title: Physicochemical conditions, metabolites and community structure of the bacterial microbiota in the gut of wood-feeding cockroaches (Blaberidae: Panesthiinae).
abstract: While the gut microbiota of termites and its role in symbiotic digestion have been studied for decades, little is known about the bacteria colonizing the intestinal tract of the distantly related wood-feeding cockroaches (Blaberidae: Panesthiinae). Here, we show that physicochemical gut conditions and microbial fermentation products in the gut of Panesthia angustipennis resemble that of other cockroaches. Microsensor measurements confirmed that all gut compartments were anoxic at the center and had a slightly acidic to neutral pH and a negative redox potential. While acetate dominated in all compartments, lactate and hydrogen accumulated only in the crop. The high, hydrogen-limited rates of methane emission from living cockroaches were in agreement with the restriction of F420-fluorescent methanogens to the hindgut. The gut microbiota of both P. angustipennis and Salganea esakii differed strongly between compartments, with the highest density and diversity in the hindgut, but similarities between homologous compartments of both cockroaches indicated a specificity of the microbiota for their respective habitats. While some lineages were most closely related to the gut microbiota of omnivorous cockroaches and wood- or litter-feeding termites, others have been encountered also in vertebrates, reinforcing the hypothesis that strong environmental selection drives community structure in the cockroach gut.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biogeochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Eugen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bauer
authors.affiliation: Department of Biogeochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Niclas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lampert
authors.affiliation: Department of Biogeochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Aram
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mikaelyan
authors.affiliation: Department of Biogeochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Köhler
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Science and Engineering, University of Toyama, 3190 Gofuku, Toyama 930-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Kiyoto
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Maekawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Biogeochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany brune@mpi-marburg.mpg.de.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brune
mesh_terms: D000085:Acetates / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D003058:Cockroaches / Q000382:microbiology*; D017753:Ecosystem; D006859:Hydrogen / Q000378:metabolism; D007422:Intestines / Q000382:microbiology*; D020049:Isoptera / Q000382:microbiology; D008031:Lignin / Q000378:metabolism; D008697:Methane / Q000378:metabolism*; D064307:Microbiota / Q000235:genetics*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014934:Wood / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000085:Acetates; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; C036909:lignocellulose; D006859:Hydrogen; D008031:Lignin; D008697:Methane
keywords: cockroach; diversity; gut microbiota; hydrogen; lignocellulose