Data from: Diet is the primary determinant of bacterial community structure in the guts of higher termites

The gut microbiota of termites plays critical roles in the symbiotic
digestion of lignocellulose. While phylogenetically ‘lower termites’ are
characterized by a unique association with cellulolytic flagellates,
higher termites (family Termitidae) harbour exclusively prokaryotic
communities in their dilated hindguts. Unlike the more primitive termite
families, which primarily feed on wood, they have adapted to a variety of
lignocellulosic food sources in different stages of humification, ranging
from sound wood to soil organic matter. In this study, we comparatively
analysed representatives of different taxonomic lineages and feeding
groups of higher termites to identify the major drivers of bacterial
community structure in the termite gut, using amplicon libraries of 16S
rRNA genes from 18 species of higher termites. In all analyses, the
wood-feeding species were clearly separated from humus and soil feeders,
irrespective of their taxonomic affiliation, offering compelling evidence
that diet is the primary determinant of bacterial community structure.
Within each diet group, however, gut communities of termites from the same
subfamily were more similar than those of distantly related species. A
highly resolved classification using a curated reference database revealed
only few genus-level taxa whose distribution patterns indicated
specificity for certain host lineages, limiting any possible cospeciation
between the gut microbiota and host to short evolutionary timescales.
Rather, the observed patterns in the host-specific distribution of the
bacterial lineages in termite guts are best explained by diet-related
differences in the availability of microhabitats and functional niches.