| bacteria from the gut of australian termites. | the major gut bacteria of the worker caste of nine species of australian termites, belonging to four families, were isolated and identified to generic level. all species were either facultative anaerobes or strict aerobes. a correlation appears to exist between the major gut bacterium and the family to which the termite belongs. the major bacterium from the two lowest termites, mastotermes darwiniensis (family mastotermitidae) and cryptotermes primus (family kalotermitidae), was streptococcus; f ... | 1978 | 655700 |
| nitrogen fixation by bacteria from the hindgut of termites. | anaerobically grown bacteria isolated from the hindgut contents of the termites coptotermes lacteus (froggatt), mastotermes darwiniensis froggatt and nasutitermes exitiosus (hill) were nitrogenase-positive as assayed by acetylene reduction. nitrogen fixation, confirmed with 15n2, was highest in the isolate from m. darwiniensis. all isolates were identified as citrobacter freundii (braak) werkman & gillen. | 1976 | 956782 |
| 16s rdna sequence and phylogenetic position of an uncultivated spirochete from the hindgut of the termite mastotermes darwiniensis froggatt. | we have analyzed the 16s rdna sequence and the phylogenetic position of an uncultivated spirochete from the hindgut contents of the australian termite mastotermes darwiniensis froggatt. the 16s rrna genes of bacteria from the hindgut contents of mastotermes darwiniensis were amplified by polymerase chain reaction. the amplification products were cloned and sequenced. the sequences were compared to known homologous primary structures. two of the clones (mds1 and mds3) had an insert of 1498 nucleo ... | 1994 | 7527363 |
| the establishment of intracellular symbiosis in an ancestor of cockroaches and termites. | all cockroaches examined so far have been found to harbour a bacterial endosymbiont in specialized cells of the fat body, whereas mastotermes darwiniensis is the only termite currently known to harbour an intracellular symbiont. the localization and mode of transmission of these bacteria are surprisingly similar, but so far no data have been published on their phylogenetic relationships. to address this issue, molecular sequence data were obtained from the genes encoding the small subunit riboso ... | 1995 | 7740047 |
| phylogeny of not-yet-cultured spirochetes from termite guts. | comparisons of 16s rdna sequences were used to determine the phylogeny of not-yet-cultured spirochetes from hindguts of the african higher termite, nasutitermes lujae (wasmann). the 16s rrna genes were amplified directly from spirochete-rich hindguts by using universal primers, and the amplified products were cloned into escherichia coli. clones were screened with a spirochete-specific dna probe. analysis of 1,410 base positions of the 16s rdna insert from one spirochete clone, designated nl1, s ... | 1996 | 8593040 |
| phylogenetically distant intracellular symbionts in termites. | cockroaches are known to harbour intracellular bacteria in specialised cells (mycetocytes, or bacteriocytes) of the fat body. in termites, mycetocyte bacteria have been observed only in mastotermes darwiniensis. these symbionts are thought to have originated from a bacterium that infected an ancestor common to cockroaches and termites. thus, loss of the infection should have occurred during evolution in all termite lineages, with the exception of that leading to m. darwiniensis. one might suspec ... | 1997 | 9419851 |
| isolation and identification of a cytochrome p450 sequence in an australian termite, mastotermes darwiniensis. | a partial cytochrome p450 sequence was rt/pcr amplified from total rna isolated from the whole body of worker class termites (mastotermes darwiniensis). the degenerate primers used were designed from conserved regions from 4 different species: rat, human, cockroach and drosophila. the sequence was defined by the presence of the typical p450 heme-binding region and invariant residues found in all p450 proteins. the deduced amino acid sequence is 67% identical to cockroach (blaberus discoidalis) c ... | 1997 | 9425314 |
| isolation of desulfovibrio intestinalis sp. nov. from the hindgut' of the lower termite mastotermes darwiniensis. | a gram-negative, anaerobic sulfate-reducing bacterium was isolated from hindgut contents of the lower termite mastotermes darwiniensis froggatt (strain kms2). strain kms2 is motile by a single polar flagellum. the isolate possesses desulfoviridin and catalase activity. the g+c content of its dna is in the range of 54.5-55.5 mol% (strain kms2). it respires hydrogen and different low molecular weight organic compounds in the presence of sulfate, thiosulfate, and sulfite, and also oxygen. the isola ... | 1999 | 10380647 |
| differential enumeration and in situ localization of microorganisms in the hindgut of the lower termite mastotermes darwiniensis by hybridization with rrna-targeted probes | we examined the abundance and spatial distribution of major phylogenetic groups of the domain bacteria in hindguts of the australian lower termite mastotermes darwiniensis by using in situ hybridization with group-specific, fluorescently labeled, rrna-targeted oligonucleotide probes. between 32.0 +/- 7.2% and 52.3 +/- 8.2% of the dapi-stained cells in different hindgut fractions were detected with probe eub338, specific for members of the domain bacteria. about 85% of the prokaryotic cells were ... | 1999 | 10591851 |
| phylogenetic diversity of termite gut spirochaetes. | a molecular phylogenetic analysis was done of not-yet-cultured spirochaetes inhabiting the gut of the termite, reticulitermes flavipes (kollar). ninety-eight clones of near-full-length spirochaetal 16s rdna genes were classified by ardra pattern and by partial sequencing. all clones grouped within the genus treponema, and at least 21 new species of treponema were recognized within r. flavipes alone. analysis of 190 additional clones from guts of coptotermes formosanus shiraki and zootermopsis an ... | 1999 | 11207751 |
| canaleparolina darwiniensis, gen. nov., sp. nov., and other pillotinaceous spirochetes from insects. | we describe two new pillotinaceous spirochetes (canaleparolina darwiniensis, diplocalyx cryptotermitidis) and identify for the first time hollandina pterotermitidis from both the subterranean termite cryptotermes cavifrons and the wood-eating cockroach cryptocercus punctulatus based on morphometric analysis of transmission electron micrographic thin sections. c. darwiniensis, gen. nov., sp. nov., limited to near darwin, australia, invariably is present on the surface of the treponeme-studded tri ... | 2000 | 11334304 |
| spirochete and protist symbionts of a termite (mastotermes electrodominicus) in miocene amber. | extraordinary preservation in amber of the miocene termite mastotermes electrodominicus has led to the discovery of fossil symbiotic microbes. spirochete bacteria and wood-digesting protists were identified in the intestinal tissue of the insect. fossil wood (xylem: developing vessel-element cells, fibers, pit connections), protists (most likely xylophagic amitochondriates), an endospore (probably of the filamentous intestinal bacterium arthromitus = bacillus), and large spirochetes were seen in ... | 2002 | 11818534 |
| hydroquinone: a general phagostimulating pheromone in termites. | the organization of termite societies depends predominantly on intraspecific chemical signals (pheromones) produced by exocrine glands, which induce and modulate individual behavioral responses. here, the saliva-producing labial glands of termites were investigated with respect to their pheromonal role in communal food exploitation of termite colonies. from these glands, we identified for the first time hydroquinone (1,4-dihydroxybenzene) as a phagostimulating pheromone in the australian termite ... | 2002 | 11868667 |
| cellulosimicrobium variabile sp. nov., a cellulolytic bacterium from the hindgut of the termite mastotermes darwiniensis. | a novel cellulolytic and xylanolytic bacterium, strain mx5t, was isolated from the hindgut contents of the australian termite mastotermes darwiniensis (froggatt). the isolate was a facultative anaerobe and had a gram-positive cell-wall profile. the rod-shaped bacterium formed irregular coryneform and coccoid cells during growth. phylogenetic analysis of the 16s rdna provided evidence that the organism was closely related to the as-yet undescribed cellulolytic strain sr272 and the non-validly des ... | 2002 | 12148626 |
| evidence for cocladogenesis between diverse dictyopteran lineages and their intracellular endosymbionts. | bacteria of the genus blattabacterium are intracellular symbionts that reside in specialized cells of cockroaches and the termite mastotermes darwiniensis. they appear to be obligate mutualists, and are transmitted vertically in the eggs. such characteristics are expected to lead to equivalent phylogenies for host and symbiont, and we tested this hypothesis using recently accumulated data on relationships among termites and cockroaches and their blattabacterium spp. host and symbiont topologies ... | 2003 | 12716997 |
| [ultrastructural basis of interactions between prokaryotes and eukaryotes in different symbiotic models]. | this paper reviews the author's contribution to the knowledge of the ultrastructural basis of the prokaryote-eukaryote interactions in different models assessed by an ultrastructural approach. in agreement with the hypothesis of the origin of eukaryotic cells, which are chimeras of several prokaryotes with different morpho-functional specializations, symbiosis had major consequence for evolution of life. in arthropods, one of the most successful lifestyles, the presence of endosymbiotic prokaryo ... | 2004 | 15305681 |
| trichosporon mycotoxinivorans sp. nov., a new yeast species useful in biological detoxification of various mycotoxins. | a yeast strain isolated from the hindgut of the lower termite mastotermes darwiniensis (mastotermitidae) was found to represent a new member of the genus trichosporon. trichosporon mycotoxinivorans is closely related to t. loubieri on the basis of the phylogenetic trees based on the d1/d2 region of 26s rdna, an approx. 600 bp fragment of the 18s rdna and both its regions. however, the two species differ at nine positions in the d1/d2 region of 26s rdna. the igs1 region of t. mycotoxinivorans is ... | 2004 | 15612623 |
| in vitro and in vivo sulfate reduction in the gut contents of the termite mastotermes darwiniensis and the rose-chafer pachnoda marginata. | sulfate-reducing bacteria (srb) from termites have been assigned to the genus desulfovibrio. desulfovibrio intestinalis lives in the gut of the australian termite mastotermes darwiniensis. for the first time we were able to enrich and identify a sulfate-reducing bacterium from the gut of the rose-chafer pachnoda marginata, which showed the highest 16s rdna sequence identity (93%) to desulfovibrio intestinalis and desulfovibrio strain stl1. compared to mastotermes darwiniensis (1x10(7) cells of s ... | 2005 | 15942866 |
| bacterial ectosymbionts which confer motility: mixotricha paradoxa from the intestine of the australian termite mastotermes darwiniensis. | | 2006 | 16623390 |
| borate protection of softwood from coptotermes acinaciformis (isoptera: rhinotermitidae) damage: variation in protection thresholds explained. | laboratory and field data reported in the literature are confusing with regard to "adequate" protection thresholds for borate timber preservatives. the confusion is compounded by differences in termite species, timber species and test methodology. laboratory data indicate a borate retention of 0.5% mass/mass (m/m) boric acid equivalent (bae) would cause > 90% termite mortality and restrict mass loss in test specimens to < or = 5%. field data generally suggest that borate retentions appreciably > ... | 2006 | 17066808 |
| ectobiotic spirochetes of flagellates from the termite mastotermes darwiniensis: attachment and cyst formation. | the association of the gut flagellates mixotricha paradoxa and deltotrichonympha sp. from the termite mastotermes darwiniensis with ectobiotic spirochetes and bacterial rods is investigated with light and electron microscopy. treatment with different chemicals disturbing molecular interactions and use of the freeze-fracture and freeze-etch technique show that hydrophobic interactions and integral membrane proteins seem to be involved in the firm attachment at the contact sites. application of an ... | 2007 | 17764914 |
| spirochete attachment ultrastructure: implications for the origin and evolution of cilia. | the fine structure of spirochete attachments to the plasma membrane of anaerobic protists displays variations here interpreted as legacies of an evolutionary sequence analogous to that from free-living spirochetes to undulipodia (eukaryotic "flagella" and homologous structures). attached spirochetes form a vestment, a wriggling fringe of motile cells at the edge of the plasma membrane of unidentified cellulolytic protist cells in the hypertrophied hindgut of the digestive system of mastotermes d ... | 2010 | 20203251 |
| Genome Shrinkage and Loss of Nutrient-Providing Potential in the Obligate Symbiont of the Primitive Termite Mastotermes darwiniensis. | Beneficial microbial associations with insects are common and are classified as either one or a few intracellular species that are vertically transmitted and reside intracellularly within specialized organs or as microbial assemblages in the gut. Cockroaches and termites maintain at least one if not both beneficial associations. Blattabacterium is a flavobacterial endosymbiont of nearly all cockroaches and the termite Mastotermes darwiniensis and can use nitrogenous wastes in essential amino aci ... | 2012 | 22020505 |
| the first multi-flagellate spermatozoa in the animal kingdom, discovered in mastotermes darwiniensis. | in this paper the spermatozoa of mastotermes darwiniensis is described. it is the first example of multiflagellate animal sperm cell, consisting of a conical head and about hundred flagella. other remarkable features are the absence of acrosome, the centrioles made up by doublets instead of triplets and the axonemes devoid of central tubules and with doublets bearing only one arm. the flagella are feebly motile. | 1979 | 411582 |
| comparative genomics of blattabacterium cuenoti: the frozen legacy of an ancient endosymbiont genome. | many insect species have established long-term symbiotic relationships with intracellular bacteria. symbiosis with bacteria has provided insects with novel ecological capabilities, which have allowed them colonize previously unexplored niches. despite its importance to the understanding of the emergence of biological complexity, the evolution of symbiotic relationships remains hitherto a mystery in evolutionary biology. in this study, we contribute to the investigation of the evolutionary leaps ... | 2013 | 23355305 |
| termite gut symbiotic archaezoa are becoming living metabolic fossils. | over the course of several million years, the eukaryotic gut symbionts of lower termites have become adapted to a cellulolytic environment. up to now it has been believed that they produce nutriments using their own cellulolytic enzymes for the benefit of their termite host. however, we have now isolated two endoglucanases with similar apparent molecular masses of approximately 36 kda from the not yet culturable symbiotic archaezoa living in the hindgut of the most primitive australian termite, ... | 2003 | 14555492 |
| a proteomic approach for studying insect phylogeny: capa peptides of ancient insect taxa (dictyoptera, blattoptera) as a test case. | neuropeptide ligands have to fit exactly into their respective receptors and thus the evolution of the coding regions of their genes is constrained and may be strongly conserved. as such, they may be suitable for the reconstruction of phylogenetic relationships within higher taxa. capa peptides of major lineages of cockroaches (blaberidae, blattellidae, blattidae, polyphagidae, cryptocercidae) and of the termite mastotermes darwiniensis were chosen to test the above hypothesis. the phylogenetic ... | 2009 | 19257902 |
| sugiyamaella mastotermitis sp. nov. and papiliotrema odontotermitis f.a., sp. nov. from the gut of the termites mastotermes darwiniensis and odontotermes obesus. | two novel yeast species were isolated from the guts of two different termite species. a new member of the genus sugiyamaella was isolated from the hindgut and nest material of the lower australian termite mastotermes darwiniensis. the second novel yeast species, isolated from the higher termite odontotermes obesus, was identified as a member of the genus papiliotrema. both yeast species were able to hydrolyse xylan, methylumbelliferyl β-xylobiose and methylumbelliferyl β-xylotriose. the ability ... | 2016 | 27514386 |
| ability of field populations of coptotermes spp., reticulitermes flavipes, and mastotermes darwiniensis (isoptera: rhinotermitidae; mastotermitidae) to damage plastic cable sheathings. | a comparative field study was conducted to evaluate the ability of subterranean termites to damage a set of four different plastic materials (cable sheathings) exposed below- and above-ground. eight pest species from six countries were included, viz., coptotermes formosanus (shiraki) in china, japan, and the united states; coptotermes gestroi (wasmann) in thailand and malaysia; coptotermes curvignathus (holmgren) and coptotermes kalshoveni (kemner) in malaysia; coptotermes acinaciformis (froggat ... | 2013 | 23865207 |
| identification of the fgl-amide allatostatin gene of the primitive termite mastotermes darwiniensis and the woodroach cryptocercus darwini. | allatostatins with the c-terminal ending tyr/phe-xaa-phe-gly-leu/ile-amide (fgla/asts) are widespread neuropeptides with multiple functions. the gene encoding the fgla/ast polypeptide precursor was first isolated from cockroaches and since then could be identified in many insects and crustaceans. with its strictly conserved regions in combination with variable regions the gene seems to be a good candidate for phylogenetic analyses between closely and distantly related species. here, the structur ... | 2016 | 26513739 |
| maintenance of essential amino acid synthesis pathways in the blattabacterium cuenoti symbiont of a wood-feeding cockroach. | in addition to harbouring intestinal symbionts, some animal species also possess intracellular symbiotic microbes. the relative contributions of gut-resident and intracellular symbionts to host metabolism, and how they coevolve are not well understood. cockroaches and the termite mastotermes darwiniensis present a unique opportunity to examine the evolution of spatially separated symbionts, as they harbour gut symbionts and the intracellular symbiont blattabacterium cuenoti. the genomes of b. cu ... | 2013 | 23515978 |
| the fine structure of colleterial glands in two cockroaches and three termites, including a detailed study of cryptocercus punctulatus (blattaria, cryptocercidae) and mastotermes darwiniensis (isoptera, mastotermitidae). | the colleterial glands of insects are organs associated with the female genital apparatus. in cockroaches, these glands produce secretions that cover two parallel rows of eggs during oviposition, and in oviparous species, these secretions become the tanned, sculpted, rigid outer casing of the ootheca. the goal of this study was to compare the gross anatomy of the colleterial glands and the ultrastructure of their component tubules in the phylogenetically significant genera cryptocercus (blattari ... | 2008 | 18089127 |
| a phylogeny of cockroaches and related insects based on dna sequence of mitochondrial ribosomal rna genes. | cockroaches are among the most ancient winged insects, the earliest fossils dating back to about 400 million years. several conflicting phylogenies for cockroach families, subfamilies, and genera have been proposed in the past. in addition, the relationship of cryptocercidae to other cockroach families and the relationship between the cockroach, cryptocercus punctulatus, and the termite, mastotermes darwiniensis, have generated debate. in this paper, a phylogeny for cockroaches, mantids, and ter ... | 1995 | 7534409 |
| pillotinas and hollandinas: distribution and behaviour of large spirochaetes symbiotic in termites. | pillotina spirochaetes have been observed in the hindguts of wood-eating cockroaches (cryptocercus punctulatus), and in 25 out of 28 species of termites examined. they were especially abundant in 21 species of dry wood termites of the family kalotermitidae, from europe, north america and australia. these included many species of kalotermes and one or a few of the following: glyptotermes, bifidotermes, neotermes, ceratokalotermes, paraneotermes, cryptotermes, porotermes, marginitermes, pteroterme ... | 1978 | 753948 |
| the fat body of termites: functions and stored materials. | the functions of the fat body in the different castes of termites, and accumulation of energy reserves, proteins and urates within this organ, are reviewed. the termite fat body is involved in multiple metabolic activities, including recycling of nitrogen. termite fat body showed three different types of cells: adipocytes, urocytes and mycetocytes, the latter restricted to the species mastotermes darwiniensis. adipocytes synthesize and store lipids, glycogen and several proteins. these cells als ... | 2013 | 23562782 |