Diversity of Hindgut Bacterial Population in Subterranean Termite, Reticulitermes flavipes

The termite hindgut contains a bacterial community that symbiotically aids in digestion of cellulosic materials. For this paper, a species survey of bacterial hindgut symbionts in termites collected from Saucier, Mississippi was examined. Two methods were tested for optimal genetic material isolation. Genomic DNA was isolated from the hindgut luminal contents of five termites and 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene fragments were amplified with 16S rRNA amplicon primers. The fragments were cloned into E. coli cells and plasmid DNA was isolated from subsequent clones for sequencing. The results revealed 6 different bacteria phyla and 18 genera. The most dominant phylum was Bacteroidetes , followed by Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Elusimicrobia, Spirochaetia, and Actinobacteria. Firmicutes was the most diverse phylum with 8 different genera.