Intracolonial differences in gut bacterial community between worker and soldier castes of Coptotermes formosanus

• Published in: Insect science 2012-02, Vol.19 (1), p.86-95
• Main Authors: Xiang, Hui, Xie, Lei, Zhang, Jun, Long, Yan‐Hua, Liu, Ning, Huang, Yong‐Ping, Wang, Qian
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 16S rDNA; 16S核糖体DNA; Abundance; Bacteria; bacterial communities; cellulose; Coptotermes formosanus; denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis; digestive system; fermentation; gut bacteria community; intestinal microorganisms; rDNA序列; ribosomal DNA; Spirochaetales; sugars; symbionts; symbiosis; uric acid; wood; 兵种; 变性梯度凝胶电泳; 家白蚁; 工人; 细菌群落; 肠道微生物
• ISSN: 1672-9609; 1744-7917
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-7917.2011.01435.x

Abstract The establishment of symbiotic relationships with intestinal microorganisms enables termites to thrive on recalcitrant substrates such as cellulose and wood. A termite colony is composed of several different castes which have distinct feeding habits. The soldiers, for example, cannot feed by themselves and depend on workers, who feed them with digested or semi‐digested foods. To investigate the influence of feeding habits on the bacterial symbionts, a comparative study of gut bacteria between worker and soldier castes of the termite Coptotermes formosanus was conducted. The bacterial communities of both castes were investigated using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and clonal analysis of 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA). Both methods indicated Bacteroidetes was the common predominant group; the common dominant phylotype was affiliated with a reported uncultured Bacteroidetes phylotype (BCf1–03). There were significant differences in Bacteroidetes and Spirochaetes between two castes. Compared to the gut bacteria of workers, those of soldiers were lower in abundance and diversity of Bacteroidetes and slightly higher in Spirochaetes. Two phylotypes (W8, W11) affiliated to Bacteroidetes and two (W26, W29) affiliated to Spirochaetes were exclusively found in the DGGE profile of the worker caste. Bacteroidetes are assumed to be involved in fermentation of sugars and nitrogenous compounds as well as degradation of uric acid. Spirochaetes are supposed to aid in the functions of acetogenesis and N2‐fixation. The different feeding habits between workers and soldiers of C. formosanus may explain the observed differences in the gut bacterial community.