Dataset Information

Enzyme Activities at Different Stages of Plant Biomass Decomposition in Three Species of Fungus-Growing Termites.

ABSTRACT: Fungus-growing termites rely on mutualistic fungi of the genus Termitomyces and gut microbes for plant biomass degradation. Due to a certain degree of symbiont complementarity, this tripartite symbiosis has evolved as a complex bioreactor, enabling decomposition of nearly any plant polymer, likely contributing to the success of the termites as one of the main plant decomposers in the Old World. In this study, we evaluated which plant polymers are decomposed and which enzymes are active during the decomposition process in two major genera of fungus-growing termites. We found a diversity of active enzymes at different stages of decomposition and a consistent decrease in plant components during the decomposition process. Furthermore, our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that termites transport enzymes from the older mature parts of the fungus comb through young worker guts to freshly inoculated plant substrate. However, preliminary fungal RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analyses suggest that this likely transport is supplemented with enzymes produced in situ Our findings support that the maintenance of an external fungus comb, inoculated with an optimal mixture of plant material, fungal spores, and enzymes, is likely the key to the extraordinarily efficient plant decomposition in fungus-growing termites.IMPORTANCE Fungus-growing termites have a substantial ecological footprint in the Old World (sub)tropics due to their ability to decompose dead plant material. Through the establishment of an elaborate plant biomass inoculation strategy and through fungal and bacterial enzyme contributions, this farming symbiosis has become an efficient and versatile aerobic bioreactor for plant substrate conversion. Since little is known about what enzymes are expressed and where they are active at different stages of the decomposition process, we used enzyme assays, transcriptomics, and plant content measurements to shed light on how this decomposition of plant substrate is so effectively accomplished.

SUBMITTER: da Costa RR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5812949 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Enzyme Activities at Different Stages of Plant Biomass Decomposition in Three Species of Fungus-Growing Termites.

da Costa Rafael R RR Hu Haofu H Pilgaard Bo B Vreeburg Sabine M E SME Schückel Julia J Pedersen Kristine S K KSK Kračun Stjepan K SK Busk Peter K PK Harholt Jesper J Sapountzis Panagiotis P Lange Lene L Aanen Duur K DK Poulsen Michael M

Applied and environmental microbiology 20180214 5

Fungus-growing termites rely on mutualistic fungi of the genus <i>Termitomyces</i> and gut microbes for plant biomass degradation. Due to a certain degree of symbiont complementarity, this tripartite symbiosis has evolved as a complex bioreactor, enabling decomposition of nearly any plant polymer, likely contributing to the success of the termites as one of the main plant decomposers in the Old World. In this study, we evaluated which plant polymers are decomposed and which enzymes are active du ...[more]

PMID: 29269491

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Termites of the subfamily Macrotermitinae live in a mutualistic symbiosis with basidiomycete fungi of the genus Termitomyces. Here, we explored interaction specificity in fungus-growing termites using samples from 101 colonies in South-Africa and Senegal, belonging to eight species divided over three genera. Knowledge of interaction specificity is important to test the hypothesis that inhabitants (symbionts) are taxonomically less diverse than 'exhabitants' (hosts) and to test the hypothesis that transmission mode is an important determinant for interaction specificity. RESULTS:Analysis of Molecular Variance among symbiont ITS sequences across termite hosts at three hierarchical levels showed that 47 % of the variation occurred between genera, 18 % between species, and the remaining 35 % between colonies within species. Different patterns of specificity were evident. High mutual specificity was found for the single Macrotermes species studied, as M. natalensis was associated with a single unique fungal haplotype. The three species of the genus Odontotermes showed low symbiont specificity: they were all associated with a genetically diverse set of fungal symbionts, but their fungal symbionts showed some host specificity, as none of the fungal haplotypes were shared between the studied Odontotermes species. Finally, bilaterally low specificity was found for the four tentatively recognized species of the genus Microtermes, which shared and apparently freely exchanged a common pool of divergent fungal symbionts. CONCLUSION:Interaction specificity was high at the genus level and generally much lower at the species level. A comparison of the observed diversity among fungal symbionts with the diversity among termite hosts, indicated that the fungal symbiont does not follow the general pattern of an endosymbiont, as we found either similar diversity at both sides or higher diversity in the symbiont. Our results further challenge the hypothesis that transmission-mode is a general key-determinant of interaction specificity in fungus-growing termites.

Dataset Information

Enzyme Activities at Different Stages of Plant Biomass Decomposition in Three Species of Fungus-Growing Termites.

Publications

Enzyme Activities at Different Stages of Plant Biomass Decomposition in Three Species of Fungus-Growing Termites.

Similar Datasets

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