Metatranscriptome of the protistan community in Reticulitermes flaviceps

In this study, we used the juvenile hormone analog fenoxycarb to induce termite workers (Reticulitermes flaviceps) to differentiate into pre‐soldiers. A metatranscriptomic investigation of the protistan community was then performed by 454 pyrosequencing. From a thorough analysis based on 597 312 generated reads, we found that the starch and sucrose metabolism pathway was the most abundant pathway across the metatranscriptome. The current study demonstrates that the metatranscriptome of the protistan community in termites contains an abundance of lignocellulase, which plays a vital role in termite nutrition.

Source: Insect Science - June 28, 2016 Category: Biology Authors: Xiao‐Jing Liu, Min Che, Lei Xie, Shuai Zhan, Zhi‐Hua Zhou, Yong‐Ping Huang, Qian Wang Tags: SHORT COMMUNICATION Source Type: research