Microbiome characterization of the escamolera ants unveils microorganisms with high biotechnological potential
"Insects have adapted to several ecosystems through the versatility of their feeding habits, wherein their intestinal microbiota has played a key role in the biological processes canalization. Liometopum apiculatum ant is widely distributed in arid and semi-arid ecosystems where a relative shor...
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| Tipo de recurso: | tesis doctoral |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2018 |
| País: | México |
| Institución: | Instituto Potosino de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica |
| Repositorio: | Repositorio Institucional del IPICYT |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:ipicyt.repositorioinstitucional.mx:1010/1896 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://ipicyt.repositorioinstitucional.mx/jspui/handle/1010/1896 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | info:eu-repo/classification/Autor/MALDI-biotyping info:eu-repo/classification/Autor/16S rRNA gene info:eu-repo/classification/Autor/Bacteriocytes info:eu-repo/classification/Autor/Lignocellulolytic enzymes info:eu-repo/classification/cti/2 info:eu-repo/classification/cti/24 info:eu-repo/classification/cti/2415 |
| Sumario: | "Insects have adapted to several ecosystems through the versatility of their feeding habits, wherein their intestinal microbiota has played a key role in the biological processes canalization. Liometopum apiculatum ant is widely distributed in arid and semi-arid ecosystems where a relative shortage of food can be appreciated, compared to tropical ecosystems. L. apiculatum has achieved an ecological equilibrium for surviving notwithstanding environmental factors, establishing diverse symbiotic interactions with other insects and plants. However, the symbiotic relationship with microorganisms is still unknown. Therefore, the aim of this research was to characterize the microbial symbionts associated with L. apiculatum larvae and the reproductive adult ants using metagenomics, culturomics, and microscopic approaches. The most abundant Phylum identified by sequencing in the larvae was Firmicutes while in adult ants was Proteobacteria. Nonetheless, in both stage a large population of nitrogen-fixing bacteria was observed. On the other hand, the culturomics approach confirmed the existence of 19 bacteria previously identified by sequencing, which accompanied by functional characterization, revealed an important role of gut bacteria in the complex polysaccharides breakdown and releasing nutrients stored in plant-derived materials. Moreover, bacteriocytes with intracellular bacteria were detected, indicating a nutritional support through this system to ant’s metabolism. This finding highlights the important contribution of the microbial symbionts in the feeding and surviving of ants. On the other hand, the metabolic versatility of microbial symbionts showed a promising source of enzymes for potential biotechnological applications." |
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