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Temporal variations in symbiotic hindgut protist community of the subterranean termite Reticulitermes lucifugus Rossi in Sicily

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Abstract

The dynamics of symbiotic protist communities of Reticulitermes lucifugus “Sicily” were investigated to assess the effects of seasonal environmental conditions and the termite’s feeding activity. In worker and soldier castes, the total protist population (total abundance), individual species abundances, and species proportions in their hindguts were examined monthly from December 2012 to February 2014. The main protist species taken into account were Dinenympha fimbriata Kirby, D. gracilis Leidy, Pyrsonympha flagellata Gras., Spirotrichonympha flagellata Grassi u. Fòa, Holomastigotes elongatum Grassi u. Fòa, and Trichonympha agilis Leidy, while others were not specifically identified, but were counted together. Seasonal comparisons between worker and soldier castes were made. Further, monthly data of workers were examined. We always found the presence of symbiontic protists in worker and soldier hindguts, therefore we hypothesize that termites fed without periods of interruption. In both castes the total protist population and species abundance showed variable trends with the highest values in summer. Workers were found to have significantly larger populations of protists and abundances of individual species than soldiers. Similar protist species were observed in both castes and in all periods, except for H. elongatum which was sometimes absent in soldiers. In hindguts of workers and soldiers the proportions of the protist species often showed a significant variation across seasons except for S. flagellata and T. agilis. In both castes we always detected the highest percentage of Dinenympha spp. with respect to the other species. Elements that might influence these aspects are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Agrometeorological Service of Sicily (SIAS) of the Office for Agricultural and Forests–Structural Interventions Department of the Sicily Region for the climatic data provided. We also thank Dr. Antonino Cusumano for his useful contributions in statistical analysis, Prof. Santa Burruano and Dr. Gaetano Conigliaro for their support in the acquiring of the light microscopic images, and Dr. John Borg for the linguistic revision of the manuscript.

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  1. Department of Agricultural and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, Italy, Viale delle Scienze Ed. 4, 90128, Palermo, Italy

    M. Lo Pinto, G. Varrica & A. Agrò

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Correspondence to M. Lo Pinto.

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40_2015_449_MOESM1_ESM.pdf

Online Resource 1 Protist species from hindgut of Reticulitermes lucifugus “Sicily”. (a) Trichonympha agilis (A) and Dinenympha spp.; (b) Spironympha sp.; (c) Pyrsonympha sp.1 (B); (d) Pyrsonympha sp.2, (photos taken using a Axiophot microscope at 400× magnification equipped with an AxioCam digital camera MR5 (Zeiss) (photos a and b) and Laser scanning microscope LSM510 (Zeiss) (photos c and d) (PDF 271 kb)

40_2015_449_MOESM2_ESM.pdf

Online Resource 2 Species abundance (mean ± SE) of Dinenympha spp., P. flagellata, S. flagellata, H. elongatum, T. agilis and “other species” per hindgut of R. lucifugus workers detected on each month from December 2012 to February 2014 in Sicily (Italy)Online Resource 3 Proportions (mean ± SE percentage) of Dinenympha spp., P. flagellata, S. flagellata, H. elongatum, T. agilis and “other species” in hindguts of R. lucifugus workers detected on each month from December 2012 to February 2014 in Sicily (Italy)Online Resource 4 Proportions (mean ± SE percentage) of Dinenympha spp., P. flagellata, S. flagellata, H. elongatum, T. agilis and “other species” in hindguts of R. lucifugus workers and soldiers detected on the different meteorological seasons applied to Northern Hemisphere from December 2012 to February 2014 in Sicily (Italy) (PDF 20 kb)

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Lo Pinto, M., Varrica, G. & Agrò, A. Temporal variations in symbiotic hindgut protist community of the subterranean termite Reticulitermes lucifugus Rossi in Sicily. Insect. Soc. 63, 143–154 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-015-0449-8

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