Abstract
Gut microbial structure in animals depends on the host, dietary habits and local environment. A random event, dietary change or antibiotic treatment may alter the gut environment with possible repercussions for the bacterial community composition and functionality and ultimately host fitness. The present study was focused on the composition, structure and functionality of gut microbiota in Reticulitermes grassei and the data obtained was compared with sequence surveys of three other Reticulitermes species. Each Reticulitermes species had a significantly different bacterial gut microbiota (pairwise significance tests using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test), but a similar pattern of distribution (P-test in weighted Unifrac). The core gut microbiota from the analyzed Reticulitermes species contained 16 bacterial operational taxonomic units. Enzymes (KO) were detected from 14 pathways related to carbohydrate metabolism. R. grassei and R. hesperus, based on relative abundance of KO, had the most similar carbohydrate pathway patterns. In addition, we described the gut microbiota and functionality pathways in R. grassei after a 7-day dietary shift and antibiotic (ciprofloxacin) treatment. Both factors, but above all the antibiotic, altered the relative abundance of certain microbial groups, although the changes were not statistically significant (P-test in weighted Unifrac). The cellulose diet enhanced the carbohydrate pathways related to propanoate, butanoate, ascorbate, and glyoxylate metabolism. The antibiotic treatment affected galactose metabolism, the citrate cycle and inositol phosphate metabolism. Those functional changes may be related to changes in the abundance of several bacterial groups. Our findings provide insights into the stability of the gut microbiota in R. grassei and a resilience response to dietary shift or antibiotic treatment disturbance after 7 days.
Highlights
Termites are unique among social insects because they undergo incomplete metamorphosis and display a diversified caste polyphenism [1]
The present study focused on the microbial composition, structure and functionality of gut microbiota in Reticulitermes grassei [11]
Heatmaps of the most abundant operational taxonomic units (OTU) identified in the gut of several Reticulitermes species were shown in S1 Fig. Clustering analysis revealed that the gut bacterial pattern composition of R. grassei is similar to that of R. hesperus (S1 Fig)
Summary
Termites are unique among social insects because they undergo incomplete metamorphosis and display a diversified caste polyphenism [1]. Termites (Isoptera), cockroaches, and mantids form a well-established lineage of insects, the Dictyoptera. Termites evolved within the cockroaches around 150 Myr ago Six families of termites (collectively called “lower termites”, Mastotermitidae, Kalotermitidae, Hodotermitidae, Termopsidae, Rhinotermitidae and Serritermitidae) and the cockroach Cryptocercus hold a characteristic community of gut microbiota (mainly bacteria and protists). The family Termitidae, have lost their gut protists, having only bacteria [7]. Gut microbiota in wood-feeding insects provide their host with nutrients such as nitrogen and vitamins in appropriate quantities and balance [9, 10]
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