Antimicrobial Activity of Actinobacteria Isolated From the Guts of Subterranean Termites. 2016

R A Arango, and C M Carlson, and C R Currie, and B R McDonald, and A J Book, and F Green, and N K Lebow, and K F Raffa
USDA Forest Products Laboratory, One Gifford Pinchot Dr., Madison, WI 53726 (rarango@fs.fed.us; fgreen@fs.fed.us) rarango@fs.fed.us.

Subterranean termites need to minimize potentially pathogenic and competitive fungi in their environment in order to maintain colony health. We examined the ability of Actinobacteria isolated from termite guts in suppressing microorganisms commonly encountered in a subterranean environment. Guts from two subterranean termite species, Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar) and Reticulitermes tibialis Banks, were extracted and plated on selective chitin media. A total of 38 Actinobacteria isolates were selected for in vitro growth inhibition assays. Target microbes included three strains of Serratia marcescens Bizio, two mold fungi (Trichoderma sp. and Metarhizium sp.), a yeast fungus (Candida albicans (C.P. Robin) Berkhout), and four basidiomycete fungi (Gloeophyllum trabeum (Persoon) Murrill, Tyromyces palustris (Berkeley & M.A. Curtis) Murrill, Irpex lacteus (Fries) Fries, and Trametes versicolor (L.) Lloyd). Results showed both broad and narrow ranges of antimicrobial activity against the mold fungi, yeast fungus, and S. marcescens isolates by the Actinobacteria selected. This suggests that termite gut-associated Actinobacteria produce secondary antimicrobial compounds that may be important for pathogen inhibition in termites. Basidiomycete fungi were strongly inhibited by the selected Actinobacteria isolates, with G. trabeum and T. versicolor being most inhibited, followed by I. lacteus and T. palustris The degree of inhibition was correlated with shifts in pH caused by the Actinobacteria. Nearly all Actinobacteria isolates raised pH of the growth medium to basic levels (i.e. pH ∼8.0-9.5). We summarize antimicrobial activity of these termite gut-associated Actinobacteria and examine the implications of these pH shifts.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D005658 Fungi A kingdom of eukaryotic, heterotrophic organisms that live parasitically as saprobes, including MUSHROOMS; YEASTS; smuts, molds, etc. They reproduce either sexually or asexually, and have life cycles that range from simple to complex. Filamentous fungi, commonly known as molds, refer to those that grow as multicellular colonies. Fungi, Filamentous,Molds,Filamentous Fungi,Filamentous Fungus,Fungus,Fungus, Filamentous,Mold
D000069196 Gastrointestinal Microbiome All of the microbial organisms that naturally exist within the GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT. Enteric Bacteria,Gastric Microbiome,Gastrointestinal Flora,Gastrointestinal Microbial Community,Gastrointestinal Microbiota,Gastrointestinal Microflora,Gut Flora,Gut Microbiome,Gut Microbiota,Gut Microflora,Intestinal Flora,Intestinal Microbiome,Intestinal Microbiota,Intestinal Microflora,Bacteria, Enteric,Flora, Gastrointestinal,Flora, Gut,Flora, Intestinal,Gastric Microbiomes,Gastrointestinal Microbial Communities,Gastrointestinal Microbiomes,Gastrointestinal Microbiotas,Gut Microbiomes,Gut Microbiotas,Intestinal Microbiomes,Intestinal Microbiotas,Microbial Community, Gastrointestinal,Microbiome, Gastric,Microbiome, Gastrointestinal,Microbiome, Gut,Microbiome, Intestinal,Microbiota, Gastrointestinal,Microbiota, Gut,Microbiota, Intestinal,Microflora, Gastrointestinal,Microflora, Gut,Microflora, Intestinal
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D000890 Anti-Infective Agents Substances that prevent infectious agents or organisms from spreading or kill infectious agents in order to prevent the spread of infection. Anti-Infective Agent,Anti-Microbial Agent,Antimicrobial Agent,Microbicide,Microbicides,Anti-Microbial Agents,Antiinfective Agents,Antimicrobial Agents,Agent, Anti-Infective,Agent, Anti-Microbial,Agent, Antimicrobial,Agents, Anti-Infective,Agents, Anti-Microbial,Agents, Antiinfective,Agents, Antimicrobial,Anti Infective Agent,Anti Infective Agents,Anti Microbial Agent,Anti Microbial Agents
D001419 Bacteria One of the three domains of life (the others being Eukarya and ARCHAEA), also called Eubacteria. They are unicellular prokaryotic microorganisms which generally possess rigid cell walls, multiply by cell division, and exhibit three principal forms: round or coccal, rodlike or bacillary, and spiral or spirochetal. Bacteria can be classified by their response to OXYGEN: aerobic, anaerobic, or facultatively anaerobic; by the mode by which they obtain their energy: chemotrophy (via chemical reaction) or PHOTOTROPHY (via light reaction); for chemotrophs by their source of chemical energy: CHEMOLITHOTROPHY (from inorganic compounds) or chemoorganotrophy (from organic compounds); and by their source for CARBON; NITROGEN; etc.; HETEROTROPHY (from organic sources) or AUTOTROPHY (from CARBON DIOXIDE). They can also be classified by whether or not they stain (based on the structure of their CELL WALLS) with CRYSTAL VIOLET dye: gram-negative or gram-positive. Eubacteria
D012329 RNA, Bacterial Ribonucleic acid in bacteria having regulatory and catalytic roles as well as involvement in protein synthesis. Bacterial RNA
D012336 RNA, Ribosomal, 16S Constituent of 30S subunit prokaryotic ribosomes containing 1600 nucleotides and 21 proteins. 16S rRNA is involved in initiation of polypeptide synthesis. 16S Ribosomal RNA,16S rRNA,RNA, 16S Ribosomal,Ribosomal RNA, 16S,rRNA, 16S
D017423 Sequence Analysis, RNA A multistage process that includes cloning, physical mapping, subcloning, sequencing, and information analysis of an RNA SEQUENCE. RNA Sequence Analysis,Sequence Determination, RNA,Analysis, RNA Sequence,Determination, RNA Sequence,Determinations, RNA Sequence,RNA Sequence Determination,RNA Sequence Determinations,RNA Sequencing,Sequence Determinations, RNA,Analyses, RNA Sequence,RNA Sequence Analyses,Sequence Analyses, RNA,Sequencing, RNA
D020049 Isoptera An order of insects, restricted mostly to the tropics, containing at least eight families. A few species occur in temperate regions of North America. Termites,Isopteras,Termite
D039903 Actinobacteria Class of BACTERIA with diverse morphological properties. Strains of Actinobacteria show greater than 80% 16S rDNA/rRNA sequence similarity among each other and also the presence of certain signature nucleotides. (Stackebrandt E. et al, Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. (1997) 47:479-491) Actinomycete,Actinomycetes,Gram-Positive Bacteria, High G+C,High G+C Gram-Positive Bacteria

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