Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Dec;28(6):1512-1529.
doi: 10.1111/1744-7917.12890. Epub 2020 Dec 23.

Multipartite symbioses in fungus-growing termites (Blattodea: Termitidae, Macrotermitinae) for the degradation of lignocellulose

Farhan Ahmad  1   2 , Gui-Ying Yang  1 , Shi-You Liang  1 , Qi-Huan Zhou  1 , Hassan Ahmed Gaal  1   3 , Jian-Chu Mo  1
Affiliations
Review

Multipartite symbioses in fungus-growing termites (Blattodea: Termitidae, Macrotermitinae) for the degradation of lignocellulose

Farhan Ahmad et al. Insect Sci. 2021 Dec.

Abstract

Fungus-growing termites are among the most successful herbivorous animals and improve crop productivity and soil fertility. A range of symbiotic organisms can be found inside their nests. However, interactions of termites with these symbionts are poorly understood. This review provides detailed information on the role of multipartite symbioses (between termitophiles, termites, fungi, and bacteria) in fungus-growing termites for lignocellulose degradation. The specific functions of each component in the symbiotic system are also discussed. Based on previous studies, we argue that the enzymatic contribution from the host, fungus, and bacteria greatly facilitates the decomposition of complex polysaccharide plant materials. The host-termitophile interaction protects the termite nest from natural enemies and maintains the stability of the microenvironment inside the colony.

Keywords: Macrotermitinae; Termitomyces; bacteria; enzyme activity; lignocellulose degradation; symbiosis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Aanen, D.K. (2006) As you reap, so shall you sow: Coupling of harvesting and inoculating stabilizes the mutualism between termites and fungi. Biology Letters, 2, 209-212.
    1. Aanen, D.K. and Eggleton, P. (2005) Fungus-growing termites originated in African rain forest. Current Biology, 15, 851-855.
    1. Aanen, D.K., Henrik, H., Debets, A.J., Kerstes, N.A., Hoekstra, R.F. and Boomsma, J.J. (2009) High symbiont relatedness stabilizes mutualistic cooperation in fungus-growing termites. Science, 326, 1103-1106.
    1. Ahmad, F., Fouad, H., Liang, S., Hu, Y. and Mo, J.C. (2021) Termites and Chinese agricultural system: applications and advances in integrated termite management and chemical control. Insect Science, 28, 2-20.
    1. Arantes, V., Jellison, J. and Goodell, B. (2012) Peculiarities of brown-rot fungi and biochemical Fenton reaction with regard to their potential as a model for bioprocessing biomass. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 94, 323-338.

LinkOut - more resources