Skip to main content
  • ASM
    • Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy
    • Applied and Environmental Microbiology
    • Clinical Microbiology Reviews
    • Clinical and Vaccine Immunology
    • EcoSal Plus
    • Eukaryotic Cell
    • Infection and Immunity
    • Journal of Bacteriology
    • Journal of Clinical Microbiology
    • Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education
    • Journal of Virology
    • mBio
    • Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews
    • Microbiology Resource Announcements
    • Microbiology Spectrum
    • Molecular and Cellular Biology
    • mSphere
    • mSystems
  • Log in
  • My alerts
  • My Cart

Main menu

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Current Issue
    • Accepted Manuscripts
    • COVID-19 Special Collection
    • Archive
    • Minireviews
  • For Authors
    • Submit a Manuscript
    • Scope
    • Editorial Policy
    • Submission, Review, & Publication Processes
    • Organization and Format
    • Errata, Author Corrections, Retractions
    • Illustrations and Tables
    • Nomenclature
    • Abbreviations and Conventions
    • Publication Fees
    • Ethics Resources and Policies
  • About the Journal
    • About AEM
    • Editor in Chief
    • Editorial Board
    • For Reviewers
    • For the Media
    • For Librarians
    • For Advertisers
    • Alerts
    • RSS
    • FAQ
  • Subscribe
    • Members
    • Institutions
  • ASM
    • Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy
    • Applied and Environmental Microbiology
    • Clinical Microbiology Reviews
    • Clinical and Vaccine Immunology
    • EcoSal Plus
    • Eukaryotic Cell
    • Infection and Immunity
    • Journal of Bacteriology
    • Journal of Clinical Microbiology
    • Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education
    • Journal of Virology
    • mBio
    • Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews
    • Microbiology Resource Announcements
    • Microbiology Spectrum
    • Molecular and Cellular Biology
    • mSphere
    • mSystems

User menu

  • Log in
  • My alerts
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Applied and Environmental Microbiology
publisher-logosite-logo

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Current Issue
    • Accepted Manuscripts
    • COVID-19 Special Collection
    • Archive
    • Minireviews
  • For Authors
    • Submit a Manuscript
    • Scope
    • Editorial Policy
    • Submission, Review, & Publication Processes
    • Organization and Format
    • Errata, Author Corrections, Retractions
    • Illustrations and Tables
    • Nomenclature
    • Abbreviations and Conventions
    • Publication Fees
    • Ethics Resources and Policies
  • About the Journal
    • About AEM
    • Editor in Chief
    • Editorial Board
    • For Reviewers
    • For the Media
    • For Librarians
    • For Advertisers
    • Alerts
    • RSS
    • FAQ
  • Subscribe
    • Members
    • Institutions
General Microbial Ecology

Volatile Fatty Acid Production by the Hindgut Microbiota of Xylophagous Termites

David A. Odelson, John A. Breznak
David A. Odelson
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
John A. Breznak
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
DOI: 
  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

ABSTRACT

Acetate dominated the extracellular pool of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) in the hindgut fluid of Reticulitermes flavipes, Zootermopsis angusticollis, and Incisitermes schwarzi, where it occurred at concentrations of 57.9 to 80.6 mM and accounted for 94 to 98 mol% of all VFAs. Small amounts of C3 to C5 VFAs were also observed. Acetate was also the major VFA in hindgut homogenates of Schedorhinotermes lamanianus, Prorhinotermes simplex, Coptotermes formosanus, and Nasutitermes corniger. Estimates of in situ acetogenesis by the hindgut microbiota of R. flavipes (20.2 to 43.3 nmol · termite−1 · h−1) revealed that this activity could support 77 to 100% of the respiratory requirements of the termite (51.6 to 63.6 nmol of O2 · termite−1 · h−1). This conclusion was buttressed by the demonstration of acetate in R. flavipes hemolymph (at 9.0 to 11.6 mM), but not in feces, and by the ability of termite tissues to readily oxidize acetate to CO2. About 85% of the acetate produced by the hindgut microbiota was derived from cellulose C; the remainder was derived from hemicellulose C. Selective removal of major groups of microbes from the hindgut of R. flavipes indicated that protozoa were primarily responsible for acetogenesis but that bacteria also functioned in this capacity. H2 and CH4 were evolved by R. flavipes (usually about 0.4 nmol · termite−1 · h−1), but these compounds represented a minor fate of electrons derived from wood dissimilation within R. flavipes. A working model is proposed for symbiotic wood polysaccharide degradation in R. flavipes, and the possible roles of individual gut microbes, including CO2-reducing acetogenic bacteria, are discussed.

FOOTNOTES

  • ↵† Journal article 10752 from the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station.

PreviousNext
Back to top
Download PDF
Citation Tools
Volatile Fatty Acid Production by the Hindgut Microbiota of Xylophagous Termites
David A. Odelson, John A. Breznak
Applied and Environmental Microbiology May 1983, 45 (5) 1602-1613; DOI:

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Print

Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email

Thank you for sharing this Applied and Environmental Microbiology article.

NOTE: We request your email address only to inform the recipient that it was you who recommended this article, and that it is not junk mail. We do not retain these email addresses.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Volatile Fatty Acid Production by the Hindgut Microbiota of Xylophagous Termites
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from Applied and Environmental Microbiology
(Your Name) thought you would be interested in this article in Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Share
Volatile Fatty Acid Production by the Hindgut Microbiota of Xylophagous Termites
David A. Odelson, John A. Breznak
Applied and Environmental Microbiology May 1983, 45 (5) 1602-1613; DOI:
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Top
  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF

Related Articles

Cited By...

About

  • About AEM
  • Editor in Chief
  • Editorial Board
  • Policies
  • For Reviewers
  • For the Media
  • For Librarians
  • For Advertisers
  • Alerts
  • RSS
  • FAQ
  • Permissions
  • Journal Announcements

Authors

  • ASM Author Center
  • Submit a Manuscript
  • Article Types
  • Ethics
  • Contact Us

Follow #AppEnvMicro

@ASMicrobiology

       

ASM Journals

ASM journals are the most prominent publications in the field, delivering up-to-date and authoritative coverage of both basic and clinical microbiology.

About ASM | Contact Us | Press Room

 

ASM is a member of

Scientific Society Publisher Alliance

 

American Society for Microbiology
1752 N St. NW
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202) 737-3600

Copyright © 2021 American Society for Microbiology | Privacy Policy | Website feedback

 

Print ISSN: 0099-2240; Online ISSN: 1098-5336