Phylogenomic analysis of 589 metagenome-assembled genomes encompassing all major prokaryotic lineages from the gut of higher termites

PeerJ

article

Vincent Hervé¹  Pengfei Liu¹  Carsten Dietrich¹  David Sillam-Dussès²  Petr Stiblik³  Jan Šobotník³  Andreas Brune¹ 

[1] Research Group Insect Gut Microbiology and Symbiosis, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology;Laboratory of Experimental and Comparative Ethology EA 4443, Université Paris 13;Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences

关键词: Metagenome-assembled genomes;    Gut microbiology;    Higher termites;    Bacteria;    Archaea;    Phylogenomics;    Metagenomics;    Spirochaetes;    Fibrobacteres;    Bathyarchaeota;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.8614

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

“Higher” termites have been able to colonize all tropical and subtropical regions because of their ability to digest lignocellulose with the aid of their prokaryotic gut microbiota. Over the last decade, numerous studies based on 16S rRNA gene amplicon libraries have largely described both the taxonomy and structure of the prokaryotic communities associated with termite guts. Host diet and microenvironmental conditions have emerged as the main factors structuring the microbial assemblages in the different gut compartments. Additionally, these molecular inventories have revealed the existence of termite-specific clusters that indicate coevolutionary processes in numerous prokaryotic lineages. However, for lack of representative isolates, the functional role of most lineages remains unclear. We reconstructed 589 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) from the different gut compartments of eight higher termite species that encompass 17 prokaryotic phyla. By iteratively building genome trees for each clade, we significantly improved the initial automated assignment, frequently up to the genus level. We recovered MAGs from most of the termite-specific clusters in the radiation of, for example, Planctomycetes, Fibrobacteres, Bacteroidetes, Euryarchaeota, Bathyarchaeota, Spirochaetes, Saccharibacteria, and Firmicutes, which to date contained only few or no representative genomes. Moreover, the MAGs included abundant members of the termite gut microbiota. This dataset represents the largest genomic resource for arthropod-associated microorganisms available to date and contributes substantially to populating the tree of life. More importantly, it provides a backbone for studying the metabolic potential of the termite gut microbiota, including the key members involved in carbon and nitrogen biogeochemical cycles, and important clues that may help cultivating representatives of these understudied clades.

【 授权许可】

CC BY