, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF 70910-900, Brazil.
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New Insights into Cockroach Control: Using Functional Diversity of Blattella germanica Symbionts. INSECTS 2020; 11:insects11100696. [PMID: 33066069 PMCID: PMC7601444 DOI: 10.3390/insects11100696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2020] [Revised: 10/10/2020] [Accepted: 10/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary Insect hosts have close relationships with microbial symbionts. The limited metabolic networks of most insects are enhanced by these symbiotic relationships. Using symbiotic microorganisms for biological control of insects and insect-borne diseases has become an important research topic and shows potential for the development of applicable control approaches. Blattella germanica (L.) is public health pest worldwide; it is difficult to control because of its strong reproductive ability, adaptability, and resistance to insecticides. In this paper, the diverse biological functions (nutrition metabolism, reproductive regulation, insecticide resistance, defense, and behavior management) of symbionts, their interaction mechanism with hosts, and the research progress in the control of B. germanica are reviewed and discussed. Abstract Insects have close symbiotic relationships with several microbes, which extends the limited metabolic networks of most insects. Using symbiotic microorganisms for the biological control of pests and insect-borne diseases has become a promising direction. Blattella germanica (L.) (Blattaria: Blattidae) is a public health pest worldwide, which is difficult to control because of its strong reproductive ability, adaptability, and resistance to insecticides. In this paper, the diverse biological functions (nutrition, reproductive regulation, insecticide resistance, defense, and behavior) of symbionts were reviewed, and new biological control strategies on the basis of insect–symbiont interaction were proposed. We highlight new directions in B. germanica control, such as suppressing cockroach population using Wolbachia or paratransgenes, and combining fungal insecticides with synergistic agents to enhance insecticidal efficacy.
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Nishimura Y, Otagiri M, Yuki M, Shimizu M, Inoue JI, Moriya S, Ohkuma M. Division of functional roles for termite gut protists revealed by single-cell transcriptomes. THE ISME JOURNAL 2020; 14:2449-2460. [PMID: 32514117 PMCID: PMC7490689 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-020-0698-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2019] [Revised: 05/20/2020] [Accepted: 05/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The microbiome in the hindgut of wood-feeding termites comprises various species of bacteria, archaea, and protists. This gut community is indispensable for the termite, which thrives solely on recalcitrant and nitrogen-poor wood. However, the difficulty in culturing these microorganisms has hindered our understanding of the function of each species in the gut. Although protists predominate in the termite gut microbiome and play a major role in wood digestion, very few culture-independent studies have explored the contribution of each species to digestion. Here, we report single-cell transcriptomes of four protists species comprising the protist population in worldwide pest Coptotermes formosanus. Comparative transcriptomic analysis revealed that the expression patterns of the genes involved in wood digestion were different among species, reinforcing their division of roles in wood degradation. Transcriptomes, together with enzyme assays, also suggested that one of the protists, Cononympha leidyi, actively degrades chitin and assimilates it into amino acids. We propose that C. leidyi contributes to nitrogen recycling and inhibiting infection from entomopathogenic fungi through chitin degradation. Two of the genes for chitin degradation were further revealed to be acquired via lateral gene transfer (LGT) implying the importance of LGT in the evolution of symbiosis. Our single-cell-based approach successfully characterized the function of each protist in termite hindgut and explained why the gut community includes multiple species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuki Nishimura
- Microbe Division, RIKEN BioResource Research Center, Tsukuba, Japan.
| | - Masato Otagiri
- Photonics Control Technology Team, RIKEN Center for Advanced Photonics, Wako, Japan
| | - Masahiro Yuki
- Microbe Division, RIKEN BioResource Research Center, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Michiru Shimizu
- Microbe Division, RIKEN BioResource Research Center, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Jun-Ichi Inoue
- Microbe Division, RIKEN BioResource Research Center, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Shigeharu Moriya
- Environmental Metabolic Analysis Research Team, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, Ykohama, Japan
| | - Moriya Ohkuma
- Microbe Division, RIKEN BioResource Research Center, Tsukuba, Japan
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Takeuchi M, Kuwahara H, Murakami T, Takahashi K, Kajitani R, Toyoda A, Itoh T, Ohkuma M, Hongoh Y. Parallel reductive genome evolution in Desulfovibrio ectosymbionts independently acquired by Trichonympha protists in the termite gut. THE ISME JOURNAL 2020; 14:2288-2301. [PMID: 32483307 PMCID: PMC7608387 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-020-0688-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2020] [Revised: 05/13/2020] [Accepted: 05/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Several Trichonympha protist species in the termite gut have independently acquired Desulfovibrio ectosymbionts in apparently different stages of symbiosis. Here, we obtained the near-complete genome sequence of Desulfovibrio phylotype ZnDsv-02, which attaches to the surface of Trichonympha collaris cells, and compared it with a previously obtained genome sequence of 'Candidatus Desulfovibrio trichonymphae' phylotype Rs-N31, which is almost completely embedded in the cytoplasm of Trichonympha agilis. Single-nucleotide polymorphism analysis indicated that although Rs-N31 is almost clonal, the ZnDsv-02 population on a single host cell is heterogeneous. Despite these differences, the genome of ZnDsv-02 has been reduced to 1.6 Mb, which is comparable to that of Rs-N31 (1.4 Mb), but unlike other known ectosymbionts of protists with a genome similar in size to their free-living relatives. Except for the presence of a lactate utilization pathway, cell-adhesion components and anti-phage defense systems in ZnDsv-02, the overall gene-loss pattern between the two genomes is very similar, including the loss of genes responsive to environmental changes. Our study suggests that genome reduction can occur in ectosymbionts, even when they can be transmitted horizontally and obtain genes via lateral transfer, and that the symbiont genome size depends heavily on their role in the symbiotic system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariko Takeuchi
- School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan
| | - Hirokazu Kuwahara
- School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan.
| | - Takumi Murakami
- School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan
- Department of Informatics, National Institute of Genetics, Shizuoka, 411-8540, Japan
- Advanced Genomics Center, National Institute of Genetics, Shizuoka, 411-8540, Japan
| | - Kazuki Takahashi
- School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan
| | - Rei Kajitani
- School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan
| | - Atsushi Toyoda
- Advanced Genomics Center, National Institute of Genetics, Shizuoka, 411-8540, Japan
- Department of Genomics and Evolutionary Biology, National Institute of Genetics, Shizuoka, 411-8540, Japan
| | - Takehiko Itoh
- School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan
| | - Moriya Ohkuma
- Japan Collection of Microorganisms, RIKEN BioResource Research Center, Tsukuba, 305-0074, Japan
| | - Yuichi Hongoh
- School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan.
- Japan Collection of Microorganisms, RIKEN BioResource Research Center, Tsukuba, 305-0074, Japan.
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Synergism between Hydramethylnon and Metarhizium anisopliae and Their Influence on the Gut Microbiome of Blattella germanica (L.). INSECTS 2020; 11:insects11080538. [PMID: 32824260 PMCID: PMC7469186 DOI: 10.3390/insects11080538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2020] [Revised: 08/11/2020] [Accepted: 08/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary The widespread use of insecticides has cause extensive resistance in German cockroach (Blattella germanica) populations globally. Biological control has the potential to mitigate insecticide resistance, and Metarhizium anisopliae, an entomopathogenic fungus, alone and in combination with various insecticides has shown good effects against cockroaches. This experiment compared the cumulative mortality after infecting B. germanica with M. anisopliae conidia by per os infection and topical dorsal infection. To probe the mechanisms that underlie the synergism between M. anisopliae and hydramethylnon, we conducted dose-response assays with cockroaches fed combinations of them and characterized the gut microbiome of treated cockroaches. The results showed that the mortality of per os infection was lower than that of topical dorsal infection. In addition, the combination of M. anisopliae and hydramethylnon had a synergistic effect. The gut microbiome was also altered by hydramethylnon treatment. Therefore, we speculate that one of the mechanism underlying this synergism is that hydramethylnon promotes the survival of M. anisopliae in the harsh gut environment and enhances its virulence on German cockroaches by altering the gut microbiome. This may help to develop new types of bio-control glue baits for the control of cockroaches. Abstract (1) Background: The widespread use of insecticides has cause extensive resistance in German cockroach (Blattella germanica) populations globally. Biological control has the potential to mitigate insecticide resistance, and Metarhizium anisopliae (Meschn.) Sorokin, an entomopathogenic fungus, alone and in combination with various insecticides, has shown good effects against cockroaches. (2) Methods: This experiment compared the cumulative mortality after infecting B. germanica with M. anisopliae conidia by two routes, per os and topical application. To probe the mechanisms that underlie the synergism between M. anisopliae and hydramethylnon, we conducted dose–response assays with cockroaches fed combinations of M. anisopliae and hydramethylnon and characterized the gut microbiomes of the treated cockroaches. (3) Results: The study showed that the mortality with per os infection was lower than that with topical application. In addition, the combination of M. anisopliae and hydramethylnon had a synergistic effect in 16 treatments. The gut microbiome was also altered by hydramethylnon treatment. The abundance of Parabacteroides and Enterococcus declined with the hydramethylnon and combination treatments, which are known to have anti-inflammatory and antifungal activities. The abundance of Alistipes, which is a fungal cell wall component, significantly increased in these treatments. (4) Conclusions: Therefore, we speculate that the major mechanism underlying this synergism is hydramethylnon promoting the survival of M. anisopliae in the harsh gut environment and enhancing its virulence for German cockroaches by altering the gut microbiome. This may provide a method for the fight against B. germanica and lay the foundation for the development of new baits.
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Xia X, Lan B, Tao X, Lin J, You M. Characterization of Spodoptera litura Gut Bacteria and Their Role in Feeding and Growth of the Host. Front Microbiol 2020; 11:1492. [PMID: 32714311 PMCID: PMC7344319 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.01492] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2019] [Accepted: 06/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Insect gut microbes play important roles in host feeding, digestion, immunity, growth and development. Spodoptera litura is an important agricultural pest distributed of global importance. In the present study, diversity and functions of the gut bacteria in S. litura are investigated based on the approaches of metagenomics and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). The results showed that the gut bacterial diversity of S. litura reared on taro leaves or an artificial diet, were similar at the phylum level, as both were mainly composed of Proteobacteria, but differed significantly at the order level. Spodoptera litura reared on taro leaves (Sl-tar) had gut biota mainly comprised of Enterobacteriales and Lactobacillales, while those reared on artificial diet (Sl-art) predominantly contained Pseudomonadales and Enterobacteriales, suggesting that gut bacteria composition was closely related to the insect's diet. We found that feeding and growth of S. litura were significantly reduced when individuals were treated with antibiotics, but could be both restored to a certain extent after reimporting gut bacteria, indicating that gut bacteria are important for feeding, digestion, and utilization of food in S. litura. Metagenomic sequencing of gut microbes revealed that the gut bacteria encode a large number of enzymes involved in digestion, detoxification, and nutrient supply, implying that the gut microbes may be essential for improving the efficiency of food utilization in S. litura.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaofeng Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control for Fujian and Taiwan Crops, Institute of Applied Ecology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
- Joint International Research Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control, Ministry of Education, Fuzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management for Fujian-Taiwan Crops, Ministry of Agriculture, Fuzhou, China
| | - Bomiao Lan
- State Key Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control for Fujian and Taiwan Crops, Institute of Applied Ecology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
- Joint International Research Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control, Ministry of Education, Fuzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management for Fujian-Taiwan Crops, Ministry of Agriculture, Fuzhou, China
- Quanzhou Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Quanzhou, China
| | - Xinping Tao
- State Key Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control for Fujian and Taiwan Crops, Institute of Applied Ecology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
- Joint International Research Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control, Ministry of Education, Fuzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management for Fujian-Taiwan Crops, Ministry of Agriculture, Fuzhou, China
| | - Junhan Lin
- State Key Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control for Fujian and Taiwan Crops, Institute of Applied Ecology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
- Joint International Research Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control, Ministry of Education, Fuzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management for Fujian-Taiwan Crops, Ministry of Agriculture, Fuzhou, China
- Fujian Vocational College of Bioengineering, Fuzhou, China
| | - Minsheng You
- State Key Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control for Fujian and Taiwan Crops, Institute of Applied Ecology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
- Joint International Research Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control, Ministry of Education, Fuzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management for Fujian-Taiwan Crops, Ministry of Agriculture, Fuzhou, China
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Jahnes BC, Sabree ZL. Nutritional symbiosis and ecology of host-gut microbe systems in the Blattodea. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2020; 39:35-41. [PMID: 32109859 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2020.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2019] [Revised: 12/31/2019] [Accepted: 01/04/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Cockroaches and termites (Order: Blattodea) have been the subject of substantial research attention for over a century due, in part, to a subset of them having a strong propensity to cohabitate with humans and their structures. Recent research has led to numerous insights into their behavior, physiology, and ecology, as well as their ability to harbor taxonomically diverse microbial communities within their digestive systems, which include taxa that contribute to host growth and development. Further, recent investigations into the physiological and behavioral adaptations that enable recalcitrant polysaccharide digestion and the maintenance of microbial symbionts in cockroaches and termites suggests that symbionts contribute significantly to nutrient provisioning and processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin C Jahnes
- Department of Microbiology, Ohio State University, 105 Biological Sciences Building, 484 W. 12th Avenue, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA
| | - Zakee L Sabree
- Department of Microbiology, Ohio State University, 105 Biological Sciences Building, 484 W. 12th Avenue, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA; Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, Ohio State University, 300 Aronoff Laboratory, 318 W. 12th Avenue, Columbus OH, 43210, USA.
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20
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Stephens ME, Gage DJ. Single-cell amplicon sequencing reveals community structures and transmission trends of protist-associated bacteria in a termite host. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0233065. [PMID: 32413056 PMCID: PMC7228121 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0233065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2020] [Accepted: 04/27/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The hindgut protists of wood-feeding termites are usually colonized by prokaryotic symbionts. Many of the hurdles that have prevented a better understanding of these symbionts arise from variation among protist and termite host species and the inability to maintain prominent community members in culture. These issues have made it difficult to study the fidelity, acquisition, and differences in colonization of protists by bacterial symbionts. In this study, we use high throughput amplicon sequencing of the V4 region of 16S rRNA genes to determine the composition of bacterial communities associated with single protist cells of six protist species, from the genera Pyrsonympha, Dinenympha, and Trichonympha that are present in the hindgut of the termite Reticulitermes flavipes. By analyzing amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), the diversity and distribution of protist-associated bacteria was compared within and across these six different protist species. ASV analysis showed that, in general, each protist genus associated with a distinct community of bacterial symbionts which were conserved across different termite colonies. However, some ASVs corresponding to ectosymbionts (Spirochaetes) were shared between different Dinenympha species and to a lesser extent with Pyrsonympha and Trichonympha hosts. This suggested that certain bacterial symbionts may be cosmopolitan to some degree and perhaps acquired by horizontal transmission. Using a fluorescence-based cell assay, we could observe the horizontal acquisition of surface-bound bacteria. This acquisition was shown to be time-dependent, involve active processes, and was non-random with respect to binding locations on some protists.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael E. Stephens
- Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca NY, United States of America
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, United States of America
| | - Daniel J. Gage
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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21
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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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22
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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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23
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Guo C, Peng X, Zheng X, Wang X, Wang R, Huang Z, Yang Z. Comparison of bacterial diversity and abundance between sexes of Leptocybe invasa Fisher & La Salle (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) from China. PeerJ 2020; 8:e8411. [PMID: 31988811 PMCID: PMC6969552 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.8411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2019] [Accepted: 12/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Insects harbor a myriad of microorganisms, many of which can affect the sex ratio and manipulate the reproduction of the host. Leptocybe invasa is an invasive pest that causes serious damage to eucalyptus plantations, and the thelytokous parthenogenesis, low temperature resistance, protection in galls, generation overlap and small body of L. invasa contribute to its rapid invasion and population growth. However, the endosymbiotic bacterial composition, abundance and sex differences of L. invasa remain unclear. Therefore, this research aimed to identify the bacterial communities in L. invasa adults and compare them between the sexes of L. invasa lineage B. Results The Illumina MiSeq platform was used to compare bacterial community composition between females and males of L. invasa by sequencing the V3–V4 region of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene. A total of 1,320 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were obtained. These OTUs were subdivided into 24 phyla, 71 classes, 130 orders, 245 families and 501 genera. At the genus level, the dominant bacteria in females and males were Rickettsia and Rhizobium, respectively. Conclusion The endosymbiotic bacteria of L. invasa females and males were highly diverse. There were differences in the bacterial community of L. invasa between sexes, and the bacterial diversity in male specimens was greater than that in female specimens. This study presents a comprehensive comparison of bacterial communities in L. invasa and these data will provide an overall view of the bacterial community in both sexes of L. invasa with special attention on sex-related bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunhui Guo
- College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi, China
| | - Xin Peng
- College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi, China
| | - Xialin Zheng
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Agric-Environment and Agric-Products Safety, College of Agriculture, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi, China
| | - Xiaoyun Wang
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Agric-Environment and Agric-Products Safety, College of Agriculture, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi, China
| | - Ruirui Wang
- College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi, China
| | - Zongyou Huang
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Agric-Environment and Agric-Products Safety, College of Agriculture, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi, China
| | - Zhende Yang
- College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi, China.,Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Conservation, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi, China
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24
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Murakami T, Onouchi S, Igai K, Ohkuma M, Hongoh Y. Ectosymbiotic bacterial microbiota densely colonize the surface of thelastomatid nematodes in the gut of the wood-feeding cockroach Panesthia angustipennis. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 2019; 95:5250881. [PMID: 30561598 DOI: 10.1093/femsec/fiy238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2018] [Accepted: 12/14/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Cockroaches generally harbor thelastomatid nematodes (pinworms) in their gut. In this study, we discovered that the surfaces of two undescribed thelastomatid species in the hindgut of the wood-feeding cockroach Panesthia angustipennis were consistently and densely colonized by bacteria. Epifluorescence microscopy using 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole and transmission electron microscopy revealed that several distinct morphotypes of bacteria covered almost the entire body surface of the nematodes in single or multiple layers. Sequencing analysis of 16S rRNA amplicons of either entire nematodes or sections of nematode body surfaces indicated that the associated bacterial microbiota consisted of several dominant phylotypes belonging to either Dysgonomonadaceae (Bacteroidales termite cluster V), Rikennellaceae or Ruminococcaceae. These phylotypes formed clades with sequences previously obtained from cockroach and/or termite guts. Comparisons of the bacterial community structure of the entire cockroach hindgut microbiota vs the nematode-associated microbiota suggested that these dominant bacterial phylotypes preferentially colonized the nematode surface. The two nematode species shared most of the dominant bacterial phylotypes, but the bacterial community structures differed significantly. Colonization by five predominant phylotypes was confirmed by fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis using phylotype-specific probes. Our study provides fundamental information on this previously unknown ectosymbiosis between gut bacteria and thelastomatid pinworms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takumi Murakami
- School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-W3-48 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan.,Center for Information Biology, National Institute of Genetics, 1111 Yata, Mishima, Shizuoka 411-8540, Japan
| | - Shu Onouchi
- School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-W3-48 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
| | - Katsura Igai
- School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-W3-48 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
| | - Moriya Ohkuma
- Japan Collection of Microorganisms, RIKEN BioResource Research Center, 3-1-1 Koyada, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0074, Japan
| | - Yuichi Hongoh
- School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-W3-48 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan.,Japan Collection of Microorganisms, RIKEN BioResource Research Center, 3-1-1 Koyada, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0074, Japan
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25
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Waidele L, Korb J, Voolstra CR, Dedeine F, Staubach F. Ecological specificity of the metagenome in a set of lower termite species supports contribution of the microbiome to adaptation of the host. Anim Microbiome 2019; 1:13. [PMID: 33499940 PMCID: PMC7807685 DOI: 10.1186/s42523-019-0014-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2019] [Accepted: 09/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Elucidating the interplay between hosts and their microbiomes in ecological adaptation has become a central theme in evolutionary biology. A textbook example of microbiome-mediated adaptation is the adaptation of lower termites to a wood-based diet, as they depend on their gut microbiome to digest wood. Lower termites have further adapted to different life types. Termites of the wood-dwelling life type never leave their nests and feed on a uniform diet. Termites of the foraging life type forage for food outside the nest and have access to other nutrients. Here we sought to investigate whether the microbiome that is involved in food substrate breakdown and nutrient acquisition might contribute to adaptation to these dietary differences. We reasoned that this should leave ecological imprints on the microbiome. Results We investigated the protist and bacterial microbiomes of a total of 29 replicate colonies from five termite species, covering both life types, using metagenomic shotgun sequencing. The microbiome of wood-dwelling species with a uniform wood diet was enriched for genes involved in lignocellulose degradation. Furthermore, metagenomic patterns suggest that the microbiome of wood-dwelling species relied primarily on direct fixation of atmospheric nitrogen, while the microbiome of foraging species entailed the necessary pathways to utilize nitrogen in the form of nitrate for example from soil. Conclusion Our findings are consistent with the notion that the microbiome of wood-dwelling species bears an imprint of its specialization on degrading a uniform wood diet, while the microbiome of the foraging species might reflect its adaption to access growth limiting nutrients from more diverse sources. This supports the idea that specific subsets of functions encoded by the microbiome can contribute to host adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lena Waidele
- Biologie I, University of Freiburg, Hauptstr. 1, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Judith Korb
- Biologie I, University of Freiburg, Hauptstr. 1, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
| | | | - Franck Dedeine
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte, UMR 7261, CNRS - Université de Tours, 37200, Tours, France
| | - Fabian Staubach
- Biologie I, University of Freiburg, Hauptstr. 1, 79104, Freiburg, Germany.
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26
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Treitli SC, Kolisko M, Husník F, Keeling PJ, Hampl V. Revealing the metabolic capacity of Streblomastix strix and its bacterial symbionts using single-cell metagenomics. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:19675-19684. [PMID: 31492817 PMCID: PMC6765251 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1910793116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Lower termites harbor in their hindgut complex microbial communities that are involved in the digestion of cellulose. Among these are protists, which are usually associated with specific bacterial symbionts found on their surface or inside their cells. While these form the foundations of a classic system in symbiosis research, we still know little about the functional basis for most of these relationships. Here, we describe the complex functional relationship between one protist, the oxymonad Streblomastix strix, and its ectosymbiotic bacterial community using single-cell genomics. We generated partial assemblies of the host S. strix genome and Candidatus Ordinivivax streblomastigis, as well as a complex metagenome assembly of at least 8 other Bacteroidetes bacteria confirmed by ribosomal (r)RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to be associated with S. strix. Our data suggest that S. strix is probably not involved in the cellulose digestion, but the bacterial community on its surface secretes a complex array of glycosyl hydrolases, providing them with the ability to degrade cellulose to monomers and fueling the metabolism of S. strix In addition, some of the bacteria can fix nitrogen and can theoretically provide S. strix with essential amino acids and cofactors, which the protist cannot synthesize. On the contrary, most of the bacterial symbionts lack the essential glycolytic enzyme enolase, which may be overcome by the exchange of intermediates with S. strix This study demonstrates the value of the combined single-cell (meta)genomic and FISH approach for studies of complicated symbiotic systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian C Treitli
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, BIOCEV, 252 42 Vestec, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Kolisko
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Filip Husník
- Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Patrick J Keeling
- Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Vladimír Hampl
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, BIOCEV, 252 42 Vestec, Czech Republic;
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27
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Zhang F, Yang R. Life history and functional capacity of the microbiome are altered in beta-cypermethrin-resistant cockroaches. Int J Parasitol 2019; 49:715-723. [PMID: 31269412 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2019.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2018] [Revised: 04/22/2019] [Accepted: 04/26/2019] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Cockroaches are widely perceived to evolve resistance to insecticides. Over-expression of a resistance-conferring gene can be costly and may require energy and resource reallocation for metabolic and developmental processes. To evaluate whether changes in the composition of gut microbiota in Blattella germanica affected its resistance evolution to beta-cypermethrin and to determine the role of gut microbiota in host growth and development, we studied the relationship between insecticide resistance and the diversity and genetic content of gut microbiota in cockroaches. Results suggest beta-cypermethrin-resistant cockroaches (R strain) exhibited a delayed development period and reduced adult longevity compared with susceptible cockroaches (S strain). Based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing and community metagenomics, we found that the relative abundance of Lactobacillus and Acetobacteraceae were significantly lower in the R strain compared with the S strain in the foregut and midgut of both strains. Functional annotation of Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) modules of midgut genes in the two strains revealed that 10.6% were involved in metabolism, while the relative abundance in the R strain was 7.4%. Unigenes were also translated into amino acid sequences and assigned to protein families based on hits to the Carbohydrate-Active enzymes (CAZy) database. This process identified the glycoside hydrolases, glycosyl transferases and carbohydrate-binding modules of the S strain as all being significantly higher in diversity than those in the R strain. Overall, we conclude that fitness-related costs increased in the resistant strain of cockroaches compared with the susceptible strain, and the variation in insect gut microbiota, especially those related to growth and development, was an important influencing factor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fan Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Resistance Biology of Shandong Province, College of Life Science, Shandong Normal University, 88 East Wenhua Road, Jinan 250014, People's Republic of China.
| | - Rongai Yang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Resistance Biology of Shandong Province, College of Life Science, Shandong Normal University, 88 East Wenhua Road, Jinan 250014, People's Republic of China
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28
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Utami YD, Kuwahara H, Igai K, Murakami T, Sugaya K, Morikawa T, Nagura Y, Yuki M, Deevong P, Inoue T, Kihara K, Lo N, Yamada A, Ohkuma M, Hongoh Y. Genome analyses of uncultured TG2/ZB3 bacteria in 'Margulisbacteria' specifically attached to ectosymbiotic spirochetes of protists in the termite gut. THE ISME JOURNAL 2019; 13:455-467. [PMID: 30287885 PMCID: PMC6331581 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-018-0297-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2018] [Revised: 09/20/2018] [Accepted: 09/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
We investigated the phylogenetic diversity, localisation and metabolism of an uncultured bacterial clade, Termite Group 2 (TG2), or ZB3, in the termite gut, which belongs to the candidate phylum 'Margulisbacteria'. We performed 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing analysis and detected TG2/ZB3 sequences in 40 out of 72 termite and cockroach species, which exclusively constituted a monophyletic cluster in the TG2/ZB3 clade. Fluorescence in situ hybridisation analysis in lower termites revealed that these bacteria are specifically attached to ectosymbiotic spirochetes of oxymonad gut protists. Draft genomes of four TG2/ZB3 phylotypes from a small number of bacterial cells were reconstructed, and functional genome analysis suggested that these bacteria hydrolyse and ferment cellulose/cellobiose to H2, CO2, acetate and ethanol. We also assembled a draft genome for a partner Treponema spirochete and found that it encoded genes for reductive acetogenesis from H2 and CO2. We hypothesise that the TG2/ZB3 bacteria we report here are commensal or mutualistic symbionts of the spirochetes, exploiting the spirochetes as H2 sinks. For these bacteria, we propose a novel genus, 'Candidatus Termititenax', which represents a hitherto uncharacterised class-level clade in 'Margulisbacteria'. Our findings add another layer, i.e., cellular association between bacteria, to the multi-layered symbiotic system in the termite gut.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuniar Devi Utami
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan
| | - Hirokazu Kuwahara
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan
| | - Katsura Igai
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan
| | - Takumi Murakami
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan
| | - Kaito Sugaya
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan
| | - Takahiro Morikawa
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan
| | - Yuichi Nagura
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan
| | - Masahiro Yuki
- Japan Collection of Microorganisms, RIKEN BioResource Research Center, Tsukuba, 305-0074, Japan
| | - Pinsurang Deevong
- Department of Microbiology, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, 10900, Thailand
| | - Tetsushi Inoue
- Graduate School of Fisheries and Environmental Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, 852-8521, Japan
| | - Kumiko Kihara
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan
| | - Nathan Lo
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Akinori Yamada
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan
- Graduate School of Fisheries and Environmental Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, 852-8521, Japan
| | - Moriya Ohkuma
- Japan Collection of Microorganisms, RIKEN BioResource Research Center, Tsukuba, 305-0074, Japan
| | - Yuichi Hongoh
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan.
- Japan Collection of Microorganisms, RIKEN BioResource Research Center, Tsukuba, 305-0074, Japan.
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29
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Liu N, Li H, Chevrette MG, Zhang L, Cao L, Zhou H, Zhou X, Zhou Z, Pope PB, Currie CR, Huang Y, Wang Q. Functional metagenomics reveals abundant polysaccharide-degrading gene clusters and cellobiose utilization pathways within gut microbiota of a wood-feeding higher termite. THE ISME JOURNAL 2019; 13:104-117. [PMID: 30116044 PMCID: PMC6298952 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-018-0255-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2018] [Revised: 07/16/2018] [Accepted: 07/20/2018] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Plant cell-wall polysaccharides constitute the most abundant but recalcitrant organic carbon source in nature. Microbes residing in the digestive tract of herbivorous bilaterians are particularly efficient at depolymerizing polysaccharides into fermentable sugars and play a significant support role towards their host's lifestyle. Here, we combine large-scale functional screening of fosmid libraries, shotgun sequencing, and biochemical assays to interrogate the gut microbiota of the wood-feeding "higher" termite Globitermes brachycerastes. A number of putative polysaccharide utilization gene clusters were identified with multiple fibrolytic genes. Our large-scale functional screening of 50,000 fosmid clones resulted in 464 clones demonstrating plant polysaccharide-degrading activities, including 267 endoglucanase-, 24 exoglucanase-, 72 β-glucosidase-, and 101 endoxylanase-positive clones. We sequenced 173 functionally active clones and identified ~219 genes encoding putative carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) targeting cellulose, hemicellulose and pectin. Further analyses revealed that 68 of 154 contigs encode one or more CAZyme, which includes 35 examples of putative saccharolytic operons, suggesting that clustering of CAZymes is common in termite gut microbial inhabitants. Biochemical characterization of a representative xylanase cluster demonstrated that constituent enzymes exhibited complementary physicochemical properties and saccharolytic capabilities. Furthermore, diverse cellobiose-metabolizing enzymes include β-glucosidases, cellobiose phosphorylases, and phopho-6-β-glucosidases were identified and functionally verified, indicating that the termite gut micro-ecosystem utilizes diverse metabolic pathways to interconnect hydrolysis and central metabolism. Collectively, these results provide an in-depth view of the adaptation and digestive strategies employed by gut microbiota within this tiny-yet-efficient host-associated ecosystem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ning Liu
- Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental and Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
- Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China
| | - Hongjie Li
- Department of Energy Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, Wisconsin Energy Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Department Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Marc G Chevrette
- Department Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Department of Genetics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Lei Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Lin Cao
- Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental and Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Haokui Zhou
- Institute for Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Xuguo Zhou
- Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, USA
| | - Zhihua Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Phillip B Pope
- Faculty of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway
| | - Cameron R Currie
- Department of Energy Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, Wisconsin Energy Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Department Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Yongping Huang
- Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental and Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
| | - Qian Wang
- Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental and Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
- Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
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Murakami T, Segawa T, Takeuchi N, Barcaza Sepúlveda G, Labarca P, Kohshima S, Hongoh Y. Metagenomic analyses highlight the symbiotic association between the glacier stonefly Andiperla willinki and its bacterial gut community. Environ Microbiol 2018; 20:4170-4183. [PMID: 30246365 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.14420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2018] [Revised: 09/07/2018] [Accepted: 09/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The glacier stonefly Andiperla willinki is the largest metazoan inhabiting the Patagonian glaciers. In this study, we analysed the gut microbiome of the aquatic nymphs by 16S rRNA gene amplicon and metagenomic sequencing. The bacterial gut community was consistently dominated by taxa typical of animal digestive tracts, such as Dysgonomonadaceae and Lachnospiraceae, as well as those generally indigenous to glacier environments, such as Polaromonas. Interestingly, the dominant Polaromonas phylotypes detected in the stonefly gut were almost never detected in the glacier surface habitat. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis revealed that the bacterial lineages typical of animal guts colonized the gut wall in a co-aggregated form, while Polaromonas cells were not included in the aggregates. Draft genomes of several dominant bacterial lineages were reconstructed from metagenomic datasets and indicated that the predominant Dysgonomonadaceae bacterium is capable of degrading various polysaccharides derived from host-ingested food, such as algae, and that other dominant bacterial lineages ferment saccharides liberated by the polysaccharide degradation. Our results suggest that the gut bacteria-host association in the glacier stonefly contributes to host nutrition as well as material cycles in the glacier environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takumi Murakami
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan.,Center for Information Biology, National Institute of Genetics, Shizuoka, Japan
| | - Takahiro Segawa
- Center of Life Science Research, University of Yamanashi, Yamanashi, Japan.,National Institute of Polar Research, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Nozomu Takeuchi
- Department of Earth Sciences, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
| | | | | | - Shiro Kohshima
- Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Yuichi Hongoh
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan
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Cao Q, Wickham JD, Chen L, Ahmad F, Lu M, Sun J. Effect of Oxygen on Verbenone Conversion From cis-Verbenol by Gut Facultative Anaerobes of Dendroctonus valens. Front Microbiol 2018; 9:464. [PMID: 29615996 PMCID: PMC5864928 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.00464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2017] [Accepted: 02/28/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Since its introduction from North America, Dendroctonus valens LeConte has become a destructive forest pest in China. Although gut aerobic bacteria have been investigated and some are implicated in beetle pheromone production, little is known about the abundance and significance of facultative anaerobic bacteria in beetle gut, especially with regards to effects of oxygen on their role in pheromone production. In this study, we isolated and identified gut bacteria of D. valens adults in an anaerobic environment, and further compared their ability to convert cis-verbenol into verbenone (a multi-functional pheromone of D. valens) under different O2 concentrations. Pantoea conspicua, Enterobacter xiangfangensis, Staphylococcus warneri were the most frequently isolated species among the total of 10 species identified from beetle gut in anaerobic conditions. Among all isolated species, nine were capable of cis-verbenol to verbenone conversion, and the conversion efficiency increased with increased oxygen concentration. This O2-mediated conversion of cis-verbenol to verbenone suggests that gut facultative anaerobes of D. valens might play an important role in the frass, where there is higher exposure to oxygen, hence the higher verbenone production. This claim is further supported by distinctly differential oxygen concentrations between gut and frass of D. valens females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingjie Cao
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jacob D Wickham
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Li Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Faheem Ahmad
- Department of Biosciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan
| | - Min Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jianghua Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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Utami YD, Kuwahara H, Murakami T, Morikawa T, Sugaya K, Kihara K, Yuki M, Lo N, Deevong P, Hasin S, Boonriam W, Inoue T, Yamada A, Ohkuma M, Hongoh Y. Phylogenetic Diversity and Single-Cell Genome Analysis of "Melainabacteria", a Non-Photosynthetic Cyanobacterial Group, in the Termite Gut. Microbes Environ 2018; 33:50-57. [PMID: 29415909 PMCID: PMC5877343 DOI: 10.1264/jsme2.me17137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Termite guts harbor diverse yet-uncultured bacteria, including a non-photosynthetic cyanobacterial group, the class "Melainabacteria". We herein reported the phylogenetic diversity of "Melainabacteria" in the guts of diverse termites and conducted a single-cell genome analysis of a melainabacterium obtained from the gut of the termite Termes propinquus. We performed amplicon sequencing of 16S rRNA genes from the guts of 60 termite and eight cockroach species, and detected melainabacterial sequences in 48 out of the 68 insect species, albeit with low abundances (0.02-1.90%). Most of the melainabacterial sequences obtained were assigned to the order "Gastranaerophilales" and appeared to form clusters unique to termites and cockroaches. A single-cell genome of a melainabacterium, designated phylotype Tpq-Mel-01, was obtained using a fluorescence-activated cell sorter and whole genome amplification. The genome shared basic features with other melainabacterial genomes previously reconstructed from the metagenomes of human and koala feces. The bacterium had a small genome (~1.6 Mb) and possessed fermentative pathways possibly using sugars and chitobiose as carbon and energy sources, while the pathways for photosynthesis and carbon fixation were not found. The genome contained genes for flagellar components and chemotaxis; therefore, the bacterium is likely motile. A fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis showed that the cells of Tpq-Mel-01 and/or its close relatives are short rods with the dimensions of 1.1±0.2 μm by 0.5±0.1 μm; for these bacteria, we propose the novel species, "Candidatus Gastranaerophilus termiticola". Our results provide fundamental information on "Melainabacteria" in the termite gut and expand our knowledge on this underrepresented, non-photosynthetic cyanobacterial group.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Takumi Murakami
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology
| | | | - Kaito Sugaya
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology
| | - Kumiko Kihara
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology
| | - Masahiro Yuki
- Biomass Research Platform Team, RIKEN Biomass Engineering Program Cooperation Division, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science
| | - Nathan Lo
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney
| | | | - Sasitorn Hasin
- College of Innovative Management, Valaya Alongkorn Rajabhat University under the Royal Patronage
| | | | - Tetsushi Inoue
- Graduate School of Fisheries and Environmental Sciences, Nagasaki University
| | - Akinori Yamada
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology.,Graduate School of Fisheries and Environmental Sciences, Nagasaki University
| | - Moriya Ohkuma
- Biomass Research Platform Team, RIKEN Biomass Engineering Program Cooperation Division, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science.,Japan Collection of Microorganisms, RIKEN BioResource Center
| | - Yuichi Hongoh
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology.,Japan Collection of Microorganisms, RIKEN BioResource Center
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Bourguignon T, Lo N, Dietrich C, Šobotník J, Sidek S, Roisin Y, Brune A, Evans TA. Rampant Host Switching Shaped the Termite Gut Microbiome. Curr Biol 2018; 28:649-654.e2. [PMID: 29429621 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.01.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2017] [Revised: 11/21/2017] [Accepted: 01/11/2018] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
The gut microbiota of animals exert major effects on host biology [1]. Although horizontal transfer is generally considered the prevalent route for the acquisition of gut bacteria in mammals [2], some bacterial lineages have co-speciated with their hosts on timescales of several million years [3]. Termites harbor a complex gut microbiota, and their advanced social behavior provides the potential for long-term vertical symbiont transmission, and co-evolution of gut symbionts and host [4-6]. Despite clear evolutionary patterns in the gut microbiota of termites [7], a consensus on how microbial communities were assembled during termite diversification has yet to be reached. Although some studies have concluded that vertical transmission has played a major role [8, 9], others indicate that diet and gut microenvironment have been the primary determinants shaping microbial communities in termite guts [7, 10]. To address this issue, we examined the gut microbiota of 94 termite species, through 16S rRNA metabarcoding. We analyzed the phylogeny of 211 bacterial lineages obtained from termite guts, including their closest relatives from other environments, which were identified using BLAST. The results provided strong evidence for rampant horizontal transfer of gut bacteria between termite host lineages. Although the majority of termite-derived phylotypes formed large monophyletic groups, indicating high levels of niche specialization, numerous other clades were interspersed with bacterial lineages from the guts of other animals. Our results indicate that "mixed-mode" transmission, which combines colony-to-offspring vertical transmission with horizontal colony-to-colony transfer, has been the primary driving force shaping the gut microbiota of termites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Bourguignon
- Okinawa Institute of Science & Technology Graduate University, 1919-1 Tancha, Onna-son, Okinawa 904-0495, Japan; School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic.
| | - Nathan Lo
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
| | - Carsten Dietrich
- Department of Biogeochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany; Strategy and Innovation Technology Center, Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Jan Šobotník
- Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Sarah Sidek
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 117543 Singapore, Singapore
| | - Yves Roisin
- Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Bruxelles, Belgium
| | - Andreas Brune
- Department of Biogeochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
| | - Theodore A Evans
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 117543 Singapore, Singapore; School of Animal Biology, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia
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Genome Analysis of Endomicrobium proavitum Suggests Loss and Gain of Relevant Functions during the Evolution of Intracellular Symbionts. Appl Environ Microbiol 2017. [PMID: 28646115 DOI: 10.1128/aem.00656-17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Bacterial endosymbionts of eukaryotes show progressive genome erosion, but detailed investigations of the evolutionary processes involved in the transition to an intracellular lifestyle are generally hampered by the lack of extant free-living lineages. Here, we characterize the genome of the recently isolated, free-living Endomicrobium proavitum, the second member of the Elusimicrobia phylum brought into pure culture, and compare it to the closely related "Candidatus Endomicrobium trichonymphae" strain Rs-D17, a previously described but uncultured endosymbiont of termite gut flagellates. A reconstruction of the metabolic pathways of Endomicrobium proavitum matched the fermentation products formed in pure culture and underscored its restriction to glucose as the substrate. However, several pathways present in the free-living strain, e.g., for the uptake and activation of glucose and its subsequent fermentation, ammonium assimilation, and outer membrane biogenesis, were absent or disrupted in the endosymbiont, probably lost during the massive genome rearrangements that occurred during symbiogenesis. While the majority of the genes in strain Rs-D17 have orthologs in Endomicrobium proavitum, the endosymbiont also possesses a number of functions that are absent from the free-living strain and may represent adaptations to the intracellular lifestyle. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the genes encoding glucose 6-phosphate and amino acid transporters, acetaldehyde/alcohol dehydrogenase, and the pathways of glucuronic acid catabolism and thiamine pyrophosphate biosynthesis were either acquired by horizontal gene transfer or may represent ancestral traits that were lost in the free-living strain. The polyphyletic origin of Endomicrobia in different flagellate hosts makes them excellent models for future studies of convergent and parallel evolution during symbiogenesis.IMPORTANCE The isolation of a free-living relative of intracellular symbionts provides the rare opportunity to identify the evolutionary processes that occur in the course of symbiogenesis. Our study documents that the genome of "Candidatus Endomicrobium trichonymphae," which represents a clade of endosymbionts that have coevolved with termite gut flagellates for more than 40 million years, is not simply a subset of the genes present in Endomicrobium proavitum, a member of the ancestral, free-living lineage. Rather, comparative genomics revealed that the endosymbionts possess several relevant functions that were either prerequisites for colonization of the intracellular habitat or might have served to compensate for genes losses that occurred during genome erosion. Some gene sets found only in the endosymbiont were apparently acquired by horizontal transfer from other gut bacteria, which suggests that the intracellular bacteria of flagellates are not entirely cut off from gene flow.
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Izawa K, Kuwahara H, Sugaya K, Lo N, Ohkuma M, Hongoh Y. Discovery of ectosymbiotic Endomicrobium lineages associated with protists in the gut of stolotermitid termites. ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY REPORTS 2017; 9:411-418. [PMID: 28556617 DOI: 10.1111/1758-2229.12549] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2017] [Revised: 05/19/2017] [Accepted: 05/18/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
The genus Endomicrobium is a dominant bacterial group in the gut of lower termites, and most phylotypes are intracellular symbionts of gut protists. Here we report the discovery of Endomicrobium ectosymbionts of termite gut protists. We found that bristle-like Endomicrobium cells attached to the surface of spirotrichosomid protist cells inhabiting the termite Stolotermes victoriensis. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that a putative Endomicrobium cell likely attached to the protist surface via a protrusion from the tip of the bacterium. A phylotype, sharing 98.9% 16S rRNA sequence identity with the Endomicrobium ectosymbionts of the spirotrichosomid protists, was also found on the cell surface of the protist Trichonympha magna in the gut of the termite Porotermes adamsoni. We propose the novel species 'Candidatus Endomicrobium superficiale' for these bacteria. T. magna simultaneously harboured another Endomicrobium ectosymbiont that shared 93.5-94.2% 16S rRNA sequence identities with 'Ca. Endomicrobium superficiale'. Furthermore, Spirotrichonympha-like protists in P. adamsoni guts were associated with an Endomicrobium phylotype that possibly attached to the host flagella. A phylogenetic analysis suggested that these ectosymbiotic lineages have evolved multiple times from free-living Endomicrobium lineages and are relatively distant from the endosymbionts. Our results provide novel insights into the ecology and evolution of the Endomicrobium.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kazuki Izawa
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan
| | - Hirokazu Kuwahara
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan
| | - Kaito Sugaya
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan
| | - Nathan Lo
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Moriya Ohkuma
- RIKEN BioResource Center, Japan Collection of Microorganisms, Tsukuba, 305-0074, Japan
| | - Yuichi Hongoh
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan
- RIKEN BioResource Center, Japan Collection of Microorganisms, Tsukuba, 305-0074, Japan
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Pramono AK, Kuwahara H, Itoh T, Toyoda A, Yamada A, Hongoh Y. Discovery and Complete Genome Sequence of a Bacteriophage from an Obligate Intracellular Symbiont of a Cellulolytic Protist in the Termite Gut. Microbes Environ 2017; 32:112-117. [PMID: 28321010 PMCID: PMC5478533 DOI: 10.1264/jsme2.me16175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Termites depend nutritionally on their gut microbes, and protistan, bacterial, and archaeal gut communities have been extensively studied. However, limited information is available on viruses in the termite gut. We herein report the complete genome sequence (99,517 bp) of a phage obtained during a genome analysis of “Candidatus Azobacteroides pseudotrichonymphae” phylotype ProJPt-1, which is an obligate intracellular symbiont of the cellulolytic protist Pseudotrichonympha sp. in the gut of the termite Prorhinotermes japonicus. The genome of the phage, designated ProJPt-Bp1, was circular or circularly permuted, and was not integrated into the two circular chromosomes or five circular plasmids composing the host ProJPt-1 genome. The phage was putatively affiliated with the order Caudovirales based on sequence similarities with several phage-related genes; however, most of the 52 protein-coding sequences had no significant homology to sequences in the databases. The phage genome contained a tRNA-Gln (CAG) gene, which showed the highest sequence similarity to the tRNA-Gln (CAA) gene of the host “Ca. A. pseudotrichonymphae” phylotype ProJPt-1. Since the host genome lacked a tRNA-Gln (CAG) gene, the phage tRNA gene may compensate for differences in codon usage bias between the phage and host genomes. The phage genome also contained a non-coding region with high nucleotide sequence similarity to a region in one of the host plasmids. No other phage-related sequences were found in the host ProJPt-1 genome. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a phage from an obligate, mutualistic endosymbiont permanently associated with eukaryotic cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ajeng K Pramono
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology
| | | | - Takehiko Itoh
- Department of Biological Information, Tokyo Institute of Technology
| | | | - Akinori Yamada
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology.,Division of Marine Biomaterial Science, Graduate School of Fisheries Science and Environmental Studies, Nagasaki University
| | - Yuichi Hongoh
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology
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Peterson BF, Scharf ME. Metatranscriptome analysis reveals bacterial symbiont contributions to lower termite physiology and potential immune functions. BMC Genomics 2016; 17:772. [PMID: 27716053 PMCID: PMC5045658 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-016-3126-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2016] [Accepted: 09/26/2016] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Symbioses throughout the animal kingdom are known to extend physiological and ecological capabilities to hosts. Insect-microbe associations are extremely common and are often related to novel niche exploitation, fitness advantages, and even speciation events. These phenomena include expansions in host diet, detoxification of insecticides and toxins, and increased defense against pathogens. However, dissecting the contributions of individual groups of symbionts at the molecular level is often underexplored due to methodological and analytical limitations. Termites are one of the best studied systems for physiological collaborations between host and symbiota; however, most work in lower termites (those with bacterial and protist symbionts) focuses on the eukaryotic members of this symbiotic consortium. Here we present a metatranscriptomic analysis which provides novel insights into bacterial contributions to the holobiont of the eastern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes, in the presence and absence of a fungal pathogen. RESULTS Using a customized ribodepletion strategy, a metatranscriptome assembly was obtained representing the host termite as well as bacterial and protist symbiota. Sequence data provide new insights into biosynthesis, catabolism, and transport of major organic molecules and ions by the gut consortium, and corroborate previous findings suggesting that bacteria play direct roles in nitrogen fixation, amino acid biosynthesis, and lignocellulose digestion. With regard to fungal pathogen challenge, a total of 563 differentially expressed candidate host and symbiont contigs were identified (162 up- and 401 downregulated; α/FDR = 0.05) including an upregulated bacterial amidohydrolase. CONCLUSIONS This study presents the most complete bacterial metatranscriptome from a lower termite and provides a framework on which to build a more complete model of termite-symbiont interactions including, but not limited to, digestion and pathogen defense.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brittany F Peterson
- Department of Entomology, Purdue University, 901 W. State St, West Lafayette, IN, 47907-2089, USA. .,Present address: Center for Insect Science, University of Arizona, 1007 E. Lowell St, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA.
| | - Michael E Scharf
- Department of Entomology, Purdue University, 901 W. State St, West Lafayette, IN, 47907-2089, USA
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Rosnow JJ, Anderson LN, Nair RN, Baker ES, Wright AT. Profiling microbial lignocellulose degradation and utilization by emergent omics technologies. Crit Rev Biotechnol 2016; 37:626-640. [PMID: 27439855 DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2016.1209158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
The use of plant materials to generate renewable biofuels and other high-value chemicals is the sustainable and preferable option, but will require considerable improvements to increase the rate and efficiency of lignocellulose depolymerization. This review highlights novel and emerging technologies that are being developed and deployed to characterize the process of lignocellulose degradation. The review will also illustrate how microbial communities deconstruct and metabolize lignocellulose by identifying the necessary genes and enzyme activities along with the reaction products. These technologies include multi-omic measurements, cell sorting and isolation, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), activity-based protein profiling, and direct measurement of enzyme activity. The recalcitrant nature of lignocellulose necessitates the need to characterize the methods microbes employ to deconstruct lignocellulose to inform new strategies on how to greatly improve biofuel conversion processes. New technologies are yielding important insights into microbial functions and strategies employed to degrade lignocellulose, providing a mechanistic blueprint in order to advance biofuel production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua J Rosnow
- a Biological Sciences Division , Pacific Northwest National Laboratory , Richland , WA , USA
| | - Lindsey N Anderson
- a Biological Sciences Division , Pacific Northwest National Laboratory , Richland , WA , USA
| | - Reji N Nair
- a Biological Sciences Division , Pacific Northwest National Laboratory , Richland , WA , USA
| | - Erin S Baker
- a Biological Sciences Division , Pacific Northwest National Laboratory , Richland , WA , USA
| | - Aaron T Wright
- a Biological Sciences Division , Pacific Northwest National Laboratory , Richland , WA , USA
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40
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Berlanga M, Llorens C, Comas J, Guerrero R. Gut Bacterial Community of the Xylophagous Cockroaches Cryptocercus punctulatus and Parasphaeria boleiriana. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0152400. [PMID: 27054320 PMCID: PMC4824515 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0152400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2015] [Accepted: 03/14/2016] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Cryptocercus punctulatus and Parasphaeria boleiriana are two distantly related xylophagous and subsocial cockroaches. Cryptocercus is related to termites. Xylophagous cockroaches and termites are excellent model organisms for studying the symbiotic relationship between the insect and their microbiota. In this study, high-throughput 454 pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA was used to investigate the diversity of metagenomic gut communities of C. punctulatus and P. boleiriana, and thereby to identify possible shifts in symbiont allegiances during cockroaches evolution. Our results revealed that the hindgut prokaryotic communities of both xylophagous cockroaches are dominated by members of four Bacteria phyla: Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria. Other identified phyla were Spirochaetes, Planctomycetes, candidatus Saccharibacteria (formerly TM7), and Acidobacteria, each of which represented 1–2% of the total population detected. Community similarity based on phylogenetic relatedness by unweighted UniFrac analyses indicated that the composition of the bacterial community in the two species was significantly different (P < 0.05). Phylogenetic analysis based on the characterized clusters of Bacteroidetes, Spirochaetes, and Deltaproteobacteria showed that many OTUs present in both cockroach species clustered with sequences previously described in termites and other cockroaches, but not with those from other animals or environments. These results suggest that, during their evolution, those cockroaches conserved several bacterial communities from the microbiota of a common ancestor. The ecological stability of those microbial communities may imply the important functional role for the survival of the host of providing nutrients in appropriate quantities and balance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mercedes Berlanga
- Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Carlos Llorens
- Unity of Genomics. Scientific and Technological Centers, University of Barcelona (CCiTUB), Barcelona, Spain.,Biotechvana, Valencia, Spain
| | - Jaume Comas
- Unity of Genomics. Scientific and Technological Centers, University of Barcelona (CCiTUB), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ricardo Guerrero
- Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Antimicrobials, Department of Pathology and Experimental Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Barcelona-IDIBELL, Barcelona, Spain.,Barcelona Knowledge Hub, Academia Europaea, Barcelona, Spain
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