In-Vitro fungal -fungal interactions of a terminate nest mycobiome

Abstract

Several insects, including termites, beetles, and ants, have developed the capacity to employ microorganisms to grow a fungus that they feed on in order to acquire indirect access to plant substrate. Termites are eusocial insects that belong to the order Blattodea, which includes over 3,000 species worldwide. Termites feed directly on wood or decomposed organic matter or cultivate fungus in order to decompose plant and organic substrates. Fungus farming termites have an exterior digestive system in the form of fungus gardens or galleries, in contrast to most insects, which digest food inside. This allows them to take advantage of new ecological niches by degrading stubborn plant biomass. This makes termites one of the best model organisms to study symbiotic systems in insects. Odontotermes obesus, notable crop pests in Asia, are the fungus-growing termites that belong to the family Termitidae. They obligately cultivate and consume Termitomyces. These termites grow these fungi on the structure that the termites make from soil and plant material . The mound acts as an excellent substrate for microbes due to its architecture. This creates a risk of contact with pathogens and parasites. This infection could expand due to their huge colony size. However, they have devised behavioural and molecular actions to keep the infection away. Symbionts that are present inside the gut as well as outside the colony system(mound) play a crucial role not only in nutrition to the insect but also against pathogens. Metarhizium and Pupureocillium are two such pathogenic fungi that are present in the mound of Odontermes obesus. The main objective is to identify any fungi from the mycobiome of the termite colony that could act as potential symbiotes of the species.