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Nature 450, 487-488 (22 November 2007) | doi:10.1038/450487a; Published online 21 November 2007
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Molecular Biologists and Biochemists
- University of Minnesota
- Minnesota, USA
Faculty - Plant Cellular & Molecular Biology, Molecular Genetics & the Plant Molecular Biology / Biotechnology Program
- The Ohio State University
- Columbus, Ohio
Microbiology: Woodworker's digest
Andreas Brune1
Abstract
Termites digest wood with the help of their intestinal microorganisms. The first metagenomic analysis of the inhabitants of a termite gut provides insight into this feat of biomass-to-energy conversion.
The gut of wood-feeding termites is a tiny but astonishingly efficient bioreactor, in which microbes catalyse the conversion of lignified plant cell walls to fermentation products that drive the metabolism of their host. Molecular phylogenetic data have revealed the presence of hundreds of microbial species in this microlitre-sized environment, but little is known about their functional diversity.
- Andreas Brune is in the Department of Biogeochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany.
Email: brune@mpi-marburg.mpg.de
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RESEARCH
Metagenomic and functional analysis of hindgut microbiota of a wood-feeding higher termiteNature Letters to Editor (22 Nov 2007)
Hydrogen is the central free intermediate during lignocellulose degradation by termite gut symbiontsThe ISME Journal Original Article
