Kudo Toshiaki
Faculty of Fisheries, Nagasaki University, Japan.
Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2009 Dec;73(12):2561-7. doi: 10.1271/bbb.90304. Epub 2009 Dec 7.
Termites thrive in the tropics and play an important role in lignocellulose degradation. This ability depends mainly on intestine microbes in the gut, but most of them are so-called unculturable microbes, which can not be cultivated by traditional culture methods. The recent development of molecular approaches such as the PCR method has made it possible to access the enormous numbers of unculturable microbes in the gut of termites. This review explains our research on the ecological role of the termite, the termite-microbe symbiotic system, and the functions of lignocellulose degradation using various molecular methods. In the future, new technologies such as genomics should make it possible to analyze and utilize unculturable microbial resources in natural environments.
白蚁在热带地区大量繁殖，在木质纤维素降解过程中发挥着重要作用。这种能力主要取决于其肠道中的微生物，但其中大多数是所谓的不可培养微生物，无法用传统培养方法进行培养。诸如PCR方法等分子技术的最新发展，使得研究白蚁肠道中大量不可培养微生物成为可能。这篇综述阐述了我们利用各种分子方法对白蚁的生态作用、白蚁-微生物共生系统以及木质纤维素降解功能所开展的研究。未来，诸如基因组学等新技术应能使分析和利用自然环境中不可培养的微生物资源成为可能。
