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Supong K, Niemhom N, Suriyachadkun C, Phongsopitanun W, Tanasupawat S, Pittayakhajonwut P. Actinomycetospora termitidis sp. nov., an insect-derived actinomycete isolated from termite (Odontotermes formosanus). J Antibiot (Tokyo) 2024; 77:299-305. [PMID: 38528114 DOI: 10.1038/s41429-024-00712-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2023] [Revised: 02/09/2024] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 03/27/2024]
Abstract
Strain Odt1-22T, an insect-derived actinomycete was isolated from a termite (Odontotermes formosanus) that was collected from Chanthaburi province, Thailand. Strain Odt1-22T was aerobic, Gram-stain-positive, and produced bud-like spore chain on the substrate hypha. According to chemotaxonomic analysis, strain Odt1-22T contained meso-diaminopimelic acid in peptidoglycan and the whole-cell hydrolysates contained arabinose, galactose, glucose, and ribose. The major menaquinone was MK-8(H4). The diagnostic phospholipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, hydroxyphosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylglycerol. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16 S rRNA gene sequence revealed that strain Odt1-22T was identified to the genus Actinomycetospora and showed high similarity values with A. chiangmaiensis DSM 45062 T (99.24%), A. soli SF1T (99.24%) and A. corticicola 014-5 T (98.17%). The genomic size of strain Odt1-22T was 6.6 Mbp with 73.8% G + C content and 6355 coding sequences (CDSs). The genomic analysis, strain Odt1-22T and closely related species A. chiangmaiensis DSM 45062 T, A. soli SF1T and A. corticicola DSM 45772 T displayed the values of average nucleotide identity-blast (ANIb) at 83.7-84.1% and MUMmer (ANIm) at 86.6-87.0%. Moreover, the results of digital DNA-DNA hybridization values between strain Odt1-22T and related Actinomycetospora species were 45.8-50.5% that lower than the threshold value of commonly used to delineate separated species level. On the basis of phenotypic, chemotaxonomic, and genotypic data, strain Odt1-22T represented a novel species within the genus Actinomycetospora, for which the name Actinomycetospora termitidis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of the species is Odt1-22T (= TBRC 16192 T = NBRC 115965 T).
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Affiliation(s)
- Khomsan Supong
- Department of Plant Production and Landscape Technology, Faculty of Agro-Industrial Technology, Rajamangala University of Technology Tawan-ok, Chanthaburi campus, Chanthaburi, 22210, Thailand.
| | - Nantawan Niemhom
- Scientific Instruments Centre, School of Science, King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Bangkok, 10520, Thailand
| | - Chanwit Suriyachadkun
- Thailand Bioresource Research Center (TBRC), National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Thailand Science Park, Pathum Thani, 12120, Thailand
| | - Wongsakorn Phongsopitanun
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
| | - Somboon Tanasupawat
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
| | - Pattama Pittayakhajonwut
- National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Thailand Science Park, Pathum Thani, 12120, Thailand
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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] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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Setia G, Chen J, Schlub R, Husseneder C. Taxonomic profiling of Nasutitermes takasagoensis microbiota to investigate the role of termites as vectors of bacteria linked to ironwood tree decline in Guam. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0296081. [PMID: 38134025 PMCID: PMC10745211 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0296081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The ironwood tree (Casuarina equisetifolia, family Casuarinaceae), an indigenous agroforestry species in Guam, has been threatened by ironwood tree decline (IWTD) since 2002. Formation of bacterial ooze by the wilt pathogen from the Ralstonia solanacearum species complex and wetwood bacteria (primarily Klebsiella species) has been linked to IWTD. In addition, termite infestation of trees was statistically associated with IWTD. Termites are known carriers of a diverse microbiome. Therefore, we hypothesized that termites could be vectors of bacteria linked to IWTD. To investigate the potential role of termites as pathogen vectors, we employed next-generation 16S rRNA gene sequencing to describe the bacteria diversity of Nasutitermes takasagoensis (Family Termitidae) workers collected from 42 ironwood trees of different disease stages in Guam in association with tree-, plot-, and location-related factors. Nasutitermes takasagoensis workers account for the majority of termite infestations of ironwood trees. The bacterial phyla composition of N. takasagoensis workers was typical for wood-feeding higher termites consisting mainly of Spirochaetes and Fibrobacteres. However, Ralstonia species were not detected and Klebsiella species were rare even in termites collected from trees infected with Ralstonia and wetwood bacteria. Feeding experiments suggested that termites prefer to consume wood with low pathogen content over wood with high pathogen load. Termites were able to ingest Ralstonia but Ralstonia could not establish itself in healthy termite bodies. We concluded that N. takasagoensis workers are not vectors for Ralstonia spp. or the bacterial endophytes associated with wetwood (Klebsiella, Pantoea, Enterobacter, Citrobacter, and Erwinia) that were previously observed in IWTD-infested trees. The bacterial diversity in termite samples was significantly influenced by various factors, including Tree Health, Site Management, Plot Average Decline Severity, Proportion of Dead Trees in the Plot, Proportion of Trees with Termite Damage in the Plot, Presence of Ralstonia, and Altitude.
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Affiliation(s)
- Garima Setia
- Department of Entomology, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA, United States of America
| | - Junyan Chen
- Department of Entomology, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA, United States of America
| | - Robert Schlub
- University of Guam, Cooperative Extension Service, Mangilao, Guam
| | - Claudia Husseneder
- Department of Entomology, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA, United States of America
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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. ISME J 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] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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Jeong SY, Alishir A, Zhang S, Zhang Y, Choi S, Pang C, Bae HY, Jung WH, Kim KH. Identification of Obscurolide-Type Metabolites and Antifungal Metabolites from the Termite-Associated Streptomyces neopeptinius BYF101. J Nat Prod 2023; 86:1891-1900. [PMID: 37506055 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.3c00193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/30/2023]
Abstract
Streptomyces spp. are well-known symbiotic microorganisms that produce antimicrobial metabolites against various pathogens. We isolated actinomycetes from the body surface of the termite Odontotermes formosanus and identified it as Streptomyces neopeptinius BYF101 based on 16S rRNA phylogenetic analysis. Chemical analysis of the cultures of termite-associated S. neopeptinius BYF101 via HR-MS2 and GNPS analyses enabled the isolation and identification of 20 metabolites, including the unreported obscurolide-type metabolites (1-3). The chemical structures of unreported compounds (1-3) were elucidated using HR-ESI-MS and 1D and 2D NMR analysis, and their absolute configurations were determined via chemical reactions followed by the application of competing enantioselective acylation (CEA) and computational methods for ECD and DP4+ probability calculation. The isolated compounds (1-20) were tested to determine their antifungal activity against two human fungal pathogens, Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans. Among the compounds tested, indole-3-carboxylic acid (9) displayed antifungal activity against C. neoformans, with an MIC value of 12 μg/mL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Se Yun Jeong
- School of Pharmacy, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
| | - Akida Alishir
- School of Pharmacy, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
| | - Shuxiang Zhang
- College of Life Sciences, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, People's Republic of China
| | - Yinglao Zhang
- College of Life Sciences, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, People's Republic of China
| | - Sohyeong Choi
- Department of Systems Biotechnology, Chung-Ang University, Anseong 17546, Republic of Korea
| | - Changhyun Pang
- School of Chemical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
| | - Han Yong Bae
- Department of Chemistry, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
| | - Won Hee Jung
- Department of Systems Biotechnology, Chung-Ang University, Anseong 17546, Republic of Korea
| | - Ki Hyun Kim
- School of Pharmacy, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
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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] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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Kundu P, Ghosh A. Genome-scale community modeling for deciphering the inter-microbial metabolic interactions in fungus-farming termite gut microbiome. Comput Biol Med 2023; 154:106600. [PMID: 36739820 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2023.106600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Revised: 12/27/2022] [Accepted: 01/22/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Specialized microbial communities in the fungus-farming termite gut and fungal comb microbiome help maintain host nutrition through interactive biochemical activities of complex carbohydrate degradation. Numerous research studies have been focused on identifying the microbial species in the termite gut and fungal comb microbiota, but the community-wide metabolic interaction patterns remain obscure. The inter-microbial metabolic interactions in the community environment are essential for executing biochemical processes like complex carbohydrate degradation and maintaining the host's physicochemical homeostasis. Recent progress in high-throughput sequencing techniques and mathematical modeling provides suitable platforms for constructing multispecies genome-scale community metabolic models that can render sound knowledge about microbial metabolic interaction patterns. Here, we have implemented the genome-scale metabolic modeling strategy to map the relationship between genes, proteins, and reactions of 12 key bacterial species from fungal cultivating termite gut and fungal comb microbiota. The resulting individual genome-scale metabolic models (GEMs) have been analyzed using flux balance analysis (FBA) to optimize the metabolic flux distribution pattern. Further, these individual GEMs have been integrated into genome-scale community metabolic models where a heuristics-based computational procedure has been employed to track the inter-microbial metabolic interactions. Two separate genome-scale community metabolic models were reconstructed for the O. badius gut and fungal comb microbiome. Analysis of the community models showed up to ∼167% increased flux range in lignocellulose degradation, amino acid biosynthesis, and nucleotide metabolism pathways. The inter-microbial metabolic exchange of amino acids, SCFAs, and small sugars was also upregulated in the multispecies community for maximum biomass formation. The flux variability analysis (FVA) has also been performed to calculate the feasible flux range of metabolic reactions. Furthermore, based on the calculated metabolic flux values, newly defined parameters, i.e., pairwise metabolic assistance (PMA) and community metabolic assistance (CMA) showed that the microbial species are getting up to 15% higher metabolic benefits in the multispecies community compared to pairwise growth. Assessment of the inter-microbial metabolic interaction patterns through pairwise growth support index (PGSI) indicated an increased mutualistic interaction in the termite gut environment compared to the fungal comb. Thus, this genome-scale community modeling study provides a systematic methodology to understand the inter-microbial interaction patterns with several newly defined parameters like PMA, CMA, and PGSI. The microbial metabolic assistance and interaction patterns derived from this computational approach will enhance the understanding of combinatorial microbial activities and may help develop effective synergistic microcosms to utilize complex plant polymers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pritam Kundu
- School of Energy Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, West Bengal, 721302, India
| | - Amit Ghosh
- School of Energy Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, West Bengal, 721302, India; P.K. Sinha Centre for Bioenergy and Renewables, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, West Bengal, 721302, India.
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Feng K, Jiang D, Luo J, Tang F. OfGNBP silencing enhances the toxicity of Serratia marcescens Bizio (SM1) to Odontotermes formosanus (Shiraki). Pestic Biochem Physiol 2023; 189:105306. [PMID: 36549813 DOI: 10.1016/j.pestbp.2022.105306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2022] [Revised: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 11/27/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The immunity of insects plays a vital role in their survival. Our experiments found that lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and glucono-δ-lactone (GDL) could influence the virulence of Serratia marcescens Bizio (SM1) to Odontotermes formosanus (Shiraki) by affecting the immunity. Gram-negative binding proteins (GNBPs) are an important pattern recognition proteins that play a crucial role in the innate immune system. Therefore, two OfGNBPs were cloned in O. formosanus. The expression of OfGNBPs was significantly changed by LPS,SM1 and GDL, not prick. In addition, the immune-related gene expression, the phenoloxidase activity and antibacterial activity of donor termites and recipient termites were significantly induced by SM1. Furthermore, the knockdown of OfGNBP by RNA interference reduced not only individual immunity but also social immunity in O. formosanus, which increased the virulence of SM1 to O. formosanus. Importantly, dsOfGNBP alone also had good control effect on O. formosanus. In summary, we concluded that dsOfGNBPs are important termite immunosuppressants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Feng
- Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, People's Republic of China; College of Forestry, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, People's Republic of China
| | - Dabao Jiang
- Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, People's Republic of China; College of Forestry, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, People's Republic of China
| | - Jian Luo
- Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, People's Republic of China; College of Forestry, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, People's Republic of China
| | - Fang Tang
- Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, People's Republic of China; College of Forestry, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, People's Republic of China.
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Ahmad F, Yang G, Zhu Y, Poulsen M, Li W, Yu T, Mo J. Tripartite Symbiotic Digestion of Lignocellulose in the Digestive System of a Fungus-Growing Termite. Microbiol Spectr 2022; 10:e0123422. [PMID: 36250871 PMCID: PMC9769757 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.01234-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2022] [Accepted: 09/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Fungus-growing termites are efficient in degrading and digesting plant substrates, achieved through the engagement of symbiotic gut microbiota and lignocellulolytic Termitomyces fungi cultivated for protein-rich food. Insights into where specific plant biomass components are targeted during the decomposition process are sparse. In this study, we performed several analytical approaches on the fate of plant biomass components and did amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene to investigate the lignocellulose digestion in the symbiotic system of the fungus-growing termite Odontotermes formosanus (Shiraki) and to compare bacterial communities across the different stages in the degradation process. We observed a gradual reduction of lignocellulose components throughout the process. Our findings support that the digestive tract of young workers initiates the degradation of lignocellulose but leaves most of the lignin, hemicellulose, and cellulose, which enters the fresh fungus comb, where decomposition primarily occurs. We found a high diversity and quantity of monomeric sugars in older parts of the fungus comb, indicating that the decomposition of lignocellulose enriches the old comb with sugars that can be utilized by Termitomyces and termite workers. Amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene showed clear differences in community composition associated with the different stages of plant biomass decomposition which could work synergistically with Termitomyces to shape the digestion process. IMPORTANCE Fungus-farming termites have a mutualist association with fungi of the genus Termitomyces and gut microbiota to support the nearly complete decomposition of lignocellulose to gain access to nutrients. This elaborate strategy of plant biomass digestion makes them ecologically successful dominant decomposers in (sub)tropical Old World ecosystems. We employed acid detergent fiber analysis, high-performance anion-exchange chromatography (HPAEC), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS), and amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene to examine which lignocellulose components were digested and which bacteria were abundant throughout the decomposition process. Our findings suggest that although the first gut passage initiates lignocellulose digestion, the most prominent decomposition occurs within the fungus comb. Moreover, distinct bacterial communities were associated with different stages of decomposition, potentially contributing to the breakdown of particular plant components.
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Affiliation(s)
- Farhan Ahmad
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Institute of Insect Sciences, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China
- Entomology Section, Central Cotton Research Institute, Multan, Punjab, Pakistan
- Entomology Section, Central Cotton Research Institute, Sakrand, Shaheed Benazirabad, Sindh, Pakistan
| | - Guiying Yang
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Institute of Insect Sciences, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yaning Zhu
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Institute of Insect Sciences, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China
| | - Michael Poulsen
- Section for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen East, Denmark
| | - Wuhan Li
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Institute of Insect Sciences, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China
| | - Ting Yu
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Institute of Insect Sciences, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China
| | - Jianchu Mo
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Institute of Insect Sciences, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China
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10
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Dar MA, Xie R, Pandit RS, Danso B, Dong C, Sun J. Exploring the region-wise diversity and functions of symbiotic bacteria in the gut system of wood-feeding termite, Coptotermes formosanus, toward the degradation of cellulose, hemicellulose, and organic dyes. Insect Sci 2022; 29:1414-1432. [PMID: 35134272 DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.13012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2021] [Revised: 12/28/2021] [Accepted: 01/19/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The wood-feeding termite Coptotermes formosanus represents a unique and impressive system for lignocellulose degradation. The highly efficient digestion of lignocellulose is achieved through symbiosis with gut symbionts like bacteria. Despite extensive research during the last three decades, diversity of bacterial symbionts residing in individual gut regions of the termite and their associated functions is still lacking. To this end, cellulose, xylan, and dye-decolorization bacteria residing in foregut, midgut, and hindgut regions of C. formosanus were enlisted by using enrichment and culture-dependent molecular methods. A total of 87 bacterial strains were successfully isolated from different gut regions of C. formosanus which belonged to 27 different species of 10 genera, majorly affiliated with Proteobacteria (80%) and Firmicutes (18.3%). Among the gut regions, 37.9% of the total bacterial isolates were observed in the hindgut that demonstrated predominance of cellulolytic bacteria (47.6%). The majority of the xylanolytic and dye-decolorization bacteria (50%) were obtained from the foregut and midgut, respectively. Actinobacteria represented by Dietza sp. was observed in the hindgut only. Based on species richness, the highest diversity was observed in midgut and hindgut regions each of which harbored seven unique bacterial species. The members of Enterobacter, Klebsiella, and Pseudomonas were common among the gut regions. The lignocellulolytic activities of the selected potential bacteria signpost their assistance to the host for lignocellulose digestion. The overall results indicate that C. formosanus harbors diverse communities of lignocellulolytic bacteria in different regions of the gut system. These observations will significantly advance our understanding of the termite-bacteria symbiosis and their microbial ecology uniquely existed in different gut regions of C. formosanus, which may further shed a light on its potential values at termite-modeled biotechnology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mudasir A Dar
- Biofuels Institute, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, China
- Department of Zoology, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Ganeshkhind, Pune, India
| | - Rongrong Xie
- Biofuels Institute, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, China
| | | | - Blessing Danso
- Biofuels Institute, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Chenchen Dong
- Biofuels Institute, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Jianzhong Sun
- Biofuels Institute, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, China
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11
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Guo H, Daniel JM, Seibel E, Burkhardt I, Conlon BH, Görls H, Vassão DG, Dickschat JS, Poulsen M, Beemelmanns C. Insights into the Metabolomic Capacity of Podaxis and Isolation of Podaxisterols A-D, Ergosterol Derivatives Carrying Nitrosyl Cyanide-Derived Modifications. J Nat Prod 2022; 85:2159-2167. [PMID: 36040034 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.2c00380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Cultures of a termite-associated and a free-living member of the fungal genus Podaxis, revived from spores maintained in century-old herbarium collections, were analyzed for their insecticidal and antimicrobial effects. Their secondary metabolomes were explored to uncover possible adaptive mechanisms of termite association, and dereplication of LC-HRMS/MS data sets led to the isolation of podaxisterols A-D (1-4), modified ergosterol derivatives that result from a Diels-Alder reaction with endogenous nitrosyl cyanide. Chemical structures were determined based on HRMS/MS and NMR analyses as well as X-ray crystallography. The putative origin of the endogenous fungal nitrosyl cyanide and ergosterol derivatives is discussed based on results obtained from stable isotope experiments and in silico analysis. Our "omics"-driven analysis of this underexplored yet worldwide distributed fungal genus builds a foundation for studies on a potential metabolic adaptations to diverse lifestyles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huijuan Guo
- Chemical Biology of Microbe-Host Interactions, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans-Knöll Institute (HKI), Beutenbergstraße 11a, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Jan-Martin Daniel
- Chemical Biology of Microbe-Host Interactions, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans-Knöll Institute (HKI), Beutenbergstraße 11a, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Elena Seibel
- Chemical Biology of Microbe-Host Interactions, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans-Knöll Institute (HKI), Beutenbergstraße 11a, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Immo Burkhardt
- Kekulé-Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bonn, Gerhard-Domagk Straße 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany
| | - Benjamin H Conlon
- Section for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen East, Denmark
| | - Helmar Görls
- Institute for Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Friedrich-Schiller-University, Lessingstrasse 8, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Daniel Giddings Vassão
- Department of Biochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knöll-Straße 8, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Jeroen S Dickschat
- Kekulé-Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bonn, Gerhard-Domagk Straße 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany
| | - Michael Poulsen
- Section for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen East, Denmark
| | - Christine Beemelmanns
- Chemical Biology of Microbe-Host Interactions, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans-Knöll Institute (HKI), Beutenbergstraße 11a, 07745 Jena, Germany
- Biochemistry of Microbial Metabolism, Institute of Biochemistry, Leipzig University, Johannisallee 21-23, Leipzig 04103, Germany
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12
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Agarwal R, Gupta M, Antony A, Sen R, Raychoudhury R. In Vitro Studies Reveal that Pseudomonas, from Odontotermes obesus Colonies, can Function as a Defensive Mutualist as it Prevents the Weedy Fungus While Keeping the Crop Fungus Unaffected. Microb Ecol 2022; 84:391-403. [PMID: 34495359 DOI: 10.1007/s00248-021-01798-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 06/14/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Insects that farm monocultures of fungi are canonical examples of nutritional symbiosis as well as independent evolution of agriculture in non-human animals. But just like in human agriculture, these fungal crops face constant threat of invasion by weeds which, if unchecked, take over the crop fungus. In fungus-growing termites, the crop fungus (Termitomyces) faces such challenges from the weedy fungus Pseudoxylaria. The mechanism by which Pseudoxylaria is suppressed is not known. However, evidence suggests that some bacterial secondary symbionts can serve as defensive mutualists by preventing the growth of Pseudoxylaria. However, such secondary symbionts must possess the dual, yet contrasting, capabilities of suppressing the weedy fungus while keeping the growth of the crop fungus unaffected. This study describes the isolation, identification, and culture-dependent estimation of the roles of several such putative defensive mutualists from the colonies of the wide-spread fungus-growing termite from India, Odontotermes obesus. From the 38 bacterial cultures tested, a strain of Pseudomonas showed significantly greater suppression of the weedy fungus than the crop fungus. Moreover, a 16S rRNA pan-microbiome survey, using the Nanopore platform, revealed Pseudomonas to be a part of the core microbiota of O. obesus. A meta-analysis of microbiota composition across different species of Odontotermes also confirms the widespread prevalence of Pseudomonas within this termite. These lines of evidence indicate that Pseudomonas could be playing the role of defensive mutualist within Odontotermes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renuka Agarwal
- Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science and Education Research Mohali (IISER Mohali), Knowledge City, Sector 81, Manauli, SAS Nagar, Punjab, PO 140306, India
| | - Manisha Gupta
- Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science and Education Research Mohali (IISER Mohali), Knowledge City, Sector 81, Manauli, SAS Nagar, Punjab, PO 140306, India
| | - Abin Antony
- Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science and Education Research Mohali (IISER Mohali), Knowledge City, Sector 81, Manauli, SAS Nagar, Punjab, PO 140306, India
| | - Ruchira Sen
- Sri Guru Gobind Singh College, Sector 26, Chandigarh, 160019, India
| | - Rhitoban Raychoudhury
- Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science and Education Research Mohali (IISER Mohali), Knowledge City, Sector 81, Manauli, SAS Nagar, Punjab, PO 140306, India.
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13
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Abstract
Covering: September 1972 to December 2020Explorations of complex symbioses have often elucidated a plethora of previously undescribed chemical compounds that may serve ecological functions in signalling, communication or defence. A case in point is the subfamily of termites that cultivate a fungus as their primary food source and maintain complex bacterial communities, from which a series of novel compound discoveries have been made. Here, we summarise the origins and types of 375 compounds that have been discovered from the symbiosis over the past four decades and discuss the potential for synergistic actions between compounds within the complex chemical mixtures in which they exist. We go on to highlight how vastly underexplored the diversity and geographic distribution of the symbiosis is, which leaves ample potential for natural product discovery of compounds of both ecological and medical importance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suzanne Schmidt
- Section for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark.
| | - Sara Kildgaard
- Section for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark.
| | - Huijuan Guo
- Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology e.V., Hans-Knöll-Institute (HKI), Beutenbergstraße 11a, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Christine Beemelmanns
- Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology e.V., Hans-Knöll-Institute (HKI), Beutenbergstraße 11a, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Michael Poulsen
- Section for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark.
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14
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Campanini EB, Pedrino M, Martins LA, Athaide Neta OS, Carazzolle MF, Ciancaglini I, Malavazi I, Costa-Leonardo AM, de Melo Freire CC, Nunes FMF, da Cunha AF. Expression profiles of neotropical termites reveal microbiota-associated, caste-biased genes and biotechnological targets. Insect Mol Biol 2021; 30:152-164. [PMID: 33247845 DOI: 10.1111/imb.12684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2020] [Revised: 09/21/2020] [Accepted: 11/19/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Termites are well recognized by their complex development trajectories, involving dynamic differentiation process between non-reproductive castes, workers and soldiers. These insects are associated with endosymbiotic microorganisms, which help in lignocellulose digestion and nitrogen metabolism. Aiming to identify genes harbouring biotechnological potential, we analyzed workers and soldiers RNA-Seq data of three neotropical termites: Heterotermes tenuis (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae), Velocitermes heteropterus (Isoptera: Termitidae) and Cornitermes cumulans (Isoptera: Termitidae). We observed differences in the microbiota associated with each termite family, and found protists' genes in both Termitidae species. We found an opposite pattern of caste-biased gene expression between H. tenuis and the termitids studied. Moreover, the two termitids are considerably different concerning the number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Functional annotation indicated considerable differences in caste-biased gene content between V. heteropterus and C. cumulans, even though they share similar diet and biological niche. Among the most DEGs, we highlighted those involved in caste differentiation and cellulose digestion, which are attractive targets for studying more efficient technologies for termite control, biomass digestion and other biotechnological applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- E B Campanini
- Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil
| | - M Pedrino
- Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil
| | - L A Martins
- Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil
| | - O S Athaide Neta
- Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil
| | - M F Carazzolle
- Departamento de Genética, Evolução, Microbiologia e Imunologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, Brazil
| | - I Ciancaglini
- Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil
| | - I Malavazi
- Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil
| | - A M Costa-Leonardo
- Laboratório de Cupins, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista "Júlio de Mesquita Filho" (UNESP), campus de Rio Claro, Rio Claro, Brazil
| | - C C de Melo Freire
- Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil
| | - F M F Nunes
- Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil
| | - A F da Cunha
- Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil
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15
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Nagam V, Aluru R, Shoaib M, Dong GR, Li Z, Pallaval VB, Ni JF. Diversity of fungal isolates from fungus-growing termite Macrotermes barneyi and characterization of bioactive compound from Xylaria escharoidea. Insect Sci 2021; 28:392-402. [PMID: 32394613 DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.12799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2019] [Revised: 04/05/2020] [Accepted: 04/22/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Owing to their potential applications, as well as their structural diversity, the discovery of novel secondary metabolites from insect-associated fungi has been of interest to researchers in recent years. The aim of this study was therefore to estimate the diversity of fungi associated with fungus-growing termites and bioprospecting these for potential secondary metabolites. In total, 18 fungal species were isolated and described from the gut and comb of Macrotermes barneyi based on 18S ribosomal DNA gene sequence analysis. Antimicrobial activity assays were carried out on all the known fungi, and nine isolates were recorded as active against pathogenic fungi. Xylaria escharoidea, the best performing isolate, was grown at laboratory scale and 4,8-dihydroxy-3,4-dihydronaphthalen-1(2H) was isolated and characterized. The minimum inhibitory concentration of this isolated compound against tested pathogenic organisms was found to be 6.25 μg. In addition, molecular docking studies have revealed that 4,8-dihydroxy-3,4-dihydronaphthalen-1(2H) is a prominent antibacterial agent with a marked interaction with key residues on protein A (agrAC ) that regulates the accessory gene. The findings of this study support the drug discovery of antimicrobial properties in insect-associated fungi, which may lead to novel secondary metabolites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Venkateswarulu Nagam
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Microbial technology institute, Shandong University, 72 Binhai Road, Qingdao, Shandong, China
| | - Rammohan Aluru
- Department of Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, Ural Federal University, 19 Mira, Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation
| | - Muhammad Shoaib
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Microbial technology institute, Shandong University, 72 Binhai Road, Qingdao, Shandong, China
| | - Guang-Rui Dong
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Microbial technology institute, Shandong University, 72 Binhai Road, Qingdao, Shandong, China
| | - Zhi Li
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Microbial technology institute, Shandong University, 72 Binhai Road, Qingdao, Shandong, China
| | | | - Jin-Feng Ni
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Microbial technology institute, Shandong University, 72 Binhai Road, Qingdao, Shandong, China
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16
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Murphy R, Benndorf R, de Beer ZW, Vollmers J, Kaster AK, Beemelmanns C, Poulsen M. Comparative Genomics Reveals Prophylactic and Catabolic Capabilities of Actinobacteria within the Fungus-Farming Termite Symbiosis. mSphere 2021; 6:e01233-20. [PMID: 33658277 PMCID: PMC8546716 DOI: 10.1128/msphere.01233-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2020] [Accepted: 02/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Actinobacteria, one of the largest bacterial phyla, are ubiquitous in many of Earth's ecosystems and often act as defensive symbionts with animal hosts. Members of the phylum have repeatedly been isolated from basidiomycete-cultivating fungus-farming termites that maintain a monoculture fungus crop on macerated dead plant substrate. The proclivity for antimicrobial and enzyme production of Actinobacteria make them likely contributors to plant decomposition and defense in the symbiosis. To test this, we analyzed the prophylactic (biosynthetic gene cluster [BGC]) and metabolic (carbohydrate-active enzyme [CAZy]) potential in 16 (10 existing and six new genomes) termite-associated Actinobacteria and compared these to the soil-dwelling close relatives. Using antiSMASH, we identified 435 BGCs, of which 329 (65 unique) were similar to known compound gene clusters, while 106 were putatively novel, suggesting ample prospects for novel compound discovery. BGCs were identified among all major compound categories, including 26 encoding the production of known antimicrobial compounds, which ranged in activity (antibacterial being most prevalent) and modes of action that might suggest broad defensive potential. Peptide pattern recognition analysis revealed 823 (43 unique) CAZymes coding for enzymes that target key plant and fungal cell wall components (predominantly chitin, cellulose, and hemicellulose), confirming a substantial degradative potential of these bacteria. Comparison of termite-associated and soil-dwelling bacteria indicated no significant difference in either BGC or CAZy potential, suggesting that the farming termite hosts may have coopted these soil-dwelling bacteria due to their metabolic potential but that they have not been subject to genome change associated with symbiosis.IMPORTANCEActinobacteria have repeatedly been isolated in fungus-farming termites, and our genome analyses provide insights into the potential roles they may serve in defense and for plant biomass breakdown. These insights, combined with their relatively higher abundances in fungus combs than in termite gut, suggest that they are more likely to play roles in fungus combs than in termite guts. Up to 25% of the BGCs we identify have no similarity to known clusters, indicating a large potential for novel chemistry to be discovered. Similarities in metabolic potential of soil-dwelling and termite-associated bacteria suggest that they have environmental origins, but their consistent presence with the termite system suggests their importance for the symbiosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Murphy
- University of Copenhagen, Department of Biology, Section for Ecology and Evolution, Copenhagen East, Denmark
| | - René Benndorf
- Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Z Wilhelm de Beer
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, Forestry and Agriculture Biotechnology Institute, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - John Vollmers
- Institute for Biological Interfaces (IBG 5), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
| | - Anne-Kristin Kaster
- Institute for Biological Interfaces (IBG 5), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
| | - Christine Beemelmanns
- Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Michael Poulsen
- University of Copenhagen, Department of Biology, Section for Ecology and Evolution, Copenhagen East, Denmark
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17
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Abstract
Termites have long been studied for their symbiotic associations with gut microbes. In the late nineteenth century, this relationship was poorly understood and captured the interest of parasitologists such as Joseph Leidy; this research led to that of twentieth-century biologists and entomologists including Cleveland, Hungate, Trager, and Lüscher. Early insights came via microscopy, organismal, and defaunation studies, which led to descriptions of microbes present, descriptions of the roles of symbionts in lignocellulose digestion, and early insights into energy gas utilization by the host termite. Focus then progressed to culture-dependent microbiology and biochemical studies of host-symbiont complementarity, which revealed specific microhabitat requirements for symbionts and noncellulosic mechanisms of symbiosis (e.g., N2 fixation). Today, knowledge on termite symbiosis has accrued exponentially thanks to omic technologies that reveal symbiont identities, functions, and interdependence, as well as intricacies of host-symbiont complementarity. Moving forward, the merging of classical twentieth-century approaches with evolving omic tools should provide even deeper insights into host-symbiont interplay.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael E Scharf
- Department of Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA;
| | - Brittany F Peterson
- Department of Biological Sciences, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Edwardsville, Illinois 62026, USA;
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18
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Rak Lee S, Schalk F, Schwitalla JW, Benndorf R, Vollmers J, Kaster AK, de Beer ZW, Park M, Ahn MJ, Jung WH, Beemelmanns C, Kim KH. Polyhalogenation of Isoflavonoids by the Termite-Associated Actinomadura sp. RB99. J Nat Prod 2020; 83:3102-3110. [PMID: 32946237 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.0c00676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Based on high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (HR-MS2) and global natural products social molecular networking (GNPS), we found that plant-derived daidzein and genistein derivatives are polyhalogenated by termite-associated Actinomadura species RB99. MS-guided purification from extracts of bacteria grown under optimized conditions led to the isolation of eight polychlorinated isoflavones, including six unreported derivatives, and seven novel polybrominated derivatives, two of which showed antimicrobial activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seoung Rak Lee
- School of Pharmacy, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
| | - Felix Schalk
- Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology-Hans Knöll Institute (HKI), Beutenbergstraße 11a, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Jan W Schwitalla
- Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology-Hans Knöll Institute (HKI), Beutenbergstraße 11a, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - René Benndorf
- Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology-Hans Knöll Institute (HKI), Beutenbergstraße 11a, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - John Vollmers
- Institute for Biological Interfaces 5, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
| | - Anne-Kristin Kaster
- Institute for Biological Interfaces 5, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
| | - Z Wilhelm de Beer
- Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), University of Pretoria, Hatfield, 0083, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Minji Park
- Department of Systems Biotechnology, Chung-Ang University, Anseong 17546, Republic of Korea
| | - Mi-Jeong Ahn
- College of Pharmacy and Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52828, Republic of Korea
| | - Won Hee Jung
- Department of Systems Biotechnology, Chung-Ang University, Anseong 17546, Republic of Korea
| | - Christine Beemelmanns
- Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology-Hans Knöll Institute (HKI), Beutenbergstraße 11a, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Ki Hyun Kim
- School of Pharmacy, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
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Benndorf R, Schwitalla JW, Martin K, de Beer ZW, Vollmers J, Kaster AK, Poulsen M, Beemelmanns C. Nocardia macrotermitis sp. nov. and Nocardia aurantia sp. nov., isolated from the gut of the fungus-growing termite Macrotermes natalensis. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2020; 70:5226-5234. [PMID: 32815801 PMCID: PMC7660896 DOI: 10.1099/ijsem.0.004398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2019] [Accepted: 07/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The taxonomic positions of two novel aerobic, Gram-stain-positive Actinobacteria, designated RB20T and RB56T, were determined using a polyphasic approach. Both were isolated from the fungus-farming termite Macrotermes natalensis. Results of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that both strains are members of the genus Nocardia with the closest phylogenetic neighbours Nocardia miyunensis JCM12860T (98.9 %) and Nocardia nova DSM44481T (98.5 %) for RB20T and Nocardia takedensis DSM 44801T (98.3 %), Nocardia pseudobrasiliensis DSM 44290T (98.3 %) and Nocardia rayongensis JCM 19832T (98.2 %) for RB56T. Digital DNA-DNA hybridization (DDH) between RB20T and N. miyunensis JCM12860T and N. nova DSM 44481T resulted in similarity values of 33.9 and 22.0 %, respectively. DDH between RB56T and N. takedensis DSM44801T and N. pseudobrasiliensis DSM44290T showed similarity values of 20.7 and 22.3 %, respectively. In addition, wet-lab DDH between RB56T and N. rayongensis JCM19832T resulted in 10.2 % (14.5 %) similarity. Both strains showed morphological and chemotaxonomic features typical for the genus Nocardia, such as the presence of meso-diaminopimelic acid (A2pm) within the cell wall, arabinose and galactose as major sugar components within whole cell-wall hydrolysates, the presence of mycolic acids and major phospholipids (diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol), and the predominant menaquinone MK-8 (H4, ω-cyclo). The main fatty acids for both strains were hexadecanoic acid (C16 : 0), 10-methyloctadecanoic acid (10-methyl C18 : 0) and cis-9-octadecenoic acid (C18 : 1 ω9c). We propose two novel species within the genus Nocardia: Nocardia macrotermitis sp. nov. with the type strain RB20T (=VKM Ac-2841T=NRRL B65541T) and Nocardia aurantia sp. nov. with the type strain RB56T (=VKM Ac-2842T=NRRL B65542T).
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Affiliation(s)
- René Benndorf
- Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology e. V., Hans-Knöll-Institute, Beutenbergstraße 11a, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Jan W. Schwitalla
- Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology e. V., Hans-Knöll-Institute, Beutenbergstraße 11a, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Karin Martin
- Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology e. V., Hans-Knöll-Institute, Beutenbergstraße 11a, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Z. Wilhelm de Beer
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, Forestry and Agriculture Biotechnology Institute, University of Pretoria, 0028 Hatfield, South Africa
| | - John Vollmers
- Institute for Biological Interfaces (IBG 5), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Hermann-von- Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
| | - Anne-Kristin Kaster
- Institute for Biological Interfaces (IBG 5), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Hermann-von- Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
| | - Michael Poulsen
- University of Copenhagen, Department of Biology, Section for Ecology and Evolution, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen East, Denmark
| | - Christine Beemelmanns
- Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology e. V., Hans-Knöll-Institute, Beutenbergstraße 11a, 07745 Jena, Germany
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Scharf ME. Challenges and physiological implications of wood feeding in termites. Curr Opin Insect Sci 2020; 41:79-85. [PMID: 32823202 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2020.07.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2020] [Revised: 07/26/2020] [Accepted: 07/28/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Termites are fascinating insects for a number of reasons, one of which being their specialization on diets of wood lignocellulose. The goal of this review is to consider stress-inducing characteristics of wood and apparent molecular-physiological adaptations in termite guts to overcome these stressors. Defensive factors present in wood include extractive secondary plant metabolites, lignin and related phenolics, crystalline cellulose, and low nitrogen content. Molecular-physiological adaptations of the termite gut to deal with these factors include robust detoxification and antioxidant machinery, the production of a peritrophic matrix and a wide range of cellulases from host and symbiotic sources, and creation of niches available to nitrogen-fixing bacterial symbionts. Considering termite gut physiology and symbioses in the context of stress-response has applied implications. These outcomes can include development of efficient biomass breakdown strategies, protection of microbes during industrial processing applications, and safeguarding wooden structures from termite damage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael E Scharf
- Department of Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.
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21
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Benndorf R, Martin K, Küfner M, de Beer ZW, Vollmers J, Kaster AK, Beemelmanns C. Actinomadura rubteroloni sp. nov. and Actinomadura macrotermitis sp. nov., isolated from the gut of the fungus growing-termite Macrotermes natalensis. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2020; 70:5255-5262. [PMID: 32845828 PMCID: PMC7660899 DOI: 10.1099/ijsem.0.004403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2019] [Accepted: 08/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The taxonomic positions of two novel aerobic, Gram-positive actinobacteria, designated strains RB29T and RB68T, were determined using a polyphasic approach. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, the closest phylogenetic neighbours of RB29T were identified as Actinomadura rayongensis DSM 102126T (99.2 % similarity) and Actinomadura atramentaria DSM 43919T (98.7 %), and for strain RB68T was Actinomadura hibisca DSM 44148T (98.3 %). Digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) between RB29T and its closest phylogenetic neighbours, A. rayongensis DSM 102126T and A. atramentaria DSM 43919T, resulted in similarity values of 53.2 % (50.6-55.9 %) and 26.4 % (24.1-28.9 %), respectively. Additionally, the average nucleotide identity (ANI) was 93.2 % (94.0 %) for A. rayongensis DSM 102126T and 82.3 % (78.9 %) for A. atramentaria DSM 43919T. dDDH analysis between strain RB68T and A. hibisca DSM 44148T gave a similarity value of 24.5 % (22.2-27.0 %). Both strains, RB29T and RB68T, revealed morphological characteristics and chemotaxonomic features typical for the genus Actinomadura, such as the presence of meso-diaminopimelic acid in the cell wall, galactose and glucose as major sugar components within whole-cell hydrolysates and the absence of mycolic acids. The major phospholipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidylinositol mannoside. Predominant menaquinones were MK-9(H6) and MK-9(H8) for RB29T and MK-9(H4) and MK-9(H6) for RB68T. The main fatty acids were identified as 10-methyloctadecanoic acid (10-methyl C18:0), 14-methylpentadecanoic acid (iso-C16:0), hexadecanoic acid (C16:0) and cis-9-octadecanoic acid (C18 : 1 ω9c). Here, we propose two novel species of the genus Actinomadura: Actinomadura rubteroloni sp. nov. with the type strain RB29T (=CCUG 72668T=NRRL B-65537T) and Actinomadura macrotermitis sp. nov. with the type strain RB68T (=CCUG 72669T=NRRL B-65538T).
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Affiliation(s)
- René Benndorf
- Chemical Biology of Microbe–Host Interactions, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology e. V., Hans-Knöll-Institute, Beutenbergstraße 11a, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Karin Martin
- Bio Pilot Plant, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology e. V., Hans-Knöll-Institute, Beutenbergstraße 11a, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Michelle Küfner
- Chemical Biology of Microbe–Host Interactions, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology e. V., Hans-Knöll-Institute, Beutenbergstraße 11a, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Z. Wilhelm de Beer
- Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, Forestry and Agriculture Biotechnology Institute, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - John Vollmers
- Institute for Biological Interfaces 5, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
| | - Anne-Kristin Kaster
- Institute for Biological Interfaces 5, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
| | - Christine Beemelmanns
- Chemical Biology of Microbe–Host Interactions, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology e. V., Hans-Knöll-Institute, Beutenbergstraße 11a, 07745 Jena, Germany
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22
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Marynowska M, Goux X, Sillam-Dussès D, Rouland-Lefèvre C, Halder R, Wilmes P, Gawron P, Roisin Y, Delfosse P, Calusinska M. Compositional and functional characterisation of biomass-degrading microbial communities in guts of plant fibre- and soil-feeding higher termites. Microbiome 2020; 8:96. [PMID: 32576253 PMCID: PMC7313118 DOI: 10.1186/s40168-020-00872-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2020] [Accepted: 05/20/2020] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Termites are among the most successful insect lineages on the globe and are responsible for providing numerous ecosystem services. They mainly feed on wood and other plant material at different stages of humification. Lignocellulose is often a principal component of such plant diet, and termites largely rely on their symbiotic microbiota and associated enzymes to decompose their food efficiently. While lower termites and their gut flagellates were given larger scientific attention in the past, the gut lignocellulolytic bacteria of higher termites remain less explored. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the structure and function of gut prokaryotic microbiomes from 11 higher termite genera representative of Syntermitinae, Apicotermitinae, Termitidae and Nasutitermitinae subfamilies, broadly grouped into plant fibre- and soil-feeding termite categories. RESULTS Despite the different compositional structures of the studied termite gut microbiomes, reflecting well the diet and host lineage, we observed a surprisingly high functional congruency between gut metatranscriptomes from both feeding groups. The abundance of transcripts encoding for carbohydrate active enzymes as well as expression and diversity profiles of assigned glycoside hydrolase families were also similar between plant fibre- and soil-feeding termites. Yet, dietary imprints highlighted subtle metabolic differences specific to each feeding category. Roughly, 0.18% of de novo re-constructed gene transcripts were shared between the different termite gut microbiomes, making each termite gut a unique reservoir of genes encoding for potentially industrially applicable enzymes, e.g. relevant to biomass degradation. Taken together, we demonstrated the functional equivalence in microbial populations across different termite hosts. CONCLUSIONS Our results provide valuable insight into the bacterial component of the termite gut system and significantly expand the inventory of termite prokaryotic genes participating in the deconstruction of plant biomass. Video Abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martyna Marynowska
- Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, 41 rue du Brill, L-4422, Belvaux, Luxembourg
- Université Libre de Bruxelles, 50 avenue F.D. Roosevelt, B-1050, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Xavier Goux
- Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, 41 rue du Brill, L-4422, Belvaux, Luxembourg
| | - David Sillam-Dussès
- Université Paris 13-Sorbonne Paris Cité, LEEC, EA 4443, Villetaneuse, France
| | - Corinne Rouland-Lefèvre
- iEES-Paris, Institute of Research for Development, Sorbonne Universités, U 242, Bondy, France
| | - Rashi Halder
- Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, University of Luxembourg, 7 avenue des Hauts-Fourneaux, L-4362, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
| | - Paul Wilmes
- Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, University of Luxembourg, 7 avenue des Hauts-Fourneaux, L-4362, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
| | - Piotr Gawron
- Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, University of Luxembourg, 7 avenue des Hauts-Fourneaux, L-4362, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
| | - Yves Roisin
- Université Libre de Bruxelles, 50 avenue F.D. Roosevelt, B-1050, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Philippe Delfosse
- Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, 41 rue du Brill, L-4422, Belvaux, Luxembourg
- University of Luxembourg, 2 avenue de l'Université, L-4365, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
| | - Magdalena Calusinska
- Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, 41 rue du Brill, L-4422, Belvaux, Luxembourg.
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Jahnes BC, Sabree ZL. Nutritional symbiosis and ecology of host-gut microbe systems in the Blattodea. Curr Opin Insect Sci 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] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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24
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Bar-Shmuel N, Behar A, Segoli M. What do we know about biological nitrogen fixation in insects? Evidence and implications for the insect and the ecosystem. Insect Sci 2020; 27:392-403. [PMID: 31207108 DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.12697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2019] [Revised: 05/22/2019] [Accepted: 06/11/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Many insects feed on a low-nitrogen diet, and the origin of their nitrogen supply is poorly understood. It has been hypothesized that some insects rely on nitrogen-fixing bacteria (diazotrophs) to supplement their diets. Nitrogen fixation by diazotrophs has been extensively studied and convincingly demonstrated in termites, while evidence for the occurrence and role of nitrogen fixation in the diet of other insects is less conclusive. Here, we summarize the methods to detect nitrogen fixation in insects and review the available evidence for its occurrence (focusing on insects other than termites). We distinguish between three aspects of nitrogen fixation investigations: (i) detecting the presence of potential diazotrophs; (ii) detecting the activity of the nitrogen-fixing enzyme; and (iii) detecting the assimilation of fixed nitrogen into the insect tissues. We show that although evidence from investigations of the first aspect reveals ample opportunities for interactions with potential diazotrophs in a variety of insects, demonstrations of actual biological nitrogen fixation and the assimilation of fixed nitrogen are restricted to very few insect groups, including wood-feeding beetles, fruit flies, leafcutter ants, and a wood wasp. We then discuss potential implications for the insect's fitness and for the ecosystem as a whole. We suggest that combining these multiple approaches is crucial for the study of nitrogen fixation in insects, and argue that further demonstrations are desperately needed in order to determine the relative importance of diazotrophs for insect diet and fitness, as well as to evaluate their overall impact on the ecosystem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nitsan Bar-Shmuel
- Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, Israel
| | - Adi Behar
- Kimron Veterinary Institute, Department of Parasitology, Bet Dagan, Israel
| | - Michal Segoli
- Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, Israel
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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] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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26
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Mafa MS, Dirr HW, Malgas S, Krause RWM, Rashamuse K, Pletschke BI. A Novel Dimeric Exoglucanase (GH5_38): Biochemical and Structural Characterisation towards its Application in Alkyl Cellobioside Synthesis. Molecules 2020; 25:E746. [PMID: 32050450 PMCID: PMC7036808 DOI: 10.3390/molecules25030746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2019] [Revised: 01/14/2020] [Accepted: 01/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
An exoglucanase (Exg-D) from the glycoside hydrolase family 5 subfamily 38 (GH5_38) was heterologously expressed and structurally and biochemically characterised at a molecular level for its application in alkyl glycoside synthesis. The purified Exg-D existed in both dimeric and monomeric forms in solution, which showed highest activity on mixed-linked β-glucan (88.0 and 86.7 U/mg protein, respectively) and lichenin (24.5 and 23.7 U/mg protein, respectively). They displayed a broad optimum pH range from 5.5 to 7 and a temperature optimum from 40 to 60 °C. Kinetic studies demonstrated that Exg-D had a higher affinity towards β-glucan, with a Km of 7.9 mg/mL and a kcat of 117.2 s-1, compared to lichenin which had a Km of 21.5 mg/mL and a kcat of 70.0 s-1. The circular dichroism profile of Exg-D showed that its secondary structure consisted of 11% α-helices, 36% β-strands and 53% coils. Exg-D performed transglycosylation using p-nitrophenyl cellobioside as a glycosyl donor and several primary alcohols as acceptors to produce methyl-, ethyl- and propyl-cellobiosides. These products were identified and quantified via thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). We concluded that Exg-D is a novel and promising oligomeric glycoside hydrolase for the one-step synthesis of alkyl glycosides with more than one monosaccharide unit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mpho S. Mafa
- Protein Structure-Function Research Unit East Campus, Gate House, School of Molecular and Cell Biology University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa; (M.S.M.); (H.W.D.)
- Enzyme Science Programme (ESP), Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa;
| | - Heinrich W. Dirr
- Protein Structure-Function Research Unit East Campus, Gate House, School of Molecular and Cell Biology University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa; (M.S.M.); (H.W.D.)
| | - Samkelo Malgas
- Enzyme Science Programme (ESP), Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa;
| | - Rui W. M. Krause
- Department of Chemistry, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa;
| | | | - Brett I. Pletschke
- Enzyme Science Programme (ESP), Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa;
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27
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Abstract
BACKGROUND The coconut rhinoceros beetle, Oryctes rhinoceros, is a major pest of palm crops in tropical Asia and the Pacific Islands. Little molecular data exists for this pest, impeding our ability to develop effective countermeasures and deal with the species' growing resistance to viral biocontrols. We present the first molecular biology analyses of this species, including a metagenomic assay to understand the microbiome of different sections of its digestive tract, and a transcriptomics assay to complement the microbiome data and to shed light on genes of interest like plant cell wall degrading enzymes and immunity and xenobiotic resistance genes. RESULTS The gut microbiota of Oryctes rhinoceros larvae is quite similar to that of the termite gut, as both species feed on decaying wood. We found the first evidence for endogenous beta-1,4-endoglucanase in the beetle, plus evidence for microbial cellobiase, suggesting the beetle can degrade cellulose together with its gut microfauna. A number of antimicrobial peptides are expressed, particularly by the fat body but also by the midgut and hindgut. CONCLUSIONS This transcriptome provides a wealth of data about the species' defense against chemical and biological threats, has uncovered several potentially new species of microbial symbionts, and significantly expands our knowledge about this pest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matan Shelomi
- Department of Entomology, National Taiwan University, No 27 Lane 113 Sec 4 Roosevelt Rd, Taipei, 10617 Taiwan
| | - Shih-Shun Lin
- Institute of Biotechnology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Li-Yu Liu
- Department of Agronomy, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
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28
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Jiao WH, Salim AA, Khalil ZG, Dewapriya P, Lin HW, Butler MS, Capon RJ. Trivirensols: Selectively Bacteriostatic Sesquiterpene Trimers from the Australian Termite Nest-Derived Fungus Trichoderma virens CMB-TN16. J Nat Prod 2019; 82:3165-3175. [PMID: 31625738 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.9b00760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The termite nest-derived fungus Trichoderma virens CMB-TN16 cultivated on rice-based media produced seven new first-in-class trimeric sesquiterpenes, trivirensols A-G (11-17). Structures inclusive of absolute configurations were assigned by detailed spectroscopic analysis and biosynthetic considerations. Although trivirensols exhibit no cytotoxicity to mammalian carcinoma cells, selected examples are bacteriostatic against vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis (VRE). Structure-activity relationship (SAR) investigations combined with in situ chemical stability studies documented bacteriostatic activity for trivirensols A (11) and B (12) and the co-metabolite divirensols A (4), B (5), and G (10), all of which share a common terminal butenolide. Significantly, SAR studies also revealed bacteriostatic activity for trivirensols C (13) and G (17) and the co-metabolite divirensol C (6), all of which share a common hydrated butenolide terminal. Of note, when exposed to VRE cell cultures, the hydrated butenolides 6, 13, and 17 undergo rapid in situ dehydration to corresponding butenolides, suggesting hydrated butenolides are a pro-drug form of the butenolide VRE bacteriostatic pharmacophore.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei-Hua Jiao
- Division of Chemistry and Structural Biology, Institute for Molecular Bioscience , The University of Queensland , St Lucia , QLD 4072 , Australia
- Research Center for Marine Drugs, State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Department of Pharmacy, Ren Ji Hospital, School of Medicine , Shanghai Jiao Tong University , Shanghai , 200127 , People's Republic of China
| | - Angela A Salim
- Division of Chemistry and Structural Biology, Institute for Molecular Bioscience , The University of Queensland , St Lucia , QLD 4072 , Australia
| | - Zeinab G Khalil
- Division of Chemistry and Structural Biology, Institute for Molecular Bioscience , The University of Queensland , St Lucia , QLD 4072 , Australia
| | - Pradeep Dewapriya
- Division of Chemistry and Structural Biology, Institute for Molecular Bioscience , The University of Queensland , St Lucia , QLD 4072 , Australia
| | - Hou-Wen Lin
- Research Center for Marine Drugs, State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Department of Pharmacy, Ren Ji Hospital, School of Medicine , Shanghai Jiao Tong University , Shanghai , 200127 , People's Republic of China
| | - Mark S Butler
- Division of Chemistry and Structural Biology, Institute for Molecular Bioscience , The University of Queensland , St Lucia , QLD 4072 , Australia
| | - Robert J Capon
- Division of Chemistry and Structural Biology, Institute for Molecular Bioscience , The University of Queensland , St Lucia , QLD 4072 , Australia
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Van Dexter S, Boopathy R. Biodegradation of phenol by Acinetobacter tandoii isolated from the gut of the termite. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2019; 26:34067-34072. [PMID: 30264343 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-018-3292-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2018] [Accepted: 09/18/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
The diet of wood-feeding termites (WFT) consists of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Cellulose and hemicellulose are utilized by symbiotic protozoa as a carbon source. Protozoa produce acetate, which is the carbon source of the termite. Recently, the mechanisms by which lignin is modified by termites have been reported. Lignin is broken down into its phenylpropanoid monomers and phenolic compounds. Bacteria from WFT gut capable of degrading lignin metabolic products are potentially valuable for bioremediation and biofuel production. A bacterium was isolated from the gut of the WFT and identified as Acinetobacter tandoii. This bacterium was capable of utilizing phenol as the sole carbon source and was able to completely degrade phenol at the concentration of 280 mg/L. A. tandoii degraded phenol via the ortho and β-ketoadipase pathway. This bacterium is a known phenol degrader, but to our knowledge, this is the first time it was isolated and tested for phenol-degrading ability from termites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seth Van Dexter
- Department of Biological Sciences, Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, LA, 70310, USA
| | - Raj Boopathy
- Department of Biological Sciences, Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, LA, 70310, USA.
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Otani S, Zhukova M, Koné NA, da Costa RR, Mikaelyan A, Sapountzis P, Poulsen M. Gut microbial compositions mirror caste-specific diets in a major lineage of social insects. Environ Microbiol Rep 2019; 11:196-205. [PMID: 30556304 PMCID: PMC6850719 DOI: 10.1111/1758-2229.12728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2018] [Accepted: 12/13/2018] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Social insects owe their ecological success to the division of labour between castes, but associations between microbial community compositions and castes with different tasks and diets have not been extensively explored. Fungus-growing termites associate with fungi to degrade plant material, complemented by diverse gut microbial communities. Here, we explore whether division of labour and accompanying dietary differences between fungus-growing termite castes are linked to gut bacterial community structure. Using amplicon sequencing, we characterize community compositions in sterile (worker and soldier) and reproductive (queen and king) termites and combine this with gut enzyme activities and microscopy to hypothesise sterile caste-specific microbiota roles. Gut bacterial communities are structured primarily according to termite caste and genus and, in contrast to the observed rich and diverse sterile caste microbiotas, royal pair guts are dominated by few bacterial taxa, potentially reflecting their specialized uniform diet and unique lifestyle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saria Otani
- Section for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, Universitetsparken 15University of CopenhagenDK‐2100CopenhagenDenmark
| | - Mariya Zhukova
- Section for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, Universitetsparken 15University of CopenhagenDK‐2100CopenhagenDenmark
| | - N'golo Abdoulaye Koné
- Department of Natural Sciences (UFR‐SN)Nangui Abrogoua University28 BP 847, Abidjan28Côte d'Ivoire
| | - Rafael Rodrigues da Costa
- Section for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, Universitetsparken 15University of CopenhagenDK‐2100CopenhagenDenmark
| | - Aram Mikaelyan
- Department of Entomology and Plant PathologyNorth Carolina State UniversityRaleigh, NorthNC27605USA
| | - Panagiotis Sapountzis
- Section for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, Universitetsparken 15University of CopenhagenDK‐2100CopenhagenDenmark
| | - Michael Poulsen
- Section for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, Universitetsparken 15University of CopenhagenDK‐2100CopenhagenDenmark
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31
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Pothula R, Shirley D, Perera OP, Klingeman WE, Oppert C, Abdelgaffar HMY, Johnson BR, Jurat-Fuentes JL. The digestive system in Zygentoma as an insect model for high cellulase activity. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0212505. [PMID: 30817757 PMCID: PMC6394914 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0212505] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2018] [Accepted: 02/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The digestive system of selected phytophagous insects has been examined as a potential prospecting resource for identification of novel cellulolytic enzymes with potential industrial applications. In contrast to other model species, however, limited detailed information is available that characterizes cellulolytic activity and systems in basal hexapod groups. As part of a screening effort to identify insects with highly active cellulolytic systems, we have for the first time, identified species of Zygentoma that displayed the highest relative cellulase activity levels when compared to all other tested insect groups under the experimental conditions, including model species for cellulolytic systems such as termite and cockroach species in Rhinotermitidae (formerly Isoptera) and Cryptocercidae (formerly Blattodea). The goal of the present study was to provide a morphohistological characterization of cellulose digestion and to identify highly active cellulase enzymes present in digestive fluids of Zygentoma species. Morphohistological characterization supported no relevant differences in the digestive system of firebrat (Thermobia domestica) and the gray silverfish (Ctenolepisma longicaudata). Quantitative and qualitative cellulase assays identified the foregut as the region with the highest levels of cellulase activity in both T. domestica and C. longicaudata. However, T. domestica was found to have higher endoglucanase, xylanase and pectinase activities compared to C. longicaudata. Using nano liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (nanoLC/MS/MS) and a custom gut transcriptome we identified cellulolytic enzymes from digestive fluids of T. domestica. Among the identified enzymes we report putative endoglucanases matching to insect or arthropod enzymes and glucan endo-1,6-β-glucosidases matching bacterial enzymes. These findings support combined activities of endogenous and symbiont-derived plant cell wall degrading enzymes in lignocellulose digestion in Zygentoma and advance our understanding of cellulose digestion in a primitive insect group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ratnasri Pothula
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Derek Shirley
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - O. P. Perera
- USDA-ARS Southern Insect Management Research Unit, Stoneville, Mississippi, United States of America
| | - William E. Klingeman
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Cris Oppert
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Heba M. Y. Abdelgaffar
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Brian R. Johnson
- Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
| | - Juan Luis Jurat-Fuentes
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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32
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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. ISME J 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] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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33
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Liu L, Wang W, Liu Y, Sun P, Lei C, Huang Q. The Influence of Allogrooming Behavior on Individual Innate Immunity in the Subterranean Termite Reticulitermes chinensis (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae). J Insect Sci 2019; 19:5289805. [PMID: 30649425 PMCID: PMC6334631 DOI: 10.1093/jisesa/iey119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2018] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Insect societies have evolved a series of disease defenses against pathogens, including social sanitary behavior and individual innate immunity. However, whether sanitary behavior can affect individual innate immunity remains unknown. Here, we exposed the termite Reticulitermes chinensis Snyder to the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae (Metchnikoff) Sorokin(Ascomycota: Hypocreales), and then measured their allogrooming behavior, conidia load, infection mortality, antifungal activity and immune gene expressions . Our results showed that most of the fungal conidia were fast removed from the cuticles of the grouped termites by intensive allogrooming behavior, resulting in low mortality. The antifungal activity and immune gene expressions (termicin and transferrin) in grouped exposed termites were significantly lower than those in single exposed termite but not significantly different from those in unexposed treatments. These results suggest that allogrooming behavior can fast remove fungal conidia from termite cuticles and then decrease their physiological investment in individual innate immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Long Liu
- Hubei Insect Resources Utilization and Sustainable Pest Management Key Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Wei Wang
- Hubei Insect Resources Utilization and Sustainable Pest Management Key Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Yiliang Liu
- Hubei Insect Resources Utilization and Sustainable Pest Management Key Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Pengdong Sun
- Hubei Insect Resources Utilization and Sustainable Pest Management Key Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Chaoliang Lei
- Hubei Insect Resources Utilization and Sustainable Pest Management Key Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Qiuying Huang
- Hubei Insect Resources Utilization and Sustainable Pest Management Key Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, China
- Corresponding author, e-mail:
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34
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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. ISME J 2019; 13:104-117. [PMID: 30116044 PMCID: PMC6298952 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-018-0255-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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35
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Tinker KA, Ottesen EA. The hindgut microbiota of praying mantids is highly variable and includes both prey-associated and host-specific microbes. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0208917. [PMID: 30533025 PMCID: PMC6289422 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0208917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2018] [Accepted: 11/26/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Praying mantids are predators that consume a wide variety of insects. While the gut microbiome of carnivorous mammals is distinct from that of omnivores and herbivores, the role of the gut microbiome among predatory insects is relatively understudied. Praying mantids are the closest known relatives to termites and cockroaches, which are known for their diverse gut microbiota. However, little is known about the mantid gut microbiota or their importance to host health. In this work, we report the results of a 16S rRNA gene-based study of gut microbiome composition in adults and late-instar larvae of three mantid species. We found that the praying mantis gut microbiome exhibits substantial variation in bacterial diversity and community composition. The hindgut of praying mantids were often dominated by microbes that are present in low abundance or not found in the guts of their insect prey. Future studies will explore the role of these microbes in the digestion of the dietary substrates and/or the degradation of toxins produced by their insect prey.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kara A. Tinker
- Department of Microbiology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Elizabeth A. Ottesen
- Department of Microbiology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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36
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Chouvenc T, Elliott ML, Šobotník J, Efstathion CA, Su NY. The Termite Fecal Nest: A Framework for the Opportunistic Acquisition of Beneficial Soil Streptomyces (Actinomycetales: Streptomycetaceae). Environ Entomol 2018; 47:1431-1439. [PMID: 30321327 DOI: 10.1093/ee/nvy152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Mutualistic associations between insects and microorganisms must imply gains for both partners, and the emphasis has mostly focused on coevolved host-symbiont systems. However, some insect hosts may have evolved traits that allow for various means of association with opportunistic microbial communities, especially when the microbes are omnipresent in their environment. It was previously shown that colonies of the subterranean termite Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki (Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae) build nests out of fecal material that host a community of Streptomyces Waksman and Henrici (Actinomycetales: Streptomycetaceae). These Actinobacteria produce an array of bioactive metabolites that provides a level of protection for termites against certain entomopathogenic fungi. How C. formosanus acquires and maintains this association remains unknown. This study shows that the majority of Streptomyces isolates found in field termite fecal nest materials are identical to Streptomyces isolates from soils surrounding the nests and are not vertically inherited. A survey of Streptomyces communities from C. formosanus fecal nest materials sampled at 20 locations around the world revealed that all nests are reliably associated with a diverse Streptomyces community. The C. formosanus fecal nest material therefore provides a nutritional framework that can recruit beneficial Streptomyces from the soil environment, in the absence of long-term coevolutionary processes. A diverse Streptomyces community is reliably present in soils, and subterranean termite colonies can acquire such facultative symbionts each social cycle into their fecal nest. This association probably emerged as an exaptation from the existing termite nest structure and benefits both the termite and the opportunistic colonizing bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Chouvenc
- Department of Entomology and Nematology, Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, College Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL
| | - Monica L Elliott
- Department of Plant Pathology, Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, College Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL
| | - Jan Šobotník
- Termite Research Team, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences CULS, Kamýcká, Prague Suchdol, Czechia, EU
| | - Caroline A Efstathion
- Department of Entomology and Nematology, Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, College Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL
| | - Nan-Yao Su
- Department of Entomology and Nematology, Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, College Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL
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37
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Lee SR, Lee D, Yu JS, Benndorf R, Lee S, Lee DS, Huh J, de Beer ZW, Kim YH, Beemelmanns C, Kang KS, Kim KH. Natalenamides A⁻C, Cyclic Tripeptides from the Termite-Associated Actinomadura sp. RB99. Molecules 2018; 23:molecules23113003. [PMID: 30453579 PMCID: PMC6278286 DOI: 10.3390/molecules23113003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2018] [Revised: 11/11/2018] [Accepted: 11/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
In recent years, investigations into the biochemistry of insect-associated bacteria have increased. When combined with analytical dereplication processes, these studies provide a powerful strategy to identify structurally and/or biologically novel compounds. Non-ribosomally synthesized cyclic peptides have a broad bioactivity spectrum with high medicinal potential. Here, we report the discovery of three new cyclic tripeptides: natalenamides A–C (compounds 1–3). These compounds were identified from the culture broth of the fungus-growing termite-associated Actinomadura sp. RB99 using a liquid chromatography (LC)/ultraviolet (UV)/mass spectrometry (MS)-based dereplication method. Chemical structures of the new compounds (1–3) were established by analysis of comprehensive spectroscopic methods, including one-dimensional (1H and 13C) and two-dimensional (1H-1H-COSY, HSQC, HMBC) nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), together with high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HR-ESIMS) data. The absolute configurations of the new compounds were elucidated using Marfey’s analysis. Through several bioactivity tests for the tripeptides, we found that compound 3 exhibited significant inhibitory effects on 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX)-induced melanin production. The effect of compound 3 was similar to that of kojic acid, a compound extensively used as a cosmetic material with a skin-whitening effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seoung Rak Lee
- School of Pharmacy, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Korea.
| | - Dahae Lee
- School of Pharmacy, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Korea.
| | - Jae Sik Yu
- School of Pharmacy, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Korea.
| | - René Benndorf
- Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology-Hans-Knöll-Institute, Beutenbergstraße 11a, 07745 Jena, Germany.
| | - Sullim Lee
- College of Bio-Nano Technology, Gachon University, Seongnam 13120, Korea.
| | - Dong-Soo Lee
- College of Korean Medicine, Gachon University, Seongnam 13120, Korea.
| | - Jungmoo Huh
- College of Pharmacy and Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Seoul National University, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826, Korea.
| | - Z Wilhelm de Beer
- Forestry and Agriculture Biotechnology Institute, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0028, South Africa.
| | - Yong Ho Kim
- SKKU-Advanced Institute of Nanotechnology (SAINT), Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Korea.
| | - Christine Beemelmanns
- Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology-Hans-Knöll-Institute, Beutenbergstraße 11a, 07745 Jena, Germany.
| | - Ki Sung Kang
- College of Korean Medicine, Gachon University, Seongnam 13120, Korea.
| | - Ki Hyun Kim
- School of Pharmacy, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Korea.
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38
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Moreira EA, Alvarez TM, Persinoti GF, Paixão DAA, Menezes LR, Cairo JPF, Squina FM, Costa-Leonardo AM, Carrijo T, Arab A. Microbial Communities of the Gut and Nest of the Humus- and Litter-Feeding Termite Procornitermes araujoi (Syntermitinae). Curr Microbiol 2018; 75:1609-1618. [PMID: 30209570 DOI: 10.1007/s00284-018-1567-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2018] [Accepted: 09/06/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The evolution of the symbiotic association with microbes allowed termites to decompose ingested lignocellulose from plant-derived substrates, including herbivore dung and soil humus. Representatives of the Syntermitinae (Termitidae) range in their feeding habits from wood and litter-feeding to humus-feeding species. However, only limited information is available about their feeding ecology and associated microbial communities. Here we conducted a study of the microbial communities associated to the termite Procornitermes araujoi using Illumina sequencing of the 16S and ITS rRNA genes. This species has been previously included in different feeding guilds. However, most aspects of its feeding ecology are unknown, especially those associated to its symbiotic microbiota. Our results showed that the microbial communities of termite guts and nest substrates of P. araujoi differed significantly for bacteria and fungi. Firmicutes dominated the bacterial gut community of both workers and soldiers, whereas Actinobacteria was found in higher prevalence in the nest walls. Sordariomycetes was the most abundant fungal class in both gut and nest samples and distinguish P. araujoi from the grass/litter feeding Cornitermes cumulans. Our results also showed that diversity of gut bacteria were higher in P. araujoi and Silvestritermes euamignathus than in the grass/litter feeders (C. cumulans and Syntermes dirus), that could indicate an adaptation of the microbial community of polyphagous termites to the higher complexity of their diets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edimar A Moreira
- Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas, Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC), Santo André, SP, 09210-580, Brazil
| | - Thabata M Alvarez
- Mestrado em Biotecnologia Industrial, Universidade Positivo, Curitiba, 81280-330, PR, Brazil
- Laboratório Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia do Bioetanol (CTBE), Centro Nacional de Pesquisa em Energia e Materiais, CNPEM, Campinas, 13083-970, SP, Brazil
| | - Gabriela F Persinoti
- Laboratório Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia do Bioetanol (CTBE), Centro Nacional de Pesquisa em Energia e Materiais, CNPEM, Campinas, 13083-970, SP, Brazil
| | - Douglas Antonio Alvaredo Paixão
- Laboratório Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia do Bioetanol (CTBE), Centro Nacional de Pesquisa em Energia e Materiais, CNPEM, Campinas, 13083-970, SP, Brazil
| | - Letícia R Menezes
- Departamento de Biologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Rio Claro, SP, Brazil
| | - João P Franco Cairo
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Biologia Tecidual, Instituto de Biologia, UNICAMP, Campinas, SP, Brazil
| | - Fabio Marcio Squina
- Programa em Processos Tecnológicos e Ambientais, Universidade de Sorocaba (UNISO), Sorocaba, SP, Brazil
| | - Ana M Costa-Leonardo
- Departamento de Biologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Rio Claro, SP, Brazil
| | - Tiago Carrijo
- Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas, Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC), Santo André, SP, 09210-580, Brazil
| | - Alberto Arab
- Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas, Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC), Santo André, SP, 09210-580, Brazil.
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Lee SR, Song JH, Song JH, Ko HJ, Baek JY, Trinh TA, Beemelmanns C, Yamabe N, Kim KH. Chemical Identification of Isoflavonoids from a Termite-Associated Streptomyces sp. RB1 and Their Neuroprotective Effects in Murine Hippocampal HT22 Cell Line. Int J Mol Sci 2018; 19:ijms19092640. [PMID: 30200599 PMCID: PMC6164413 DOI: 10.3390/ijms19092640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2018] [Revised: 08/25/2018] [Accepted: 08/31/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Insect-associated bacteria have been recognized as a very promising natural resource for discovering bioactive secondary metabolites with diverse pharmacological effects. One new isoflavonoid glycoside, termisoflavone D (1), together with seven known isoflavonoids (2–8), were identified from MeOH extracts of the fungus-growing termite-associated Streptomyces sp. RB1. The chemical structure of the new compound 1 was elucidated using comprehensive spectroscopic methods including 1D and 2D NMR, along with LC/MS analysis. The existence of two rhamnose moieties in 1 was determined with comparative NMR analysis, and the absolute configuration was elucidated using chemical reactions. The neuroprotective activities of compounds 1–8 were thoroughly investigated using the murine hippocampal HT22 cell line. Compound 5 prevented glutamate-induced HT22 cell death by blocking intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation. The present study provides the first experimental evidence for the potential use of isoflavonoids from termite-associated bacteria as lead compounds that can prevent neuronal damage induced by glutamate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seoung Rak Lee
- School of Pharmacy, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Korea.
| | - Ji Hoon Song
- College of Medicine, University of Ulsan, Seoul 05505, Korea.
| | - Jae-Hyoung Song
- College of Pharmacy, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Korea.
| | - Hyun-Jeong Ko
- College of Pharmacy, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Korea.
| | - Ji Yun Baek
- College of Korean Medicine, Gachon University, Seongnam 13120, Korea.
| | - Tuy An Trinh
- College of Korean Medicine, Gachon University, Seongnam 13120, Korea.
| | - Christine Beemelmanns
- Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology e.V., Hans Knöll Institute (HKI), Beutenbergstrasse 11a, 07745 Jena, Germany.
| | - Noriko Yamabe
- College of Korean Medicine, Gachon University, Seongnam 13120, Korea.
| | - Ki Hyun Kim
- School of Pharmacy, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Korea.
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Menezes L, Alvarez TM, Persinoti GF, Franco JP, Squina F, Moreira EA, Alvaredo Paixão DA, Costa-Leonardo AM, da Silva VX, Clerici MTPS, Arab A. Food Storage by the Savanna Termite Cornitermes cumulans (Syntermitinae): a Strategy to Improve Hemicellulose Digestibility? Microb Ecol 2018; 76:492-505. [PMID: 29270662 DOI: 10.1007/s00248-017-1128-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2017] [Accepted: 12/11/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
It has been suggested that food storage inside the nest may offer termites with a nutritional provision during low resource availability. Additionally, feces employed as construction material provide an excellent environment for colonization by microorganisms and, together with the storage of plant material inside the nest, could thus provide some advantage to the termites in terms of lignocellulose decomposition. Here, we conducted for the first time a comprehensive study of the microbial communities associated to a termite exhibiting food storage behavior using Illumina sequencing of the 16S and (ITS2) regions of rRNA genes, together with enzymatic assays and data collected in the field. Cornitermes cumulans (Syntermitinae) stored grass litter in nodules made from feces and saliva located in the nest core. The amount of nodules increased with nest size and isolation, and interestingly, the soluble fraction of extracts from nodules showed a higher activity against hemicellulosic substrates compared to termite guts. Actinobacteria and Sordariales dominated microbial communities of food nodules and nest walls, whereas Spirochetes and Pleosporales dominated gut samples of C. cumulans. Within Syntermitinae, however, gut bacterial assemblages were dissimilar. On the other hand, there is a remarkable convergence of the bacterial community structure of Termitidae nests. Our results suggest that the role of nodules could be related to food storage; however, the higher xylanolytic activity in the nodules and their associated microbiota could also provide C. cumulans with an external source of predigested polysaccharides, which might be advantageous in comparison with litter-feeding termites that do not display food storage behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Letícia Menezes
- Departamento de Biologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Rio Claro, SP, Brazil
| | - Thabata Maria Alvarez
- Universidade Positivo, Curitiba, PR, Brazil
- Laboratório Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia do Bioetanol (CTBE), Centro Nacional de Pesquisa em Energia e Materiais, Campinas, SP, Brazil
| | - Gabriela Félix Persinoti
- Laboratório Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia do Bioetanol (CTBE), Centro Nacional de Pesquisa em Energia e Materiais, Campinas, SP, Brazil
| | - João Paulo Franco
- Laboratório Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia do Bioetanol (CTBE), Centro Nacional de Pesquisa em Energia e Materiais, Campinas, SP, Brazil
| | - Fábio Squina
- Programa em Processos Tecnológicos e Ambientais, Universidade de Sorocaba (UNISO), Sorocaba, SP, Brazil
| | - Edimar Agnaldo Moreira
- CCNH-Center for Natural Sciences and Humanities, Federal University of ABC (UFABC), Santo André, SP, Brazil
| | - Douglas Antonio Alvaredo Paixão
- Laboratório Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia do Bioetanol (CTBE), Centro Nacional de Pesquisa em Energia e Materiais, Campinas, SP, Brazil
| | - Ana Maria Costa-Leonardo
- Departamento de Biologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Rio Claro, SP, Brazil
| | | | | | - Alberto Arab
- CCNH-Center for Natural Sciences and Humanities, Federal University of ABC (UFABC), Santo André, SP, Brazil.
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Guswenrivo I, Tseng SP, Scotty Yang CC, Yoshimura T. Development of Multiplex Nested PCR for Simultaneous Detection of Ectoparasitic Fungi Laboulbeniopsis termitarius and Antennopsis gallica on Reticulitermes speratus (Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae). J Econ Entomol 2018; 111:1330-1336. [PMID: 29669024 DOI: 10.1093/jee/toy091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Laboulbeniopsis termitarius (Thaxt) and Antennopsis gallica (Buchli and Heim) are two of the most common ectoparasitic fungi found on the body surface of termites. While visual observation under a dissecting microscope is a common method used to screen for such fungi, it generally requires a large number of termites and is thus very time consuming. In this study, we develop a fast, efficient protocol to detect fungal infection on the termite Reticulitermes speratus (Kolbe). Species-specific primers were designed based on sequence data and amplified using a number of universal fungus primer pairs that target partial sequences of the 18s rRNA gene of the two fungi. To detect these fungi in a robust yet economic manner, we then developed a multiplex nested polymerase chain reaction assay using species-specific primers. Results suggested that both fungi could be successfully detected, even in cases where L. termitarius was at low titer (e.g., a single thallus per termite). The new method described here is recommended for future surveys of these two fungi, as it is more sensitive, species specific, and faster than visual observation, and is likely to facilitate a better understanding of these fungi and their dynamics in host populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- I Guswenrivo
- Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere, Kyoto University, Gokasho, Uji, Kyoto, Japan
- Research and Development Unit for Biomaterials, Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Cibinong Science Center, Cibinong-Bogor, Indonesia
| | - S P Tseng
- Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere, Kyoto University, Gokasho, Uji, Kyoto, Japan
| | - C C Scotty Yang
- Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere, Kyoto University, Gokasho, Uji, Kyoto, Japan
| | - T Yoshimura
- Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere, Kyoto University, Gokasho, Uji, Kyoto, Japan
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42
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Benjamino J, Lincoln S, Srivastava R, Graf J. Low-abundant bacteria drive compositional changes in the gut microbiota after dietary alteration. Microbiome 2018; 6:86. [PMID: 29747692 PMCID: PMC5944116 DOI: 10.1186/s40168-018-0469-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2018] [Accepted: 04/26/2018] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND As the importance of beneficial bacteria is better recognized, understanding the dynamics of symbioses becomes increasingly crucial. In many gut symbioses, it is essential to understand whether changes in host diet play a role in the persistence of the bacterial gut community. In this study, termites were fed six dietary sources and the microbial community was monitored over a 49-day period using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. A deep backpropagation artificial neural network (ANN) was used to learn how the six different lignocellulose food sources affected the temporal composition of the hindgut microbiota of the termite as well as taxon-taxon and taxon-substrate interactions. RESULTS Shifts in the termite gut microbiota after diet change in each colony were observed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and beta diversity analyses. The artificial neural network accurately predicted the relative abundances of taxa at random points in the temporal study and showed that low-abundant taxa maintain community driving correlations in the hindgut. CONCLUSIONS This combinatorial approach utilizing 16S rRNA gene sequencing and deep learning revealed that low-abundant bacteria that often do not belong to the core community are drivers of the termite hindgut bacterial community composition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacquelynn Benjamino
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, 91 N. Eagleville Road, U-3125, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA
| | - Stephen Lincoln
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
| | - Ranjan Srivastava
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
| | - Joerg Graf
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, 91 N. Eagleville Road, U-3125, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA.
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Arneodo JD, Etcheverry C, Thebe T, Babalola OO, Godoy MC, Talia P. Molecular evidence that cellulolytic bacterial genus Cohnella is widespread among Neotropical Nasutitermitinae from NE Argentina. Rev Argent Microbiol 2018; 51:77-80. [PMID: 29699817 DOI: 10.1016/j.ram.2017.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2017] [Revised: 09/29/2017] [Accepted: 11/19/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Cohnella is a highly cellulolytic bacterial genus, which can be found in a variety of habitats. The aim of this study was to assess its presence in the digestive tract of termite species collected in North-eastern Argentina: Nasutitermes aquilinus, N. corniger and Cortaritermes fulviceps. Gut homogenates were incubated with cellulosic substrate for bacterial growth. Bacterial 16S rDNA was partially amplified using new primers for Cohnella spp. and cloned. Sequences obtained showed highest similarity (97.2-99.9%) with those of Cohnella spp. previously reported from diverse environments. Phylogenetic analysis tended to group the clones according to their host species and sampling sites. These results indicate the association of Cohnella-related intestinal symbionts with three common Neotropical termites. Their potential industrial application encourages further research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joel Demián Arneodo
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina; Instituto de Microbiología y Zoología Agrícola (IMyZA) - INTA, Hurlingham, Argentina.
| | - Clara Etcheverry
- Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales y Agrimensura, Universidad Nacional de Corrientes, Corrientes, Argentina
| | - Tumelo Thebe
- Faculty of Agriculture, Science and Technology, North-West University, Mmabatho, South Africa
| | | | - María Celina Godoy
- Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales y Agrimensura, Universidad Nacional de Corrientes, Corrientes, Argentina
| | - Paola Talia
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina; Instituto de Biotecnología (IB) - INTA, Hurlingham, Argentina
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Hussain A, Tian MY, Wen SY. Exploring the Caste-Specific Multi-Layer Defense Mechanism of Formosan Subterranean Termites, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki. Int J Mol Sci 2017; 18:ijms18122694. [PMID: 29231889 PMCID: PMC5751295 DOI: 10.3390/ijms18122694] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2017] [Revised: 12/06/2017] [Accepted: 12/07/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The survival and foraging of Coptotermesformosanus Shiraki in a microbe-rich environment reflect the adaptation of an extraordinary, sophisticated defense mechanism by the nest-mates. We aimed to explore the host pathogen interaction by studying caste-specific volatile chemistry and genes encoding the antioxidant defense of winged imagoes, nymphs, soldiers and workers of Formosan subterranean termites. Qualitative analyses of C.formosanus Shiraki performed by HS-SPME/GC-MS showed considerable variations in the chemical composition of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and their proportions among all the castes. Winged imagoes produced the most important compounds such as naphthalene and n-hexanoic acid. The antifungal activity of these compounds along with nonanal, n-pentadecane, n-tetradecane, n-heptadecane and methyl octanoate against the conidial suspensions of Metarhiziumanisopliae and Beauveriabassiana isolates enable us to suggest that the failure of natural fungal infection in the nest is due to the antiseptic environment of the nest, which is mainly controlled by the VOCs of nest-mates. In addition, conidial germination of M.anisopliae and B.bassiana isolates evaluated on the cuticle of each caste showed significant variations among isolates and different castes. Our results showed that the conidia of M.anisopliae 02049 exhibited the highest germination on the cuticle of all the inoculated castes. Moreover, we recorded the lowest germination of the conidia of B.bassiana 200436. Caste-specific germination variations enabled us to report for the first time that the cuticle of winged imagoes was found to be the most resistant cuticle. The analysis of the transcriptome of C.formosanus Shiraki revealed the identification of 17 genes directly involved in antioxidant defense. Expression patterns of the identified antioxidant genes by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) revealed the significantly highest upregulation of CAT, GST, PRXSL, Cu/Zn-SOD2, TXN1, TXN2, TXNL1, TXNL2, TXNL4A and TPx genes among winged imagoes upon infection with the most virulent isolate, M.anisopliae 02049. Furthermore, soldiers showed the least expression of genes encoding antioxidant defense. Our findings indicated that the volatile chemistry of nest-mates and genes encoding antioxidant defense greatly contribute to the survival and foraging of Formosan subterranean termites in a microbe-rich habitat.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abid Hussain
- Department of Entomology, College of Natural Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510640, China.
- Laboratory of Bio-control and Molecular Biology, Department of Arid Land Agriculture, College of Agricultural and Food Sciences, King Faisal University, 31982 Hofuf, Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia.
| | - Ming-Yi Tian
- Department of Entomology, College of Natural Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510640, China.
| | - Shuo-Yang Wen
- Department of Entomology, College of Natural Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510640, China.
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Richards C, Otani S, Mikaelyan A, Poulsen M. Pycnoscelus surinamensis cockroach gut microbiota respond consistently to a fungal diet without mirroring those of fungus-farming termites. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0185745. [PMID: 28973021 PMCID: PMC5626473 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0185745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2017] [Accepted: 08/21/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The gut microbiotas of cockroaches and termites play important roles in the symbiotic digestion of dietary components, such as lignocellulose. Diet has been proposed as a primary determinant of community structure within the gut, acting as a selection force to shape the diversity observed within this “bioreactor”, and as a key factor for the divergence of the termite gut microbiota from the omnivorous cockroach ancestor. The gut microbiota in most termites supports primarily the breakdown of lignocellulose, but the fungus-farming sub-family of higher termites has become similar in gut microbiota to the ancestral omnivorous cockroaches. To assess the importance of a fungus diet as a driver of community structure, we compare community compositions in the guts of experimentally manipulated Pycnoscelus surinamensis cockroaches fed on fungus cultivated by fungus-farming termites. MiSeq amplicon analysis of gut microbiotas from 49 gut samples showed a step-wise gradient pattern in community similarity that correlated with an increase in the proportion of fungal material provided to the cockroaches. Comparison of the taxonomic composition of manipulated communities to that of gut communities of a fungus-feeding termite species showed that although some bacteria OTUs shared by P. surinamensis and the farming termites increased in the guts of cockroaches on a fungal diet, cockroach communities remained distinct from those of termites. These results demonstrate that a fungal diet can play a role in structuring gut community composition, but at the same time exemplifies how original community compositions constrain the magnitude of such change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Callum Richards
- Centre for Social Evolution, Section for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen East, Denmark
| | - Saria Otani
- Centre for Social Evolution, Section for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen East, Denmark
| | - Aram Mikaelyan
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, VU Station B, Nashville, TN, United States of America
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology, & Immunology, Vanderbilt University, VU Station B, Nashville, TN, United States of America
| | - Michael Poulsen
- Centre for Social Evolution, Section for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen East, Denmark
- * E-mail:
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Brune A. Ectosymbiotic Endomicrobia - a transition stage towards intracellular symbionts? Environ Microbiol Rep 2017; 9:474-476. [PMID: 28892291 DOI: 10.1111/1758-2229.12587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2017] [Accepted: 08/26/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Brune
- Insect Gut Microbiology and Symbiosis Group, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
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47
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Boscaro V, James ER, Fiorito R, Hehenberger E, Karnkowska A, Del Campo J, Kolisko M, Irwin NAT, Mathur V, Scheffrahn RH, Keeling PJ. Molecular characterization and phylogeny of four new species of the genus Trichonympha (Parabasalia, Trichonymphea) from lower termite hindguts. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2017; 67:3570-3575. [PMID: 28840814 DOI: 10.1099/ijsem.0.002169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Members of the genus Trichonympha are among the most well-known, recognizable and widely distributed parabasalian symbionts of lower termites and the wood-eating cockroach species of the genus Cryptocercus. Nevertheless, the species diversity of this genus is largely unknown. Molecular data have shown that the superficial morphological similarities traditionally used to identify species are inadequate, and have challenged the view that the same species of the genus Trichonympha can occur in many different host species. Ambiguities in the literature, uncertainty in identification of both symbiont and host, and incomplete samplings are limiting our understanding of the systematics, ecology and evolution of this taxon. Here we describe four closely related novel species of the genus Trichonympha collected from South American and Australian lower termites: Trichonympha hueyi sp. nov. from Rugitermes laticollis, Trichonympha deweyi sp. nov. from Glyptotermes brevicornis, Trichonympha louiei sp. nov. from Calcaritermes temnocephalus and Trichonympha webbyae sp. nov. from Rugitermes bicolor. We provide molecular barcodes to identify both the symbionts and their hosts, and infer the phylogeny of the genus Trichonympha based on small subunit rRNA gene sequences. The analysis confirms the considerable divergence of symbionts of members of the genus Cryptocercus, and shows that the two clades of the genus Trichonympha harboured by termites reflect only in part the phylogeny of their hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vittorio Boscaro
- Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Erick R James
- Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Rebecca Fiorito
- Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | | | - Anna Karnkowska
- Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Department of Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, Faculty of Biology and Biological and Chemical Research Centre, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Javier Del Campo
- Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Martin Kolisko
- Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Nicholas A T Irwin
- Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Varsha Mathur
- Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | | | - Patrick J Keeling
- Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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48
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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. Environ Microbiol Rep 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] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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Ali SS, Wu J, Xie R, Zhou F, Sun J, Huang M. Screening and characterizing of xylanolytic and xylose-fermenting yeasts isolated from the wood-feeding termite, Reticulitermes chinensis. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0181141. [PMID: 28704553 PMCID: PMC5509302 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0181141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2017] [Accepted: 06/21/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The effective fermentation of xylose remains an intractable challenge in bioethanol industry. The relevant xylanase enzyme is also in a high demand from industry for several biotechnological applications that inevitably in recent times led to many efforts for screening some novel microorganisms for better xylanase production and fermentation performance. Recently, it seems that wood-feeding termites can truly be considered as highly efficient natural bioreactors. The highly specialized gut systems of such insects are not yet fully realized, particularly, in xylose fermentation and xylanase production to advance industrial bioethanol technology as well as industrial applications of xylanases. A total of 92 strains from 18 yeast species were successfully isolated and identified from the gut of wood-feeding termite, Reticulitermes chinensis. Of these yeasts and strains, seven were identified for new species: Candida gotoi, Candida pseudorhagii, Hamamotoa lignophila, Meyerozyma guilliermondii, Sugiyamaella sp.1, Sugiyamaella sp. 2, and Sugiyamaella sp.3. Based on the phylogenetic and phenotypic characterization, the type strain of C. pseudorhagii sp. nov., which was originally designated strain SSA-1542T, was the most frequently occurred yeast from termite gut samples, showed the highly xylanolytic activity as well as D-xylose fermentation. The highest xylanase activity was recorded as 1.73 and 0.98 U/mL with xylan or D-xylose substrate, respectively, from SSA-1542T. Among xylanase-producing yeasts, four novel species were identified as D-xylose-fermenting yeasts, where the yeast, C. pseudorhagii SSA-1542T, showed the highest ethanol yield (0.31 g/g), ethanol productivity (0.31 g/L·h), and its fermentation efficiency (60.7%) in 48 h. Clearly, the symbiotic yeasts isolated from termite guts have demonstrated a competitive capability to produce xylanase and ferment xylose, suggesting that the wood-feeding termite gut is a promising reservoir for novel xylanases-producing and xylose-fermenting yeasts that are potentially valued for biorefinery industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sameh Samir Ali
- Biofuels Institute, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China
- Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt
| | - Jian Wu
- Biofuels Institute, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China
| | - Rongrong Xie
- Biofuels Institute, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China
| | - Feng Zhou
- Biofuels Institute, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China
| | - Jianzhong Sun
- Biofuels Institute, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China
- * E-mail:
| | - Miao Huang
- Biofuels Institute, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China
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Tikhe CV, Sethi A, Delatte J, Husseneder C. Isolation and assessment of gut bacteria from the Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae), for paratransgenesis research and application. Insect Sci 2017; 24:93-102. [PMID: 26477889 DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.12282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/17/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Paratransgenesis targeting the gut protozoa is being developed as an alternative method for the control of the Formosan subterranean termite (FST). This method involves killing the cellulose-digesting gut protozoa using a previously developed antiprotozoal peptide consisting of a target specific ligand coupled to an antimicrobial peptide (Hecate). In the future, we intend to genetically engineer termite gut bacteria as "Trojan Horses" to express and spread ligand-Hecate in the termite colony. The aim of this study was to assess the usefulness of bacteria strains isolated from the gut of FST as "Trojan Horses." We isolated 135 bacteria from the guts of workers from 3 termite colonies. Sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene identified 20 species. We tested 5 bacteria species that were previously described as part of the termite gut community for their tolerance against Hecate and ligand-Hecate. Results showed that the minimum concentration required to inhibit bacteria growth was always higher than the concentration required to kill the gut protozoa. Out of the 5 bacteria tested, we engineered Trabulsiella odontotermitis, a termite specific bacterium, to express green fluorescent protein as a proof of concept that the bacteria can be engineered to express foreign proteins. Engineered T. odontotermitis was fed to FST to study if the bacteria are ingested. This feeding experiment confirmed that engineered T. odontotermitis is ingested by termites and can survive in the gut for at least 48 h. Here we report that T. odontotermitis is a suitable delivery and expression system for paratransgenesis in a termite species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chinmay V Tikhe
- Department of Entomology, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803
| | - Amit Sethi
- Department of Entomology, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803
- DuPont-Pioneer, Johnston, IA, 50131-0552, USA
| | - Jennifer Delatte
- Department of Entomology, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803
| | - Claudia Husseneder
- Department of Entomology, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803
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