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Gut microbial compositions mirror caste‐specific diets in a major lineage of social insects
Author(s) -
Otani Saria,
Zhukova Mariya,
Koné N'golo Abdoulaye,
da Costa Rafael Rodrigues,
Mikaelyan Aram,
Sapountzis Panagiotis,
Poulsen Michael
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
environmental microbiology reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.229
H-Index - 69
ISSN - 1758-2229
DOI - 10.1111/1758-2229.12728
Subject(s) - caste , biology , amplicon sequencing , division of labour , fungus , microbial population biology , microbiome , lineage (genetic) , ecology , taxon , phylum , insect , zoology , botany , bacteria , 16s ribosomal rna , genetics , gene , philosophy , linguistics , economics , market economy
Summary Social insects owe their ecological success to the division of labour between castes, but associations between microbial community compositions and castes with different tasks and diets have not been extensively explored. Fungus‐growing termites associate with fungi to degrade plant material, complemented by diverse gut microbial communities. Here, we explore whether division of labour and accompanying dietary differences between fungus‐growing termite castes are linked to gut bacterial community structure. Using amplicon sequencing, we characterize community compositions in sterile (worker and soldier) and reproductive (queen and king) termites and combine this with gut enzyme activities and microscopy to hypothesise sterile caste‐specific microbiota roles. Gut bacterial communities are structured primarily according to termite caste and genus and, in contrast to the observed rich and diverse sterile caste microbiotas, royal pair guts are dominated by few bacterial taxa, potentially reflecting their specialized uniform diet and unique lifestyle.