Termites host specific fungal communities

Termites are important plant biomass decomposers. Their digestive activity typically relies on prokaryotes and protozoa present in their guts. In some cases, such as in fungus-growing termites, digestion also relies on ectosymbiosis with specific fungal taxa. To date, the mycobiome of termites has yet to be investigated in detail. We evaluated the specificity of whole-termite associated fungal communities in three wood-feeding termite species.

白蚁是一类重要的植物生物质分解者。其消化活动通常依赖于肠道内定植的原核生物与原生动物。在部分类群中，例如培菌白蚁，其消化过程还依赖于与特定真菌类群的外共生关系。截至目前，白蚁的真菌组（mycobiome）尚未得到详细深入的研究。本研究针对三种食木白蚁物种，评估了其全虫体关联真菌群落的特异性。