title: Lignin degradation in wood-feeding insects.
abstract: The aromatic polymer lignin protects plants from most forms of microbial attack. Despite the fact that a significant fraction of all lignocellulose degraded passes through arthropod guts, the fate of lignin in these systems is not known. Using tetramethylammonium hydroxide thermochemolysis, we show lignin degradation by two insect species, the Asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) and the Pacific dampwood termite (Zootermopsis angusticollis). In both the beetle and termite, significant levels of propyl side-chain oxidation (depolymerization) and demethylation of ring methoxyl groups is detected; for the termite, ring hydroxylation is also observed. In addition, culture-independent fungal gut community analysis of A. glabripennis identified a single species of fungus in the Fusarium solani/Nectria haematococca species complex. This is a soft-rot fungus that may be contributing to wood degradation. These results transform our understanding of lignin degradation by wood-feeding insects.
authors: Department of Entomology and Center for Chemical Ecology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
authors: Scott M
authors: SM
authors: Geib
authors: Timothy R
authors: TR
authors: Filley
authors: Patrick G
authors: PG
authors: Hatcher
authors: Kelli
authors: K
authors: Hoover
authors: John E
authors: JE
authors: Carlson
authors: Maria del Mar
authors: Mdel M
authors: Jimenez-Gasco
authors: Akiko
authors: A
authors: Nakagawa-Izumi
authors: Rachel L
authors: RL
authors: Sleighter
authors: Ming
authors: M
authors: Tien
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004064:Digestive System / Q000382:microbiology; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D006900:Hydroxylation; D020049:Isoptera / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000382:microbiology; D008031:Lignin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D008745:Methylation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D014934:Wood / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D008031:Lignin