ANALYSIS OF SYMBIOTIC MICROBIAL COMMUNITY IN THE GUT AND FUNGUS COMB OF ODONTOTERMES LONGIGNATHUS HOLMGREN BASED ON CULTURE DEPENDENT APPROACH

Abstract

Termites are ecologically important arthropods that mediate carbon turnover and maintain soil fertility in terrestrial ecosystems. They owe their ability to degrade lignocellulose to the microorganisms involved in an obligate symbiotic relationship with them. Higher termites have robust prokaryotic gut populations but do not possess eukaryotic gut protists. Higher termites belonging to Subfamily Macrotermitinae depend on fungal symbionts cultured on special structures of termite-faecal origin known as fungus combs. Culture-dependent analysis of the microbial communities in the gut and fungus comb of the fungus-cultivating termite Odontotermes longignathus revealed that the termite gut lacked cellulase producing bacteria. However the bacterial and fungal isolates from the termite fungus comb predominantly belonging to the genus Bacillus and division Ascomycota respectively exhibited cellulase activity, suggesting their role in degrading cellulose, the major constituent of the termite diet. Yeast strains were also isolated from the fungus comb. The present study asserts the importance of the fungal symbionts in cellulose degradation within the Fungus combs and the role of yeast and bacterial species in the Fungus combs aiding the fungal potential.