Symbiotic adaptation of bacteria in the gut of Reticulitermes speratus: low endo-beta-1,4-glucanase activity.

The termite is a good model of symbiosis between microbes and hosts and possesses an effective cellulose digestive system. Oxygen-tolerant bacteria, such as Dyella sp., Chryseobacterium sp., and Bacillus sp., were isolated from Reticulitermes speratus gut. Notably, the endo-beta-1,4-glucanase (EG) activity of all 16 strains of isolated bacteria was low. Due to the combined activity of EG from the termites and their symbiotic protozoa, the bacteria might not be compelled to express EG. This observation demonstrates how well intestinal bacteria have assimilated themselves into the efficient cellulose digestive systems of termites.