Most of the genetic, cellular, and biochemical diversity of life rests within single-celled
organisms—the prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea) and microbial eukaryotes (protists) …

Insect guts present distinctive environments for microbial colonization, and bacteria in the
gut potentially provide many beneficial services to their hosts. Insects display a wide range …

Their ability to degrade lignocellulose gives termites an important place in the carbon cycle.
This ability relies on their partnership with a diverse community of bacterial, archaeal and …

Members of the diverse bacterial phylum Bacteroidetes have colonized virtually all types of
habitats on Earth. They are among the major members of the microbiota of animals …

Herbivory, defined as feeding on live plant tissues, is characteristic of highly successful and
diverse groups of insects and represents an evolutionarily derived mode of feeding. Plants …

Specialized relationships with bacteria often allow animals to exploit a new diet by providing
a novel set of metabolic capabilities. Bees are a monophyletic group of Hymenoptera that …

A common biological pathway reconstruction approach—as implemented by many
automatic biological pathway services (such as the KAAS and RAST servers) and the …

Termite guts harbor a dense and diverse microbiota that is essential for symbiotic digestion.
The major players in lower termites are unique lineages of cellulolytic flagellates, whereas …

Background Termites primarily feed on lignocellulose or soil in association with specific gut
microbes. The functioning of the termite gut microbiota is partly understood in a handful of …

Despite the presence of many carbohydrolytic activities in insects, their cellulolytic
mechanisms are poorly understood. Whereas cellulase genes are absent from the genomes …