Abstract
Nitrogenase activity, abundance of diazotrophic bacteria, and structural and functional parameters have been determined in microbial complexes of three populations of the termite Reticulitermes lucifugus and their nest materials. These data have been used for comparative analysis of nitrogen-fixing microorganism communities in termite guts and in nest materials from different termite populations. Similarities in the structure and other parameters of these communities have been revealed. The taxonomic composition of microbial communities differs among the populations, but the functional properties of these communities are almost identical. It is concluded that no symbiotic (mutualistic) relationship exists between nitrogen-fixing intestinal bacteria and their host termites.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bentley, B.L., Nitrogen Fixation in Termites: Fate of Newly Fixed Nitrogen, J. Insect Physiol., 1984, vol. 30, no. 8, pp. 323–343.
Breznak, J.A., Brill, W.J., Martins, J.W., and Coppel, H.C., Nitrogen Metabolism in Termites, Nature, 1973, vol. 244, pp. 633–655.
Breznak, J.A., Intestinal Microbiota of Termites and Other Xylophagous Insects, Annu. Rev. Microbiol., 1982, vol. 45, pp. 323–343.
Brune, A., Termite Guts: The World’s Smallest Bioreactors, Tibtech. J., 1998, vol. 16, pp. 16–21.
Cleveland, L.R., The Ability of Termites to Live Perhaps Indefinitely on a Diet of Pure Cellulose, Biol. Bull., 1925, vol. 48, pp. 289–293.
Golichenkov, M.V., Kostina, N.V., Kuznetsova, T.A., and Umarov, M.M., Diazotrophs in the Digestive Tract of Termite Neotermes castaneus, Izv. Akad. Nauk, Ser. Biol., 2006, no. 5, pp. 624–629.
Golichenkov, M.V., Specific Features of Microbial Nitrogen Transformation in the Termite Guts and Nests, Extended Abstract of Cand. Sci. (Biol.) Dissertation, Moscow: Moscow State Univ., 2002.
Gorlenko, M.V. and Kozhevin, P.A., Mul’tisubstratnoe testirovanie prirodnykh mikrobnykh soobshchestv (Multisubstrate Testing of Natural Microbial Communities), Moscow: MAKS, 2005.
Kipyatkov, V.E., Mir obshchestvennykh nasekomykh (The World of Social Insects), Leningrad: Leningr. Gos. Univ., 1991.
Kozlova, A.V., On the Accumulation of Nitrates in Turkmenian Termites, Pochvovedenie, 1951, no. 10, pp. 118–631.
Lee, K.E. and Wood, T.G., Termites and Soils, London: Academic Press, 1971.
Magurran, A.E., Ecological Diversity and Its Measurement, London: Croom Helm, 1988. Translated under the title Ekologicheskoe raznoobrazie i ego izmerenie, Moscow: Mir, 1992.
Metody pochvennoi mikrobiologii i biokhimii (Methods of Soil Microbiology and Biochemistry), Zvyagintsev, D.G., Ed., Moscow: Mosk. Gos. Univ., 1991.
Bergey’s Manual of Determinative Bacteriology, Holt, J.G., Krieg, N.R., Sneath, P.H.A., and Staley, J.T., Eds., Baltimore, MD: Williams and Wilkins, 1994. Translated under the title Opredelitel’ bakterii Berdzhi, Zavarzin, G.A., Ed., Moscow: Mir, 1997.
Orlova, E.A., Termite Intestinal Microflora, in Tr. Entomol. sektora problem n.-i. lab. po razrabotke metodov bor’by s biol. povrezhdeniem materialov. Termity. Vyp. 2 (Proc. Entomol. Sector, Res. Lab. for Development of Methods to Control Biological Degradation of Materials: Termites), Moscow: Mosk. Gos. Univ., 1972, issue 2, pp. 167–178.
Orlova, E.A., Composition and Role of Intestinal Symbionts in the Termite Retisulitermes lusifugus Rossi, in Tr. Entomol. sektora problem n.-i. lab. po razrabotke metodov bor’by s biol. povrezhdeniem materialov. Termity. Vyp. 2 (Proc. Entomol. Sector, Res. Lab. for Development of Methods to Control Biological Degradation of Materials: Termites), Moscow: Mosk. Gos. Univ., 1974, issue 2, pp. 157–166.
Potricus, C.J. and Breznak, J.A., Gut Bacteria Recycle Uric Acid Nitrogen in Termites: A Strategy for Nutrient Conservation, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. Microbiol., 1981, vol. 78, no. 7, pp. 4601–4605.
Soyunov, O., Influence of the Termite Anacanthotermes ahngerianus on Soil, in Izuchenie termitov i razrabotka protivotermitnykh meropriyatii (Study of Termites and Development of Measures Against Them), Ashkhabad: Ylym, 1973, pp. 49–77.
Tayasu, I., Hyodo, F., and Abe, T., Caste-Specific N and C Isotope Ratios in Fungus-Growing Termites, with Special Reference to Uric Acid Preservation and Their Nutritional Interpretation, Ecol. Entomol., 2002, vol. 27, no. 3, pp. 355–361.
Zhuzhikov, D.P., Termity SSSR (Termites in the Soviet Union), Moscow: Mosk. Gos. Univ., 1979.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Original Russian Text © M.V. Vecherskii, N.V. Kostina, M.V. Gorlenko, T.G. Dobrovol’skaya, M.M. Umarov, 2008, published in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk, Seriya Biologicheskaya, 2008, No. 5, pp. 522–527.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Vecherskii, M.V., Kostina, N.V., Gorlenko, M.V. et al. Specific features of nitrogen fixation in the termite Reticulitermes lucifugus . Biol Bull Russ Acad Sci 35, 446–451 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359008050026
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359008050026