Caltech researchers find new species of microbe responsible for acetogenesis, an important process in termite nutrition.
News Writer:
Jessica Stoller-Conrad
Phase contrast photomicrograph of a termite gut protozoan and attached symbiotic bacteria (small dark dots). Caltech researchers describe details of this association in the Sept. 16 edition of PNAS online.
Credit: Jared R. Leadbetter
When termites munch on wood, the small bits are delivered to feed a community of unique microbes living in their guts, and in a complex process involving multiple steps, these microbes turn the hard, fibrous material into a nutritious meal for the termite host. One key step uses hydrogen to convert carbon dioxide into organic carbon—a process called acetogenesis—but little is known about which gut bacteria play specific roles in the process.