Inheritance and diversification of symbiotic trichonymphid flagellates from a common ancestor of termites and the cockroach Cryptocercus.

Morphology, phylogeny, and diversity of Trichonympha (Parabasalia: Hypermastigida) of the wood-feeding cockroach Cryptocercus punctulatus.

Trichonympha is one of the most complex and visually striking of the hypermastigote parabasalids-a group of anaerobic flagellates found exclusively in hindguts of lower termites and the wood-feeding cockroach Cryptocercus-but it is one of only two genera common to both groups of insects. We investigated Trichonympha of Cryptocercus using light and electron microscopy (scanning and transmission)...

Ccviii. a Cellulase from the Symbiotic Intestinal Flagellates of Termites and of the Roach, Cryptocercus Punctula Tus

Ancestral transfer of symbionts between cockroaches and termites: an unlikely scenario.

Thorne's (Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 241, 37 (1990] studies of the laboratory behaviour of extant woodroaches (Cryptocercus) and termites (Zootermopsis) suggest that transfaunation of hindgut protozoans potentially could occur by aggression and consumption in the field. However, existing literature suggests no overlap in protozoan species composition for these two taxa. Furthermore, it is doubtful t...

Gut Bacterial Community of the Xylophagous Cockroaches Cryptocercus punctulatus and Parasphaeria boleiriana

Cryptocercus punctulatus and Parasphaeria boleiriana are two distantly related xylophagous and subsocial cockroaches. Cryptocercus is related to termites. Xylophagous cockroaches and termites are excellent model organisms for studying the symbiotic relationship between the insect and their microbiota. In this study, high-throughput 454 pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA was used to investigate the dive...

What Kills the Hindgut Flagellates of Lower Termites during the Host Molting Cycle?

Subsocial wood feeding cockroaches in the genus Cryptocercus, the sister group of termites, retain their symbiotic gut flagellates during the host molting cycle, but in lower termites, closely related flagellates die prior to host ecdysis. Although the prevalent view is that termite flagellates die because of conditions of starvation and desiccation in the gut during the host molting cycle, the...