Diet is the primary determinant of bacterial community structure in the guts of higher termites.
The gut microbiota of termites plays critical roles in the symbiotic digestion of lignocellulose. While phylogenetically 'lower termites' are characterized by a unique association with cellulolytic flagellates, higher termites (family Termitidae) harbour exclusively prokaryotic communities in their dilated hindguts. Unlike the more primitive termite families, which primarily feed on wood, they have adapted to a variety of lignocellulosic food sources in different stages of humification, ranging from sound wood to soil organic matter. In this study, we comparatively analysed representatives of different taxonomic lineages and feeding groups of higher termites to identify the major drivers of bacterial community structure in the termite gut, using amplicon libraries of 16S rRNA genes from 18 species of higher termites. In all analyses, the wood-feeding species were clearly separated from humus and soil feeders, irrespective of their taxonomic affiliation, offering compelling evidence that diet is the primary determinant of bacterial community structure. Within each diet group, however, gut communities of termites from the same subfamily were more similar than those of distantly related species. A highly resolved classification using a curated reference database revealed only few genus-level taxa whose distribution patterns indicated specificity for certain host lineages, limiting any possible cospeciation between the gut microbiota and host to short evolutionary timescales. Rather, the observed patterns in the host-specific distribution of the bacterial lineages in termite guts are best explained by diet-related differences in the availability of microhabitats and functional niches.
Department of Biogeochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Karl-von-Frisch-Str. 10, 35043, Marburg, Germany.|LOEWE Center for Synthetic Microbiology, SYNMIKRO, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
Aram
A
Mikaelyan
Department of Biogeochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Karl-von-Frisch-Str. 10, 35043, Marburg, Germany.
Carsten
C
Dietrich
Department of Biogeochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Karl-von-Frisch-Str. 10, 35043, Marburg, Germany.
Tim
T
Köhler
Section for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, Centre for Social Evolution, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen East, Denmark.
Michael
M
Poulsen
Laboratory of Experimental and Comparative Ethology (LEEC), University of Paris 13, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Villetaneuse, France.|Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences - Paris (iEES-Paris), Institute of Research for Development, Sorbonne Universités, Bondy, France.
David
D
Sillam-Dussès
Department of Biogeochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Karl-von-Frisch-Str. 10, 35043, Marburg, Germany.|LOEWE Center for Synthetic Microbiology, SYNMIKRO, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
Andreas
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2667-4391
A
Brune
D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo; D004032:Diet; D005616:French Guiana; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000382:microbiology*; D020049:Isoptera / Q000145:classification / Q000382:microbiology*; D064307:Microbiota; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012987:Soil; D013019:South Africa; D013559:Symbiosis; D014934:Wood
D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D012987:Soil
gut microbiota; insects; pyrosequencing; termites