@article{fdi:010072469,
  title = {{E}vidence from the gut microbiota of swarming alates of a vertical transmission of the bacterial symbionts in {N}asutitermes arborum ({T}ermitidae, {N}asutitermitinae)},
  author = {{D}iouf, {M}. and {H}erv{\'e}, {V}. and {M}ora, {P}. and {R}obert, {A}. and {F}rechault, {S}. and {R}ouland {L}ef{\`e}vre, {C}orinne and {M}iambi, {E}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{S}tudies on termite symbiosis have revealed that significant symbiont lineages are maintained across generations. {H}owever, most studies have focused only on the worker caste. {L}ittle is known about the gut microbiota of reproductives, the most probable vectors for transmitting these lineages to offspring. {U}sing 16{S} r{RNA} gene-based {I}llumina {M}i{S}eq sequencing, we compared the gut microbiota of swarming alates of the higher termite {N}asutitermes arborum with those of their nestmates from the parental colony. {T}he {OTU}-based alpha diversity indices showed that the gut microbiota of the alates was at least as diverse as those of non-reproductive adults. {I}t was largely dominated by {S}pirochaetes mostly of the {T}reponema {I} cluster (63.1% of reads), the same dominant taxa found in soldiers and workers of this species and in workers of closely related {N}asutitermes species. {T}he termite-specific lineages also included other representative taxa such as several clusters of {B}acteroidetes and {F}ibrobacteres-{TG}3 group. {T}he microbiota of alates was dominated by a core set of host-specific lineages (87% of reads, 77.6% of {OTU}s), which were always present across all castes/stages. {T}his first comprehensive survey of the microbiota of the founding reproductives of these xylophagous higher termites shows that the bulk of the host endogenous symbionts, mostly taxa that cannot thrive outside the gut, are brought from the parent colony. {T}he royal pair therefore seems to be a key player in the transmission of symbionts across generations and thereby in host-symbiont codiversification. {T}he high proportion of fiber-degrading lineages in their gut suggests a wood-rich diet unlike the larval stages.},
  keywords = {{S}warming alates ; {N}asutitermes ; {G}utmicrobiota ; {S}ymbiont transmission ; 16{S} ; r{RNA} gene ; {T}reponema},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{A}ntonie {V}an {L}eeuwenhoek {I}nternational = {J}ournal of {G}eneral and {M}olecular {M}icrobiology},
  volume = {111},
  numero = {4},
  pages = {573--587},
  ISSN = {0003-6072},
  year = {2018},
  DOI = {10.1007/s10482-017-0978-4},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010072469},
}