Functional division of labor in motility, lignocellulose digestion, and nitrogen metabolism revealed for the Mixotricha paradoxa holobiont.

ABSTRACT: Mixotricha paradoxa is a large cellulolytic flagellate present in the hindgut of the termite Mastotermes darwiniensis. This parabasalid flagellate is unique in its reliance on ectosymbiotic spirochetes for motility. We analyzed the transcriptome of M. paradoxa and the genomes of the ectosymbiotic spirochete Propulsinema mixotrichae ("Treponematales"), the rod-shaped ectosymbiont Synergitannerella mixotrichae (Bacteroidales), and the endosymbiont Endomicrobiellum mixotrichae (Endomicrobiales), all of which are obligately associated with M. paradoxa and were taxonomically described in this study. Mixotricha paradoxa highly expressed genes for diverse glycoside hydrolases (GHs) and likely ferments sugars to H2, CO2, acetate, ethanol, and glycerol. Similar to the case for parasitic parabasalid

SUBMITTER: Fu J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12483993 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature