Shi Yu, Huang Zhou, Han Shuai, Fan Shuo, Yang Hong
Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, Institute of Entomology, School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, P.R. China.
J Basic Microbiol. 2015 Aug;55(8):1021-8. doi: 10.1002/jobm.201400678. Epub 2015 Feb 24.
Termites are among the few arthropods that emit methane to the atmosphere, which is a significant source of global greenhouse gas due to their huge biomass on earth. In this study, phylogenetic diversity of Archaea of five termite species from different lineages were analyzed based on 16S rRNA genes. Archaea associated with wood-feeding lower termite, R. chinensis were exclusively Methanobrevibacter in the order Methanobacteriales. This type of methanogens was also found in Nasutitermes sp. and Microcerotermes sp. but not in the fungus-cultivating termites, Odontotermes formosanus and Macrotermes barneyi, which harbor Archaea of the order Methanoplasmatales and Methanosarcinales in their guts. Archaeal diversity of wood-feeding higher termites was higher than wood-feeding lower termites. The highest archaeal diversity was found in Nasutitermes sp. In addition to methanogens affiliated with the orders Methanobacteriales, Methanomicrobiales, and Methanoplasmatales, 37% of archaeal clones were affiliated with non-methanogenic Thaumarchaeota. The results of this study will be significant for further understanding of symbiotic relationship between intestinal microbiota and termites.
白蚁是少数向大气排放甲烷的节肢动物之一，由于它们在地球上的巨大生物量，甲烷是全球温室气体的重要来源。在本研究中，基于16S rRNA基因分析了来自不同谱系的五种白蚁的古菌系统发育多样性。与以木材为食的低等白蚁中华散白蚁相关的古菌仅为甲烷杆菌目中的短柄甲烷杆菌。这种类型的产甲烷菌在鼻白蚁属和微角白蚁属中也有发现，但在培养真菌的白蚁黑翅土白蚁和黄翅大白蚁中未发现，它们的肠道中含有甲烷原体目和甲烷八叠球菌目的古菌。以木材为食的高等白蚁的古菌多样性高于以木材为食的低等白蚁。在鼻白蚁属中发现了最高的古菌多样性。除了与甲烷杆菌目、甲烷微菌目和甲烷原体目相关的产甲烷菌外，37%的古菌克隆与非产甲烷的奇古菌门相关。本研究结果对于进一步了解肠道微生物群与白蚁之间的共生关系具有重要意义。
