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Ecology of Prokaryotic Microbes in the Guts of Wood- and Litter-Feeding Termites

  • Chapter
Termites: Evolution, Sociality, Symbioses, Ecology

Abstract

The gut of wood- and litter-feeding termites harbors a dense and diverse community of prokaryotes that contribute to the carbon, nitrogen and energy requirements of the insects. Acetogenesis from H2 plus CO2 by hindgut prokaryotes supports up to 1/3 of the respiratory requirement of some termite species; and N2-fixing and uric acid-degrading microbes can have a significant impact on termite N economy. Microelectrode studies reveal that hindguts consist of an anoxic lumen surrounded by a microoxic periphery — a finding consistent with the occurrence of both anaerobic and O2-dependent microbial metabolism in hindguts. They also suggest that the enigmatic dominance of acetogens over methanogens as an H2 “sink” reflects a spatial separation of these H2-consuming populations, with the former being closer to sources of H2 production. Isolation of a number of the prokaryotes (including spirochetes, which have proven to be H2/CO2-acetogens) reveals that termite guts are a source of novel microbial diversity. However, molecular biological analyses indicate that much of that diversity is still poorly represented in culture.

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  1. Department of Microbiology and Center for Microbial Ecology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA, 48824-1101

    John A. Breznak

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  1. Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University, 520-2113, Kamitanakami-Hirano, Otsu, Japan

    Takuya Abe  & Masahiko Higashi  & 

  2. School of Biological Sciences, Queen Mary & Westfield College, University of London, E1 4NS, London, UK

    David Edward Bignell

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Breznak, J.A. (2000). Ecology of Prokaryotic Microbes in the Guts of Wood- and Litter-Feeding Termites. In: Abe, T., Bignell, D.E., Higashi, M. (eds) Termites: Evolution, Sociality, Symbioses, Ecology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3223-9_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3223-9_10

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