Concentration of prokaryotes in termite gut

Value 5.5e+9 Cells/ml
Organism Termite Mastotermes darwiniensis
Reference Berchtold M, Chatzinotas A, Schonhuber W, Brune A, Amann R, Hahn D, Konig H. Differential enumeration and in situ localization of microorganisms in the hindgut of the lower termite mastotermes darwiniensis by hybridization with rRNA-targeted probes. Arch Microbiol. 1999 Dec172(6):407-16. p.413 right column 3rd paragraphPubMed ID10591851
Method “Examinations using indicator dyes and recent studies involving microelectrodes have shown a pronounced spatial differentiation of termite hindguts with respect to intestinal pH (Noirot and Noirot-Timotheé 1969. Brune and Kühl 1996) and axial or radial gradients of oxygen or hydrogen concentration (Veivers et al. 1980 Brune et al. 1995a Ebert and Brune 1997, Schmitt-Wagner and Brune 1999). However, it is not clear whether or to what extent such differences in environmental conditions affect the composition of microbial communities colonizing individual gut regions or various microniches within a single compartment. The rRNA approach, i.e., sequencing of rRNA genes and hybridization with group-specific, fluorescently labeled, rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide probes, has been widely used for identification and enumeration of noncultivated microorganisms (Amann et al. 1995 Berchtold and König 1995, 1996 Zarda et al. 1997). In combination with confocal laser scanning microscopy, it allows the in situ localization of microorganisms even in complex systems, e.g., plant roots (Assmus et al. 1995) or activated sludge (Amann et al. 1996). Combining the rRNA approach with confocal laser scanning microscopy and oxygen microelectrode measurements, [researchers] examined the gut microbial community within the hindgut of the wood-feeding, Australian termite M. darwiniensis. From a comparison of microbial numbers and community structure between the thin-walled, dilated P3a and the thick-walled and more tubular regions (P3b and P4), [they] sought to examine differences in microbial colonization of the compartments and to correlate oxygen profiles with spatial distribution of the microbiota.”
Comments "The total number of prokaryotes in the hindgut of M. darwiniensis amounts to a concentration of 5.5×10^9 prokaryotic cells per milliliter. This value lies within the wide range of prokaryotic cell densities (10^7–10^11 /ml) reported for other termites (Krasilnikov and Satdykov 1969. Bignell et al. 1980. To et al. 1980. Tholen et al. 1997)." For concentration of ~8×10^9 bacteria/ml in a different termite species see BNID 104952
Entered by Uri M
ID 104951