真菌生长的白蚁能有效降解和消化植物底物,通过参与共生的肠道微生物和木质纤维素分解的Termitome真菌来培养富含蛋白质的食物。在分解过程中,针对特定植物生物质成分的见解很少。在这项研究中,我们对植物生物质成分的命运进行了几种分析方法,并对16SrRNA基因进行了扩增子测序,以研究真菌生长的白蚁Odontotermesformosanus(Shiraki)共生系统中的木质纤维素消化,并比较了降解过程中不同阶段的细菌群落。我们观察到在整个过程中木质纤维素组分逐渐减少。我们的发现支持年轻工人的消化道引发木质纤维素的降解,但留下大部分的木质素,半纤维素,和纤维素,进入新鲜的真菌梳子,主要发生分解的地方。我们在真菌梳子的较老部分发现了大量的单体糖,表明木质纤维素的分解使旧梳子富含白蚁菌和白蚁工人可以利用的糖。16SrRNA基因的扩增子测序显示,与植物生物量分解的不同阶段相关的群落组成存在明显差异,这可以与Termitomyces协同作用以塑造消化过程。重要性真菌养殖白蚁与有丝分裂菌属真菌和肠道微生物群有相互联系,以支持木质纤维素几乎完全分解以获得营养。这种精心设计的植物生物质消化策略使它们在(亚)热带旧世界生态系统中在生态上成功地占主导地位。我们采用了酸性洗涤剂纤维分析,高效阴离子交换色谱(HPAEC),高效液相色谱(HPLC),扫描电子显微镜(SEM),傅里叶变换红外光谱(FTIR),X射线衍射(XRD)热解气相色谱-质谱(Py-GC-MS),和16SrRNA基因的扩增子测序,以检查在整个分解过程中哪些木质纤维素成分被消化以及哪些细菌丰富。我们的研究结果表明,虽然第一次肠道通道启动木质纤维素消化,最突出的分解发生在真菌梳子内。此外,不同的细菌群落与分解的不同阶段有关,可能导致特定工厂组件的故障。
Fungus-growing termites are efficient in degrading and digesting plant substrates, achieved through the engagement of symbiotic gut microbiota and lignocellulolytic
Termitomyces fungi cultivated for protein-rich food. Insights into where specific plant biomass components are targeted during the decomposition process are sparse. In this study, we performed several analytical approaches on the fate of plant biomass components and did amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene to investigate the lignocellulose digestion in the symbiotic system of the fungus-growing termite Odontotermes formosanus (Shiraki) and to compare bacterial communities across the different stages in the degradation process. We observed a gradual reduction of lignocellulose components throughout the process. Our findings support that the digestive tract of young workers initiates the degradation of lignocellulose but leaves most of the lignin, hemicellulose, and cellulose, which enters the fresh fungus comb, where decomposition primarily occurs. We found a high diversity and quantity of monomeric sugars in older parts of the fungus comb, indicating that the decomposition of lignocellulose enriches the old comb with sugars that can be utilized by
Termitomyces and termite workers. Amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene showed clear differences in community composition associated with the different stages of plant biomass decomposition which could work synergistically with
Termitomyces to shape the digestion process. IMPORTANCE Fungus-farming termites have a mutualist association with fungi of the genus
Termitomyces and gut microbiota to support the nearly complete decomposition of lignocellulose to gain access to nutrients. This elaborate strategy of plant biomass digestion makes them ecologically successful dominant decomposers in (sub)tropical Old World ecosystems. We employed acid detergent fiber analysis, high-performance anion-exchange chromatography (HPAEC), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS), and amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene to examine which lignocellulose components were digested and which bacteria were abundant throughout the decomposition process. Our findings suggest that although the first gut passage initiates lignocellulose digestion, the most prominent decomposition occurs within the fungus comb. Moreover, distinct bacterial communities were associated with different stages of decomposition, potentially contributing to the breakdown of particular plant components.