Wu Wenjing, Hou Yahui, Zhang Shijun, Chen Yong, Zeng Wenhui, Li Zhiqiang
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Animal Conservation and Resource Utilization, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Wild Animal Conservation and Utilization, Institute of Zoology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510260, China.
Guangzhou Institute of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, Guangzhou 510405, China.
Insects. 2021 Oct 11;12(10):927. doi: 10.3390/insects12100927.
Effective approaches to exploiting the biomass of the abundant invasive weed Kunth are limited. Termites have been a focus of significant attention as mediators of biomass-processing owing to their ability to digest lignocellulose. Here, the GC/TOF-MS approach was employed to assess the effects of a diet composed of leaves on workers, with the growth performance of these workers also being assessed. The workers increased their dietary intake when fed leaves, with a concomitant gradual increase in mortality rate. A total of 62 differentially abundant metabolites and nine significantly affected pathways were found when comparing termites fed leaves to pinewood. Key metabolites, including carbohydrates, polyols, 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, and their related metabolic pathways, suggested that termites can digest and utilize -derived lignocellulose. However, changes in the tryptophan metabolism, tyrosine metabolism, and sphingolipid metabolism suggest an adverse effect of leaves on antioxidant activity and signal transduction in termites. Overall, this study identified the key metabolites and pathways associated with the response of these termites to dietary changes and the effect of on termites.
利用大量入侵杂草库恩草生物量的有效方法有限。白蚁因其消化木质纤维素的能力，作为生物量处理的媒介受到了极大关注。在此，采用气相色谱/飞行时间质谱法评估以树叶为食对工蚁的影响，并对这些工蚁的生长性能进行评估。喂食树叶时，工蚁的食物摄入量增加，同时死亡率逐渐上升。将喂食树叶的白蚁与喂食松木的白蚁进行比较时，共发现62种差异丰富的代谢物和9条显著受影响的途径。关键代谢物，包括碳水化合物、多元醇、4-羟基苯乙酸及其相关代谢途径，表明白蚁能够消化和利用树叶衍生的木质纤维素。然而，色氨酸代谢、酪氨酸代谢和鞘脂代谢的变化表明树叶对白蚁的抗氧化活性和信号转导有不利影响。总体而言，本研究确定了与这些白蚁对饮食变化的反应以及树叶对白蚁的影响相关的关键代谢物和途径。
