Formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase gene diversity in the guts of higher termites with different diets and lifestyles.

ABSTRACT: In this study, we examine gene diversity for formyl-tetrahydrofolate synthetase (FTHFS), a key enzyme in homoacetogenesis, recovered from the gut microbiota of six species of higher termites. The "higher" termites (family Termitidae), which represent the majority of extant termite species and genera, engage in a broader diversity of feeding and nesting styles than the "lower" termites. Previous studies of termite gut homoacetogenesis have focused on wood-feeding lower termites, from which the preponderance of FTHFS sequences recovered were related to those from acetogenic treponemes. While sequences belonging to this group were present in the guts of all six higher termites examined, treponeme-like FTHFS sequences represented the majority of recovered sequences in only two species (a wood-

SUBMITTER: Ottesen EA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3126463 | biostudies-literature | 2011 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature