Assessment of genetically engineered Trabulsiella odontotermitis as a ‘Trojan Horse’ for paratransgenesis in termites

BMC Microbiology

Research Article

Chinmay Vijay Tikhe¹  Claudia Husseneder¹  Jennifer Delatte¹  Thomas M. Martin¹  Andréa Howells¹ 

[1] Department of Entomology, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA, USA;

关键词: Paratransgenesis;    Termite;    Tn7 transposon;    GFP;    Gut;    Bacteria;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12866-016-0822-4

 received in 2016-01-07, accepted in 2016-08-26,  发布年份 2016

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus is an invasive urban pest in the Southeastern USA. Paratransgenesis using a microbe expressed lytic peptide that targets the termite gut protozoa is currently being developed for the control of Formosan subterranean termites. In this study, we evaluated Trabulsiella odontotermitis, a termite-specific bacterium, for its potential to serve as a ‘Trojan Horse’ for expression of gene products in termite colonies.ResultsWe engineered two strains of T. odontotermitis, one transformed with a constitutively expressed GFP plasmid and the other engineered at the chromosome with a Kanamycin resistant gene using a non- disruptive Tn7 transposon. Both strains were fed to termites from three different colonies.Fluorescent microscopy confirmed that T. odontotermitis expressed GFP in the gut and formed a biofilm in the termite hindgut. However, GFP producing bacteria could not be isolated from the termite gut after 2 weeks. The feeding experiment with the chromosomally engineered strain demonstrated that T. odontotermitis was maintained in the termite gut for at least 21 days, irrespective of the termite colony. The bacteria persisted in two termite colonies for at least 36 days post feeding. The experiment also confirmed the horizontal transfer of T. odontotermitis amongst nest mates.ConclusionOverall, we conclude that T. odontotermitis can serve as a ‘Trojan Horse’ for spreading gene products in termite colonies. This study provided proof of concept and laid the foundation for the future development of genetically engineered termite gut bacteria for paratransgenesis based termite control.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2016