Metagenomic Analysis of the Whole Gut Microbiota in Brazilian Termitidae Termites Cornitermes cumulans, Cyrilliotermes strictinasus, Syntermes dirus, Nasutitermes jaraguae, Nasutitermes aquilinus, Grigiotermes bequaerti, and Orthognathotermes mirim.

Abstract

Although some previous studies have described the microbial diversity of termite in Brazil, the lack of studies about this subject is still evident. In the present study, we described by whole genome sequencing, the gut microbiota of seven species of termites (Termitidae) with different feeding habits from four Brazilian locations. For the litter species, the most abundant bacterial phylum was Firmicutes, where Cornitermes cumulans and Syntermes dirus (Syntermitinae) were identified. For the humus species, the most abundant bacterial phylum was Proteobacteria where three species were studied: Cyrilliotermes strictinasus (Syntermitinae), Grigiotermes bequaerti (Apicotermitinae), and Orthognathotermes mirim (Termitinae). For the wood termites, Firmicutes and Spirochaetes were the most abundant phyla, respectively, where two species were identified: Nasutitermes aquilinus and Nasutitermes jaraguae (Nasutitermitinae). The gut microbiota of all four examined subfamilies shared a conserved functional and carbohydrate-active enzyme profile and specialized in cellulose and chitin degradation. Taken together, these results provide insight into the partnerships between termite and microbes that permit the use of refractory energy sources.