The hindgut of lower termites harbors various symbiotic protists, which per- form varied functions in lignocellulose decomposition. As termites are social insects, the species and numbers of these flagellated protists...The hindgut of lower termites harbors various symbiotic protists, which per- form varied functions in lignocellulose decomposition. As termites are social insects, the species and numbers of these flagellated protists in the termite gut vary among the different castes. Juvenile hormones （JHs） can regulate caste differentiation in termites. In this study, we used the juvenile hormone analog fenoxycarh to induce termite workers （Reticulitermesflaviceps） to differentiate into pre-soldiers. A metatranscriptomic investigation of the protistan community was then performed by 454 pyrosequencing. From a thorough analysis based on 597 312 generated reads, we found that the starch and sucrose metabolism pathway was the most abundant pathway across the metatranscriptome. The current study demonstrates that the metatranscriptome of the protistan community in termites contains an abundance of lignocellulase, which plays a vital role in termite nutrition.展开更多
基金This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China （Grants 31472046, 31172153）.
文摘The hindgut of lower termites harbors various symbiotic protists, which per- form varied functions in lignocellulose decomposition. As termites are social insects, the species and numbers of these flagellated protists in the termite gut vary among the different castes. Juvenile hormones （JHs） can regulate caste differentiation in termites. In this study, we used the juvenile hormone analog fenoxycarh to induce termite workers （Reticulitermesflaviceps） to differentiate into pre-soldiers. A metatranscriptomic investigation of the protistan community was then performed by 454 pyrosequencing. From a thorough analysis based on 597 312 generated reads, we found that the starch and sucrose metabolism pathway was the most abundant pathway across the metatranscriptome. The current study demonstrates that the metatranscriptome of the protistan community in termites contains an abundance of lignocellulase, which plays a vital role in termite nutrition.
