Diversity and resilience of the wood-feeding higher termite Mironasutitermes shangchengensis gut microbiota in response to temporal and diet variations.

Lijuan Su,Cunpei Bo,Ying Wang,Sen Yang,Shi Huang,Fengqin Wang,Yan Li,Hui Xie,Andong Song,Jian Xu

doi:10.1002/ece3.2497

Abstract

Termites are considered among the most efficient bioreactors, with high capacities for lignocellulose degradation and utilization. Recently, several studies have characterized the gut microbiota of diverse termites. However, the temporal dynamics of the gut microbiota within a given termite with dietary diversity are poorly understood. Here, we employed 16S rDNA barcoded pyrosequencing analysis to investigate temporal changes in bacterial diversity and richness of the gut microbiota of wood‐feeding higher termite Mironasutitermes shangchengensis under three lignocellulose content‐based diets that feature wood, corn stalks, and filter paper. Compositions of the predominant termite gut residents were largely constant among the gut microbiomes under different diets, but each diet caused specific changes in the bacterial composition over time. Notably, microbial communities exhibited an unexpectedly strong resilience during continuous feeding on both corn stalks and filter paper. Members of five bacterial phyla, that is, Spirochaetes, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Tenericutes, and Acidobacteria, were strongly associated with the resilience. These findings provide insights into the stability of the gut microbiota in higher termites and have important implications for the future design of robust bioreactors for lignocellulose degradation and utilization.

Highlights

Termites have a high capacity for lignocellulose degradation and are believed to possess natural and efficient microscale lignocellulose bioconversion systems (Liu et al, 2011)
The results revealed that the termite gut bacterial community changed over time, and different diets significantly affected the compositions of the gut microbiota
The termite gut microbiota ecosystem remains of interest, mainly due to their high capacity for degrading wood and other lignocellulosic substrates (Dietrich, Köhler, & Brune, 2014)

Summary

| INTRODUCTION

Termites have a high capacity for lignocellulose degradation and are believed to possess natural and efficient microscale lignocellulose bioconversion systems (Liu et al, 2011). We characterized the temporal changes in the gut bacterial communities of the wood-feeding higher termite Mironasutitermes shangchengensis under different diet disturbances by pyrosequencing the 16S rDNA amplicons. Samples were collected from termites fed with the wood diet on day 0 as a control for the other treatments (i.e., corn stalks and filter paper) because wood is the natural diet of termites. Members of five bacterial phyla were strongly associated with the resilience These findings provide insights into the stability of the gut microbiota in higher termites and have important implications for the future design of robust bioreactors for lignocellulose degradation and utilization. After treatment with different diets and time periods, 50 healthy M. shangchengensis individuals were selected from each group Their exterior surfaces were washed with 70% ethanol and sterilized with distilled water before dissection. 27 DNA samples were obtained, which were stored at −20°C until use

| MATERIALS AND METHODS

Findings

| DISCUSSION