Species- and Caste-Specific Gut Metabolomes in Fungus-Farming Termites.

ABSTRACT: Fungus-farming termites host gut microbial communities that contribute to the pre-digestion of plant biomass for manuring the fungal mutualist, and potentially to the production of defensive compounds that suppress antagonists. Termite colonies are characterized by complex division of labor and differences in diet between termite size (minor and major) and morphological (worker and soldier) castes, and this extends to the composition of their gut microbial communities. We hypothesized that gut metabolomes should mirror these differences and tested this through untargeted LC-MS/MS analyses of three South African species of fungus-farming termites. We found distinct metabolomes between species and across castes, especially between soldiers and workers. Primary metabolites dominate the metabo

SUBMITTER: Vidkjær NH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8707012 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature