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The gut microbiota of the wood-feeding termite Reticulitermes lucifugus (Isoptera; Rhinotermitidae)

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Abstract

Termite gut is host to a complex microbial community consisting of prokaryotes, and in some cases flagellates, responsible for the degradation of lignocellulosic material. Here we report data concerning the analysis of the gut microbiota of Reticulitermes lucifugus (Rossi), a lower termite species that lives in underground environments and is widespread in Italy, where it causes damage to wood structures of historical and artistic monuments. A 16S rRNA gene clone library revealed that the R. lucifugus gut is colonized by members of five phyla in the domain Bacteria: Firmicutes (49 % of clones), Proteobacteria (24 %), Spirochaetes (14 %), the candidatus TG1 phylum (12 %), and Bacteroidetes (1 %). A collection of cellulolytic aerobic bacteria was isolated from the gut of R. lucifugus by enrichment cultures on different cellulose and lignocellulose substrates. Results showed that the largest amount of culturable cellulolytic bacteria of R. lucifugus belongs to Firmicutes in the genera Bacillus and Paenibacillus (67 %). These isolates are also able to grow on xylan and show the largest clear zone diameter in the Congo red test. Reticulitermes lucifugus hosts a diverse community of bacteria and could be considered an acceptable source of hydrolytic enzymes for biotechnological applications.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank G. Varrica for insect collection and dissections.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche, Chimiche e Farmaceutiche, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Edif.16, 90128, Palermo, Italy

    Gabriella Butera & Paola Quatrini

  2. Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Forestali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Palermo, Italy

    Gabriella Butera, Clelia Ferraro, Giuseppe Alonzo & Stefano Colazza

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  1. Gabriella Butera
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  2. Clelia Ferraro
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  3. Giuseppe Alonzo
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Correspondence to Paola Quatrini.

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Table S1

Phylogenetic affiliation, isolation and degradation abilities of cellulolytic bacteria isolated from R. lucifugus gut a Phylogenetic affiliation obtained by the naïve Bayesian rRNA classifier version 2.4, Ribosomal Database Project II (RDP). bSequence similarity according to BLAST search in the NCBI non-redundant database. cSubstrate used for isolation from enrichment cultures.dCMC degradation measured on Medium 2 as diameter size of the clear zone: <1 cm = +; 1 cm = + +; > 1 cm = + + + (average of two replicates) (XLS 61 kb)

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Butera, G., Ferraro, C., Alonzo, G. et al. The gut microbiota of the wood-feeding termite Reticulitermes lucifugus (Isoptera; Rhinotermitidae). Ann Microbiol 66, 253–260 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13213-015-1101-6

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