Fröhlich J, Koustiane C, Kämpfer P, Rosselló-Mora R, Valens M, Berchtold M, Kuhnigk T, Hertel H, Maheshwari DK, König H. Occurrence of rhizobia in the gut of the higher termite Nasutitermes nigriceps.
Syst Appl Microbiol 2006;
30:68-74. [PMID:
16584862 DOI:
10.1016/j.syapm.2006.03.001]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [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: 02/15/2006] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Wood-eating termites feed on a diet highly deficient in nitrogen. They must complement their diet with the aid of nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Nitrogen fixation in the gut has been demonstrated, but information about nitrogen-fixing bacteria in pure culture is scarce. From the higher termite Nasutitermes nigriceps the symbiotic bacterial strain M3A was isolated, which thrives in the hindgut contents. The Gram-negative strain exhibited similarities to the species of the genus Ensifer (including Sinorhizobium) on the basis of morphological and physiological/biochemical features. The 16S rRNA gene analysis showed the highest sequence similarity of the isolate M3A to Ensifer adhaerens (>99%; ATCC 33499). The DNA-DNA hybridization revealed a similarity of 66% with E. adhaerens (NCIMB12342(T)). In contrast to the type strain the isolate M3A possesses the capacity to nodulate plant roots. This is the first report on the detailed identification of a rhizobia-related strain from the intestinal tract of animals. Strain M3A has been deposited with two culture collections (DSM10169; ATCC BAA-396).
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