Lignin disruption and ligninolytic enzyme activity in the symbiotic system of the Macrotermes barneyi termite.

IF 2.9 1区 农林科学 Q1 ENTOMOLOGY
Farhan Ahmad, Hu Jinhao, Muhammad Zohaib Nawaz, Mudasir A Dar, Raghda Nasser, Syed Zeeshan Haider, Waqar Ul Haq, Jianzhong Sun, Jianchu Mo, Daochen Zhu
{"title":"Lignin disruption and ligninolytic enzyme activity in the symbiotic system of the Macrotermes barneyi termite.","authors":"Farhan Ahmad, Hu Jinhao, Muhammad Zohaib Nawaz, Mudasir A Dar, Raghda Nasser, Syed Zeeshan Haider, Waqar Ul Haq, Jianzhong Sun, Jianchu Mo, Daochen Zhu","doi":"10.1111/1744-7917.70026","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Fungus-farming termites efficiently degrade recalcitrant lignocellulose through a symbiotic relationship with Termitomyces and the gut microbiome, making them successful key decomposers in (sub)tropical ecosystems. Despite extensive research on plant biomass decomposition, the mechanisms of lignin degradation in fungus-farming termites remain elusive. In view of this information gap, the present study employed several analytical approaches and ligninolytic enzyme assays to investigate lignin modification in the symbiotic system of a fungus-farming termite, Macrotermes barneyi. The results revealed the structural modification of lignin across different points of the degradation process. Enzyme assays of termite guts and fungus combs showed the obvious differences in ligninolytic enzyme activity at different sites of decomposition, likely initiating the modification of lignin. The findings of the current study support the hypothesis that although young workers start the modification of lignin to some extent, they largely leave the lignin monomers p-hydroxyphenyl (H), guaiacyl (G) and syringyl (S) intact. Most of the lignin-derived compounds are transferred to the fresh comb, where the majority of lignin modification begins and continues in mature and older parts of the comb. This study provides new insights into biomass degradation within the microsymbiotic system of an insect. A better understanding of these mechanisms has the promising potential for unlocking new lignin-degrading agents for the production of renewable energy.</p>","PeriodicalId":13618,"journal":{"name":"Insect Science","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9000,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Insect Science","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1744-7917.70026","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENTOMOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0

Abstract

Fungus-farming termites efficiently degrade recalcitrant lignocellulose through a symbiotic relationship with Termitomyces and the gut microbiome, making them successful key decomposers in (sub)tropical ecosystems. Despite extensive research on plant biomass decomposition, the mechanisms of lignin degradation in fungus-farming termites remain elusive. In view of this information gap, the present study employed several analytical approaches and ligninolytic enzyme assays to investigate lignin modification in the symbiotic system of a fungus-farming termite, Macrotermes barneyi. The results revealed the structural modification of lignin across different points of the degradation process. Enzyme assays of termite guts and fungus combs showed the obvious differences in ligninolytic enzyme activity at different sites of decomposition, likely initiating the modification of lignin. The findings of the current study support the hypothesis that although young workers start the modification of lignin to some extent, they largely leave the lignin monomers p-hydroxyphenyl (H), guaiacyl (G) and syringyl (S) intact. Most of the lignin-derived compounds are transferred to the fresh comb, where the majority of lignin modification begins and continues in mature and older parts of the comb. This study provides new insights into biomass degradation within the microsymbiotic system of an insect. A better understanding of these mechanisms has the promising potential for unlocking new lignin-degrading agents for the production of renewable energy.

白蚁共生系统中木质素破坏和木质素分解酶活性的研究。
种植真菌的白蚁通过与白蚁菌和肠道微生物群的共生关系,有效地降解顽固的木质纤维素,使它们成为(亚)热带生态系统中成功的关键分解者。尽管对植物生物量分解进行了广泛的研究,但真菌养殖白蚁木质素降解的机制仍然难以捉摸。鉴于这一信息缺口,本研究采用几种分析方法和木质素分解酶测定来研究木质素在真菌养殖白蚁共生系统中的修饰。结果揭示了木质素在降解过程中不同阶段的结构修饰。对白蚁肠道和真菌梳子的酶分析表明,木质素降解酶在不同分解位点的活性存在明显差异,可能是木质素的修饰。本研究的发现支持了一个假设,即尽管年轻工人在一定程度上开始了木质素的修饰,但他们在很大程度上保留了木质素单体对羟基苯基(H)、木创酰基(G)和丁香基(S)。大多数木质素衍生的化合物被转移到新鲜的梳子,在那里,大多数木质素修饰开始并继续在梳子的成熟和旧的部分。这项研究为昆虫微生物共生系统内的生物量降解提供了新的见解。更好地了解这些机制对于开发新的木质素降解剂用于可再生能源的生产具有很大的潜力。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
求助全文
约1分钟内获得全文 求助全文
来源期刊
Insect Science
Insect Science 生物-昆虫学
CiteScore
7.80
自引率
5.00%
发文量
1379
审稿时长
6.0 months
期刊介绍: Insect Science is an English-language journal, which publishes original research articles dealing with all fields of research in into insects and other terrestrial arthropods. Papers in any of the following fields will be considered: ecology, behavior, biogeography, physiology, biochemistry, sociobiology, phylogeny, pest management, and exotic incursions. The emphasis of the journal is on the adaptation and evolutionary biology of insects from the molecular to the ecosystem level. Reviews, mini reviews and letters to the editor, book reviews, and information about academic activities of the society are also published.
×
引用
GB/T 7714-2015
复制
MLA
复制
APA
复制
导出至
BibTeX EndNote RefMan NoteFirst NoteExpress
×
提示
您的信息不完整,为了账户安全,请先补充。
现在去补充
×
提示
您因"违规操作"
具体请查看互助需知
我知道了
×
提示
确定
请完成安全验证×
copy
已复制链接
快去分享给好友吧!
我知道了
右上角分享
点击右上角分享
0
联系我们:info@booksci.cn Book学术提供免费学术资源搜索服务,方便国内外学者检索中英文文献。致力于提供最便捷和优质的服务体验。 Copyright © 2023 布克学术 All rights reserved.
京ICP备2023020795号-1
ghs 京公网安备 11010802042870号
Book学术文献互助
Book学术文献互助群
群 号:481959085
Book学术官方微信