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Metabolic pathways in the mixed segment of the wood-feeding termite Nasutitermes takasagoensis (Blattodea (Isoptera): Termitidae)

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Abstract

Alimentary canals of higher termites are equipped with a complex structural segment consisting of mesenteric and proctodeal epithelial tissues, which is termed the mixed segment. To assess metabolic functions occurring in the mixed segment, Nasutitermes takasagoensis (Shiraki) transcriptomes were obtained from the mixed segment and adjacent gut regions (midgut and first proctodeal segment) and were annotated using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) database. The predominant metabolic function detected in the mixed segment was energy production via oxidative phosphorylation. As KEGG orthologs involved in lysosomal and phagosomal systems were also characteristic of this segment, cellular components are probably recycled rather than newly produced, allowing higher energy production. The predominant adenosine triphosphate (ATP) consumer in the mixed segment was vacuolar-type H+-ATPase (V-ATPase), known to be involved in K+ transport in many insects. Based on our data, V-ATPases appear to electrogenically drive NHE6 or NHE7 (NHE6/7) K+/H+ antiporters to stimulate K+ secretion, increasing gut lumen pH. The mixed segment also expressed higher levels than did the adjacent gut regions of carbonic anhydrase, another contributor to gut alkalization through HCO3 − production. Thus, metabolic pathways in the mixed segment might promote lignocellulose solubilization in higher termites’ gut, contributing to their success.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Drs. Hideaki Maekawa, Masaru Hojo, Takahiro Hosokawa, Kaori Yamada, and Mr. Yukihiro Kinjo for their valuable assistance during this study. This research was supported by Grants from COMB at University of the Ryukyus, Narishige Zoological Science Award, and KAKENHI No. 26292177 from JSPS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Engineering and Science, University of the Ryukyus, 1 Senbaru, Nishihara, Okinawa, 903-0213, Japan

    Rohitha P. Kumara, Hiroaki Aoyama & Gaku Tokuda

  2. Tropical Biosphere Research Center, COMB, University of the Ryukyus, 1 Senbaru, Nishihara, Okinawa, 903-0213, Japan

    Rohitha P. Kumara, Seikoh Saitoh, Hiroaki Aoyama, Naoya Shinzato & Gaku Tokuda

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  1. Rohitha P. Kumara
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  2. Seikoh Saitoh
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  3. Hiroaki Aoyama
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  5. Gaku Tokuda
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Correspondence to Gaku Tokuda.

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Kumara, R.P., Saitoh, S., Aoyama, H. et al. Metabolic pathways in the mixed segment of the wood-feeding termite Nasutitermes takasagoensis (Blattodea (Isoptera): Termitidae). Appl Entomol Zool 51, 429–440 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13355-016-0417-4

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