The major gut microflora colonizing the hind gut of higher termites, include morphologically diverse microorganisms. The objective of this study was to identify by morphological and biochemical methods of the antibiotic producing microorganisms in the gut of Macrotermes michaelseni. Macrotermes michaelseni harbor dense population of actinobacteria, which are known to produce a wide variety of secondary metabolites including many commercially important enzymes and antibiotics. In this study the Macrotermes michaelseni were collected from actively growing mound in Maseno University compound. Hind gut homogenates were serially diluted in sterile basal salt solution (104, 105 and 106) then pasteurized in a hot water bath at a temperature of 63 °C for 30 minutes and finally transferred onto plates containing the solid media MM7 and MM7 + glucose + Asparagine. The isolates obtained were different morphologically. Gram stain determination showed that majority of the isolates had gram negative bacteria. Indole, Citrate utilization and Triple sugar iron tests were carried out on the nine out of the seventeen isolates that showed particularly strong inhibition patterns. Biochemical tests carried out confirmed that termite gut harbour different additional indigenous microorganisms where Salmonella paratyphi, Shigella species and Shigella flexneri were identified.
Ayitso AS and Onyango DM. Isolation And Identification by Morphological and Biochemical Methods Of Antibiotic Producing Microorganisms from the gut of Macrotermes Michaelseni in Maseno, Kenya. J App Biol Biotech. 2016; 4 (01): 027-033. DOI: 10.7324/JABB.2016.40105
1. Brian MV. Production Ecology of Ants and Termites, New York Cambridge University Press; 1978.
2. Eutick ML, Brien RW, Slaytor M. Bacteria from the gut of Australian termites, Applied Environtal Microbiology. 1978; 35: 823-828.
3. Bignell DE, Slaytor M, Veivers PC, Mühlemann R, Leuthold RH. Functions of symbiotic fungus gardens in higher termites of the genus Macrotermes evidence against the acquired enzyme hypothesis. Acta Microbiol. Immunology Hung. 1994;41:391-401.
4. Brune AD. Emerson and Breznak J.A. The termite gut microflora as an oxygen sink: Microelectrode determination of oxygen and pH gradients in guts of lower and higher termites, Applied Environmental Microbiology. 1995; 61: 2681-2687.
5. Matoub M, Rouland C. Purification and properties of the xylanases from the termite Macrotermes bellicosus and its symbiotic fungus Termitomyces sp. Comparative Biochemical Physiology. 1995; 112:629- 35.
6. Bignell DE, Oskarsson H, Anderson JM. Specialization of the hindgut wall for the attachment of symbiotic microorganisms, in a termite Procubetermes aburiensis (Isoptera: Termitidae. Termitinae). Zoomorphology. 1980; 96: 103-112.
7. Rouland C., Brauman A., Labat M. and Lepage M. Nutritional factors affecting methane emission; 1993.
8. Rolf D. The soil metagenome as a rich resource for the discovery of natural products. Current Opinion in Biotechnology. 2004; 15: 199-204.
9. O’Donnnell AG, Seasman M, Macne AN, Davies T. Plants and fertilizers as drivers of change in Microbial Community Structure and Function in soil. Plant soil. 2001; 232:135-145.
10. Strohl WR. The Role of natural products in modern drug discovery. Drug DiscoveryToday. 2000; 5: 39-41.
11. Veivers PC, O’Brien RW, Slaytor M. Role of bacteria in maintaining the redox potential in the hindgut of termites and preventing the entry of foreign bacteria. Journal of Insect Physiology. 1982; 28:947–951.
12. Dillon RJ, Dillon VM. The gut bacteria of insects: nonpathogenic interactions. Annu Rev Entomology. 2004; 49:71–92.
13. Schmitt-Wagner D, Friedrich MW, Wagner B. and Brune A. Phylogenetic diversity, abundance, and axial distribution of bacteria in the intestinal tract of two soil-feeding termites (Cubitermes spp.). Applied Environmental Microbiology. 2003; 69: 6007-601.
14. Mincer TJ, Jensen PR, Kauffman CA, Fanical W. Widespread and persistent populations of a major new marine Actinomycete taxon in ocean sediments. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 2002; 68: 5005–501.
15. Prescott ML, Harley PJ, Klein AD. Microbiology 7th edition. Publishing Group. 2008; 42-51, 232-233, 762-764.
16. Shirling EB, Gottlieb. Methods of characterization of Streptomyces species. Introduction Journal Bacteriology. 1966;61: 313-340.
17. Hucker GJ, Conn HJ. Method of Gram staining. N Y State Agric Exp Stn Tech Bull. 1987; 93:3–37.
18. Manga BS, Oyeleke SB. Essentials of Laboratory Practical’s in Microbiology (1 edition). Tobes Publishers. 2008;56-76.
19. Tariq S, Benedict CO, Muhamma A, William T. Enrichment and isolation of endosulphan degrading microorganisms. Journal of environmental quality. 2003; 32: 47-54.
20. Ntabo R, Boga H, Muigai A, Mwirichia R. Isolation and characterization of bacteria isolates from soil feeding termites and soil from juja and kakamega forest in Kenya; 2007.
21. Torsvik V, Daa FL, Sandaa RA, Orneas L. Microbial diversity and function in soil: From genes to Ecosystems. Current Opinion in Microbiology. 2002; 5: 240-245.
22. Collins MD, Cummins CS. Genus Corynebacterium Lehmann and Neumann 1896, 350AL. In Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology. 1986; 2: 1266–1276.
23. Kuhnigk T, Branke J, Krekeler D, Cypionka H, König H. A feasible role of sulfate-reducing bacteria in the termite gut. Systematic and Applied Microbiology. 1996; 19:139-149.
24. Wenzel MI, Schonig M, Berchtold P, Kampfer H, Konig G. Aerobic and facultatively anaerobic cellulolytic bacteria from the gut of the termite Zootermopsis angusticollis Zootermopsis angusticollis. Journal of Applied Microbiology. 2002; 92:32-40.
25. Higashiguchi DT, Hussenede C, Grace JK, Berestecky JM. Pilibacter termitis gen. nov., Sp. nov., a lactic acid bacterium from the hindgut of the Formosan subterranean termite (Captotermes formosanus) International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbilogy. 2006; 56, 15-20.
26. Boga HI, Ludwig RW, Brune A. Sporotaela propionica genera novel species. Hydrogen oxidizing, Oxygen reducing, propiogenic firmicutes from the intestinal tract of a soil feeding termite. Archives of Microbiology. 2007; 187 (1): 15-27.
27. Hellen AO, Hamadi IB, Nancy B, Muniru T, Darius OA. Isolation, characterization and identification of Diazinon degrading bacteria from the soil and gut of macrotermes. Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences. 2013;3: 70-79.
28. Holt GJ, Kreig RN, Sneath AH, Staley T, Williams TS. Bergey’s manual of determinative bacteriology (9th Edition) William and Wilkins. Baltimore; 1994.
Year
Month
Antimicrobial Activities of Microorganisms Obtained from the gut of Macrotermes michaelseni in Maseno, Kenya
Aswani Susan Ayitso, David Miruka Onyango, Samuel Otieno WagaiIsolation and molecular characterization of bacteria from the gut of Eisenia fetida for biodegradation of 4,4 DDT
Reagan Mudziwapasi, Sibonani S. Mlambo, Nomathemba L. Chigu, Pardon K. Kuipa, Walter T. SanyikaComparative analysis of metagenomic DNA extraction methods from gut microbiota of zebrafish (Danio rerio) for downstream next-generation sequencing
Venetia D’Rose, Tina Kollannoor Johny, Sarita BhatVitamin K2: An emerging essential nutraceutical and its market potential
Sunita Aggarwal, Siddharth Gupta, Shalini Sehgal, Praneeta Srivastava, Aparajita Sen, Garishma Gulyani, Anmol JainIdentification of host-specific skin-mucus and gut microbiota in snakehead murrel (Channa striata) (Bloch, 1793) using metagenomics approach
Kiran D. Rasal, Sangita Dixit, Pragyan Paramita Swain, Prabhugouda Siriyappagouder, Rajesh Kumar, Mir Asif Iquebal, Manohar Vasam, Jakson Debbarma, Sarika Jaiswal, U. B. Angadi, Anil Rai, Dinesh Kumar, Jitendra Kumar SundarayDietary Supplementation of Synbiotic Formulation with Phytoactives on Broiler Performance, Relative Ready-to-Cook Weight, Health, Nutrient Digestibility, Gut Health, and Litter Characteristics
Vishwanath G Bhagwat, Santoshkumar V G Tattimani, Mirza Rizwan BaigMicrobes as a gift from God
Ajar Nath Yadav,, Divjot Kour, Neelam YadavA metagenomic analysis of gut microbiome phylogeny among four economically important carp species from wild and aquaculture farms
Shrihari Ashok Pingle, Abhay John KhandagleInvestigating plasmid-mediated antimicrobial resistance in gut microbes: A focus on Prevotella and Bifidobacterium
Jayavigneshwar Natarajan, Sorna Lakshmi S, Ishaan Ramachandran, Devika Sharma, Bhuvaneshwaran Rajaguru, Priya SwaminathanA novel protease from Bacillus clausii UBBC07, a healthful solution against diarrhea-causing pathogens
Jyoti Guleria, Mohammad Rashid Khan, Minhaj Ahmad KhanMorphological Trait, Molecular Genetic Evidence and Proteomic Determination of Different Chickens (Gallus gallus) Breeds
Wirot Likittrakulwong, Pisit Poolprasert, Sittiruk RoytrakulMushroom fruiting body yield and morphological characteristics from different strains of Pleurotus eryngii
Iryna Bandura, Omoanghe S. Isikhuemhen, Alina Kulik, Nina Bisko, Maryna Serduik, Volodymyr Khareba, Olena Khareba, Iryna Ivanova, Olesya Priss, Oleksandr Tsyz, Serhii Makohon, Serhii ChausovWoodfordia fruticosa (Linn.) Kurz’s fungal endophyte Mucor souzae’s secondary metabolites, kaempferol and quercetin, bestow biological activities
Kavyashree Doreswamy, Priyanka Shenoy, Sneha Bhaskar, Ramachandra K. Kini, Shailasree SekharPhenotypic variation and genetic divergence studies in Cameroonian potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) genotypes
Mariette Anoumaa, Eric Bertrand Kouam, Gabriel Kanmegne, Yanick Borel Kamga, Hervé Djomo Sime, Lisette Laure Chimi Nkombo, Théophile FonkouA computational statistical approach to assess cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] cultivars diversity and select elite genotypes from Agro-morphological and biochemical traits
Noel Dougba Dago, Jean Simon Konan Assouman, Saraka Didier Martial Yao, Nafan Diarrassouba