AUTHOR=Sapountzis Panagiotis , de Verges Jane , Rousk Kathrin , Cilliers Magdeleen , Vorster Barend J. , Poulsen Michael TITLE=Potential for Nitrogen Fixation in the Fungus-Growing Termite Symbiosis JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology VOLUME=7 YEAR=2016 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2016.01993 DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2016.01993 ISSN=1664-302X ABSTRACT=
Termites host a gut microbiota of diverse and essential symbionts that enable specialization on dead plant material; an abundant, but nutritionally imbalanced food source. To supplement the severe shortage of dietary nitrogen (N), some termite species make use of diazotrophic bacteria to fix atmospheric nitrogen (N2). Fungus-growing termites (subfamily Macrotermitinae) host a fungal exosymbiont (genus