| catecholamines and related o-diphenols in cockroach hemolymph and cuticle during sclerotization and melanization: comparative studies on the order dictyoptera. | catecholamines and related o-diphenols extracted from the cuticle and hemolymph of adult cockroaches during sclerotization and pigmentation of the cuticle were analyzed by reverse phase hplc with electrochemical detection. at ecdysis, dopamine (da) o-conjugates predominated in the hemolymph of periplaneta americana, p. australasiae, p. fuliginosa, p. brunnea, and blatta orientalis (blattidae); blattella germanica (blattellidae); and gromphadorhina portentosa and blaberus craniifer (blaberidae). ... | 1990 | 2391402 |
| evidence for sibling species in cryptocercus punctulatus, the wood roach, from variation in mitochondrial dna and karyotype. | the wood-feeding genus cryptocercus is considered the basal lineage among extant cockroaches. cryptocercus is the sole representative of the family cryptocercidae and at present three species are recognized within the genus worldwide: cryptocercus punctulatus in the united states, c. relictus in eurasia and c. primarius in the orient. the geological distribution of c. punctulatus in the usa is disjunct, with populations occurring along the appalachian mountains and in the pacific north-west. in ... | 1996 | 8666545 |
| 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 |
| phylogenetic analysis of blattabacterium, endosymbiotic bacteria from the wood roach, cryptocercus (blattodea: cryptocercidae), including a description of three new species. | members of the cockroach genus cryptocercus are wood-feeding, subsocial insects that live in temperate forests of the nearctic and palaearctic. at present, nine species are recognized: cryptocercus relictus and cryptocercus kyebangensis in eastern asia and russia, cryptocercus primarius and cryptocercus matilei in southwestern china, cryptocercus clevelandi in the western usa, and cryptocercus darwini, cryptocercus garciai, cryptocercus punctulatus, and cryptocercus wrighti in the eastern usa. l ... | 2003 | 12470940 |
| acetate synthesis from h(2) plus co(2) by termite gut microbes. | gut microbiota from reticulitermes flavipes termites catalyzed an h(2)-dependent total synthesis of acetate from co(2). rates of h(2)-co(2) acetogenesis in vitro were 1.11 +/- 0.37 mumol of acetate g (fresh weight) h (equivalent to 4.44 +/- 1.47 nmol termite h) and could account for approximately 1/3 of all the acetate produced during the hindgut fermentation. formate was also produced from h(2) + co(2), as were small amounts of propionate, butyrate, and lactate-succinate. however, h(2)-co(2) fo ... | 1986 | 16347157 |
| morphology and phylogenetic position of eucomonympha imla (parabasalia: hypermastigida). | eucomonympha imla is a hypermastigote parabasalian found in the gut of the wood-feeding cockroach cryptocercus punctulatus. it has received little attention since its original description in 1934 as the type species of the genus eucomonympha and the family eucomonymphidae. we used light and scanning electron microscopy to characterize surface morphology and organelles, with particular attention to the form of the rostrum, operculum, nucleus, and parabasals. two previously unrecognized groups of ... | 2007 | 17669157 |
| the cryptocercus punctulatus species complex (dictyoptera: cryptocercidae) in the eastern united states: comparison of cuticular hydrocarbons, chromosome number, and dna sequences. | the goal of the current study was to determine if cuticular hydrocarbons could be used to empirically delimit taxa within the cryptocercus punctulatus species complex in the eastern united states. cockroaches were collected from rotting logs in 22 locations across four states. hydrocarbon phenotypes and two mitochondrial (16s and coii) genes and one nuclear (its2) gene were independently analyzed to determine their relationship with chromosome number. five distinct hydrocarbon phenotypes were fo ... | 2008 | 18417370 |
| the taxophysiological paradox: changes in the intestinal microbiota of the xylophagous cockroach cryptocercus punctulatus depending on the physiological state of the host. | the phylogenetic relationships of symbiotic bacteria from the xylophagous cockroach cryptocercus (cryptocercidae, blattaria) were compared to those described in previous reports in lower termites. the 16s rdna bacterial genes were pcr-amplified from dna isolated from the entire hindgut using bacteria-selective primers, and the 16s rdna amplicons were cloned into escherichia coli. the changes in the gut microbiota of cryptocercus under three physiological conditions, "active," "fasting," and "dea ... | 2009 | 20112227 |
| Genome Economization in the Endosymbiont of the Wood Roach Cryptocercus punctulatus Due to Drastic Loss of Amino Acid Synthesis Capabilities. | Cockroaches (Blattaria: Dictyoptera) harbor the endosymbiont Blattabacterium sp. in their abdominal fat body. This endosymbiont is involved in nitrogen recycling and amino acid provision to its host. In this study, the genome of Blattabacterium sp. of Cryptocercus punctulatus (BCpu) was sequenced and compared with those of the symbionts of Blattella germanica and Periplaneta americana, BBge and BPam, respectively. The BCpu genome consists of a chromosome of 605.7 kb and a plasmid of 3.8 kb and i ... | 2011 | 22094859 |
| 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 |
| nest sanitation through defecation: antifungal properties of wood cockroach feces. | the wood cockroach cryptocercus punctulatus nests as family units inside decayed wood, a substrate known for its high microbial load. we tested the hypothesis that defecation within their nests, a common occurrence in this species, reduces the probability of fungal development. conidia of the entomopathogenic fungus, metarhizium anisopliae, were incubated with crushed feces and subsequently plated on potato dextrose agar. relative to controls, the viability of fungal conidia was significantly re ... | 2013 | 24271031 |
| selective sweeps in cryptocercus woodroach antifungal proteins. | we identified the antifungal gene termicin in three species of cryptocercus woodroaches. cryptocercus represents the closest living cockroach lineage of termites, which suggests that the antifungal role of termicin evolved prior to the divergence of termites from other cockroaches. an analysis of cryptocercus termicin and two β-1,3-glucanase genes (gnbp1 and gnbp2), which appear to work synergistically with termicin in termites, revealed evidence of selection in these proteins. we identified the ... | 2016 | 27623784 |
| genetic insights into family group co-occurrence in cryptocercus punctulatus, a sub-social woodroach from the southern appalachian mountains. | the wood-feeding cockroach cryptocercus punctulatus scudder (blattodea: cryptocercidae) is an important member of the dead wood (saproxylic) community in montane forests of the southeastern united states. however, its population biology remains poorly understood. here, aspects of family group co-occurrence were characterized to provide basic information that can be extended by studies on the evolution and maintenance of sub-sociality. broad sampling across the species' range was coupled with mol ... | 2017 | 28348934 |
| genome evolution and nitrogen fixation in bacterial ectosymbionts of a protist inhabiting wood-feeding cockroaches. | by combining genomics and isotope imaging analysis using high-resolution secondary ion mass spectrometry (nanosims), we examined the function and evolution of bacteroidales ectosymbionts of the protist barbulanympha from the hindguts of the wood-eating cockroach cryptocercus punctulatus in particular, we investigated the structure of ectosymbiont genomes, which, in contrast to those of endosymbionts, has been little studied to date, and tested the hypothesis that these ectosymbionts fix nitrogen ... | 2016 | 27235430 |
| gut bacterial community of the xylophagous cockroaches cryptocercus punctulatus and parasphaeria boleiriana. | cryptocercus punctulatus and parasphaeria boleiriana are two distantly related xylophagous and subsocial cockroaches. cryptocercus is related to termites. xylophagous cockroaches and termites are excellent model organisms for studying the symbiotic relationship between the insect and their microbiota. in this study, high-throughput 454 pyrosequencing of 16s rrna was used to investigate the diversity of metagenomic gut communities of c. punctulatus and p. boleiriana, and thereby to identify possi ... | 2016 | 27054320 |
| alkalispirochaeta cellulosivorans gen. nov., sp. nov., a cellulose-hydrolysing, alkaliphilic, halotolerant bacterium isolated from the gut of a wood-eating cockroach (cryptocercus punctulatus), and reclassification of four species of spirochaeta as new combinations within alkalispirochaeta gen. nov. | an obligately anaerobic spirochaete designated strain jc227t was isolated from the gut of a wood-eating cockroach, cryptocercus punctulatus (scudder), from the rann of kutch, gujarat, india. strain jc227t was gram-stain-negative, mesophilic, halotolerant and alkaliphilic. based on 16s rrna gene sequence analysis, strain jc227t belongs to the genus spirochaeta, with spirochaeta sphaeroplastigenens jc133t (99.51%), s. odontotermitis jc202t (99.30%), s. alkalica z-7491t (99.10%), s. americana (98.5 ... | 2016 | 26704619 |
| the sperm structure of cryptocercus punctulatus scudder (blattodea) and sperm evolution in dictyoptera. | sperm of the dictyopteran key taxon cryptocercus punctulatus was examined. it has largely maintained a blattodean groundplan condition, with a three-layered acrosome, an elongate nucleus, a single centriole, a conspicuous centriole adjunct material, two connecting bands (=accessory bodies), and a long functional flagellum with a 9+9+2 axoneme provided with accessory tubules with 16 protofilaments and intertubular material. these sperm characters are shared with several other polyneopterans. the ... | 2015 | 25503102 |
| the role of host phylogeny varies in shaping microbial diversity in the hindguts of lower termites. | the hindguts of lower termites and cryptocercus cockroaches are home to a distinct community of archaea, bacteria, and protists (primarily parabasalids and some oxymonads). within a host species, the composition of these hindgut communities appears relatively stable, but the evolutionary and ecological factors structuring community composition and stability are poorly understood, as are differential impacts of these factors on protists, bacteria, and archaea. we analyzed the microbial compositio ... | 2015 | 25452280 |
| 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 |
| patterns of [fefe] hydrogenase diversity in the gut microbial communities of lignocellulose-feeding higher termites. | hydrogen is the central free intermediate in the degradation of wood by termite gut microbes and can reach concentrations exceeding those measured for any other biological system. degenerate primers targeting the largest family of [fefe] hydrogenases observed in a termite gut metagenome have been used to explore the evolution and representation of these enzymes in termites. sequences were cloned from the guts of the higher termites amitermes sp. strain cost010, amitermes sp. strain jt2, gnathami ... | 2012 | 22636002 |
| analysis of extensive [fefe] hydrogenase gene diversity within the gut microbiota of insects representing five families of dictyoptera. | we have designed and utilized degenerate primers in the phylogenetic analysis of [fefe] hydrogenase gene diversity in the gut ecosystems of roaches and lower termites. h(2) is an important free intermediate in the breakdown of wood by termite gut microbial communities, reaching concentrations in some species exceeding those measured for any other biological system. the primers designed target with specificity the largest group of enzymatic h domain proteins previously identified in a termite gut ... | 2012 | 21935609 |
| symbiosis, morphology, and phylogeny of hoplonymphidae (parabasalia) of the wood-feeding roach cryptocercus punctulatus. | anaerobic cellulolytic flagellate protists of the hindguts of lower termites and the wood-feeding cockroach cryptocercus are essential to their host's ability to digest lignocellulose. many have bacteria associated with their surfaces and within cytoplasmic vesicles-likely important symbioses as suggested by molecular and other data. some of the most striking examples of these symbioses are in the parabasalid family hoplonymphidae, but little or no data exist on the structural aspects of their s ... | 2011 | 21699624 |
| anaerobic carbon monoxide dehydrogenase diversity in the homoacetogenic hindgut microbial communities of lower termites and the wood roach. | anaerobic carbon monoxide dehydrogenase (codh) is a key enzyme in the wood-ljungdahl (acetyl-coa) pathway for acetogenesis performed by homoacetogenic bacteria. acetate generated by gut bacteria via the acetyl-coa pathway provides considerable nutrition to wood-feeding dictyopteran insects making codh important to the obligate mutualism occurring between termites and their hindgut microbiota. to investigate codh diversity in insect gut communities, we developed the first degenerate primers desig ... | 2011 | 21541298 |
| diversity of formyltetrahydrofolate synthetases in the guts of the wood-feeding cockroach cryptocercus punctulatus and the omnivorous cockroach periplaneta americana. | we examined the diversity of a marker gene for homoacetogens in two cockroach gut microbial communities. formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase (fthfs or fhs) libraries prepared from a wood-feeding cockroach, cryptocercus punctulatus, were dominated by sequences that affiliated with termite gut treponemes. no spirochete-like sequences were recovered from the omnivorous roach periplaneta americana, which was dominated by firmicutes-like sequences. | 2010 | 20495046 |
| phylogenetic position and morphology of spirotrichosomidae (parabasalia): new evidence from leptospironympha of cryptocercus punctulatus. | parabasalia are a large, diverse clade of anaerobic flagellates, many of which inhabit the guts of wood-feeding insects. because most are uncultivable, molecular data representing the true diversity of parabasalia only became possible with the application of single-cell techniques, but in the last decade molecular data have accumulated rapidly. within the trichonymphida, the most diverse lineage of hypermastigote parabasalids, molecular data are now available from five of the six families, howev ... | 2010 | 19664955 |
| morphology, phylogeny, and diversity of trichonympha (parabasalia: hypermastigida) of the wood-feeding cockroach cryptocercus punctulatus. | trichonympha is one of the most complex and visually striking of the hypermastigote parabasalids-a group of anaerobic flagellates found exclusively in hindguts of lower termites and the wood-feeding cockroach cryptocercus-but it is one of only two genera common to both groups of insects. we investigated trichonympha of cryptocercus using light and electron microscopy (scanning and transmission), as well as molecular phylogeny, to gain a better understanding of its morphology, diversity, and evol ... | 2009 | 19602076 |
| cospeciation of termite gut flagellates and their bacterial endosymbionts: trichonympha species and 'candidatus endomicrobium trichonymphae'. | symbiotic flagellates play a major role in the digestion of lignocellulose in the hindgut of lower termites. many termite gut flagellates harbour a distinct lineage of bacterial endosymbionts, so-called endomicrobia, which belong to the candidate phylum termite group 1. using an rrna-based approach, we investigated the phylogeny of trichonympha, the predominant flagellates in a wide range of termite species, and of their endomicrobia symbionts. we found that trichonympha species constitute three ... | 2009 | 19192183 |
| inheritance and diversification of symbiotic trichonymphid flagellates from a common ancestor of termites and the cockroach cryptocercus. | cryptocercus cockroaches and lower termites harbour obligate, diverse and unique symbiotic cellulolytic flagellates in their hindgut that are considered critical in the development of social behaviour in their hosts. however, there has been controversy concerning the origin of these symbiotic flagellates. here, molecular sequences encoding small subunit rrna and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase were identified in the symbiotic flagellates of the order trichonymphida (phylum parabasalia) ... | 2009 | 18812290 |
| environmental pcr survey to determine the distribution of a non-canonical genetic code in uncultivable oxymonads. | the universal genetic code is conserved throughout most living systems, but a non-canonical code where taa and tag encode glutamine has evolved in several eukaryotes, including oxymonad protists. most oxymonads are uncultivable, so environmental rt-pcr and pcr was used to examine the distribution of this rare character. a total of 253 unique isolates of four protein-coding genes were sampled from the hindgut community of the cockroach, cryptocercus punctulatus, an environment rich in diversity f ... | 2008 | 18211267 |
| 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 |
| surface morphology of saccinobaculus (oxymonadida): implications for character evolution and function in oxymonads. | examination of surface morphology of the oxymonad genus saccinobaculus from the gut of the wood-feeding cockroach cryptocercus punctulatus with scanning and transmission electron microscopy reveals several new characters not observable with light microscopy. these include small concavities covering the external surface, a glycocalyx, coated pinocytotic vesicles, and, in one species, unidentified, membrane-bounded organelles with a granular matrix that may represent peroxisomal or mitochondrial d ... | 2008 | 18024180 |
| 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 |
| a case for ancestral transfer of symbionts between cockroaches and termites. | living species of the cockroach family cryptocercidae have intestinal symbionts that are congeneric with some of the gut protozoa found in isoptera. presence of such closely related symbionts in cryptocercids and in termites has been frequently interpreted as a uniquely derived homologous character shared between the two xylophagous groups. this may not be the most parsimonious interpretation. cryptocercus nymphs placed into zootermopsis (dampwood termite) colonies were killed and eaten by the t ... | 1990 | 1978334 |
| mitosis in barbulanympha. i. spindle structure, formation, and kinetochore engagement. | successful culture of the obligatorily anaerobic symbionts residing in the hindgut of the wood-eating cockroach cryptocercus punctulatus now permits continuous observation of mitosis in individual barbulanympha cells. in part i of this two-part paper, we report methods for culture of the protozoa, preparation of microscope slide cultures in which barbulanympha survived and divided for up to 3 days, and an optical arrangement which permits observation and through-focus photographic recording of d ... | 1978 | 681451 |
| 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 |
| defense of mate and mating chamber in a wood roach. | studies of the eastern wood roach, cryptocercus punctulatus, reveal that, under laboratory conditions, the mating chambers in rotten wood are inhabited by mated pairs, the male of which will usually defend the chamber successfully against intruding males by a form of fighting. in every staged contest in which the intruder won the fight, it also won the resident female. females, as well as unmated males singly inhabiting a chamber, could not be induced to defend against an intruder of either sex. | 1964 | 14107455 |
| a cellulase from the symbiotic intestinal flagellates of termites and of the roach, cryptocercus punctulatus. | | 1932 | 16745000 |