Abstract
A variety of morphological and functional features of the digestive system of termites is associated with their nutritional adaptation. Wood is mostly the food of termites’ adult larvae, workers and young nymphs. The salivary and intestinal enzymes play an important part in this process. The physiology and biochemistry of the digestion system of termites from the genus Anacanthotermes is still not fully studied. In the present research, we studied the activity of some carbohydrases in termites’ salivary glands. Our data show that the activity of exocellulase in adult termites is 1.5 times more that in young individuals and 3 times more active than in nymphs, while the exocellulase in soldiers remains inactive. Moreover, the activity of celluloses in the intestine of A. turkestanicus is still not fully studied. We observed that exocellulase is involved in the digestion of food polymers in the castes of termites-workers, nymphs and soldiers. Thus, cellulase activity in the intestinal tissue (intrinsic) is manifested at a very low level in all termites’ castes we studied. However, the activity of exocellulase in the intestinal cavity (symbiotic) increases 3.5 times in workers, 3.0 times in nymphs and 2.4 times in soldiers compared to that in intestinal tissue. In addition, the intrinsic activity of this enzyme differed little in all three castes of termites, whereas the symbiotic activity in workers and nymphs was more showed than in soldiers.
Highlights
The physiology and biochemistry of termites were investigated in irrigated and arid Land in the Aral Sea Basin in Central Asia
To solve a number of issues related to the vital activity of termites Anacanthotermes ahngerianus and A. turkestanicus, were used generally accepted methods (Skirkyavichyus, 1986)
We have shown that in the salivary glands of A. turkestanicus there are hydrolytic systems involved in the initial and final stages of carbohydrate hydrolysis
Summary
The physiology and biochemistry of termites were investigated in irrigated and arid Land in the Aral Sea Basin in Central Asia. Termite-related damage in buildings of this region was monitored (including ancient constructions in historical town of Khiva, a UNESCO cultural heritage site) (Abdullaev et al, 2002). The termites of the Isoptera order are small or medium-sized insects, usually avoiding light and living in families in special nests built in the ground, wood, or constructed from a special cardboard-like material (Gilyarov et al, 1984; Legendre et al, 2013). There are only 7 species of termites in the CIS, which are representatives of four families Alfred (1980). The famous cities of Central Asia such as Bukhara, Samarkand and Khiva, situated in the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan, are home to several historical monuments of great cultural importance. Most of the monuments in Khiva (Figure 1) located in the Khoresm province in the western part of Uzbekistan are severely damaged by termites the harvester termite, Anacanthotermes ahngerianus (Khamraev et al, 2004, 2006)
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