"Endomicrobia": cytoplasmic symbionts of termite gut protozoa form a separate phylum of prokaryotes.

ABSTRACT: Lignocellulose digestion by wood-feeding termites depends on the mutualistic interaction of unusual, flagellate protists located in their hindgut. Most of the flagellates harbor numerous prokaryotic endosymbionts of so-far-unknown identity and function. Using a full-cycle molecular approach, we show here that the endosymbionts of the larger gut flagellates of Reticulitermes santonensis belong to the so-called termite group 1 (TG-1) bacteria, a group of clones previously obtained exclusively from gut homogenates of Reticulitermes speratus that are only distantly related to other bacteria and are considered a novel bacterial phylum based on their 16S rRNA gene sequences. Fluorescence in situ hybridization with specifically designed oligonucleotide probes confirmed that TG-1 bacteria are inde

SUBMITTER: Stingl U 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1065190 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature