Phylogenetic diversity of symbiotic methanogens living in the hindgut of the lower termite Reticulitermes speratus analyzed by PCR and in situ hybridization.

Complete Genome Sequence of Elizabethkingia sp. BM10, a Symbiotic Bacterium of the Wood-Feeding Termite Reticulitermes speratus KMT1

Elizabethkingia sp. BM10 was isolated from the hindgut of the wood-feeding termite Reticulitermes speratus KMT1. It had cellobiohydrolase and β-glucosidase activities but not endo-β-glucanase activity. The complete sequence of its genome, which has a total size of 4,242,519 bases, is reported here. The genomic analysis identified six β-glucosidase candidate genes and three β-glucanase candidate...

Termite gut flagellates and their bacterial symbionts: Phylogenetic analysis and localization in situ

SSU rRNA genes of oxymonad protists from the hindgut of the wood-feeding termite Reticulitermes flavipes were PCR-amplified using a newly designed oxymonad-specific forward primer and a newly designed reverse primer specific for termite gut flagellates. After cloning, the clone library was sorted into four groups by RFLP analysis, and nearly full-length SSU rRNA gene sequences were obtained for...

Community Analysis of Hindgut Methanogens in Worker versus Soldier Cast Members of the Lower Termite Species, Reticulitermes flavipes

Comprehensive Phylogenetic Diversity of [FeFe]-Hydrogenase Genes in Termite Gut Microbiota

Phylogenetic diversity of [FeFe]-hydrogenase (HydA) in termite guts was assessed by pyrosequencing PCR amplicons obtained using newly designed primers. Of 8,066 reads, 776 hydA phylotypes, defined with 97% nucleotide sequence identity, were recovered from the gut homogenates of three termite species, Hodotermopsis sjoestedti, Reticulitermes speratus, and Nasutitermes takasagoensis. The phylotyp...

Trichonympha burlesquei n. sp. from Reticulitermes virginicus and evidence against a cosmopolitan distribution of Trichonympha agilis in many termite hosts.

Historically, symbiotic protists in termite hindguts have been considered to be the same species if they are morphologically similar, even if they are found in different host species. For example, the first-described hindgut and hypermastigote parabasalian, Trichonympha agilis (Leidy, 1877) has since been documented in six species of Reticulitermes, in addition to the original discovery in Reti...