Pyruvate and acetate metabolism in termite mitochondria.

Intact mitochondria have been successfully prepared from body tissues from the termites Nasutitermes walkeri and Coptotermes formosanus. This is the first report of the successful isolation of mitochondria from termites (Isoptera: Termitidae). Using an oxygen electrode, oxygen consumption by the mitochondria during the oxidation of various respiratory substrates was determined and their properties measured in terms of respiratory control index and ADP/O.

New endo-beta-1,4-glucanases from the parabasalian symbionts, Pseudotrichonympha grassii and Holomastigotoides mirabile of Coptotermes termites.

Abstract. An endo-beta-1,4-glucanase (EG) was purified from the hindgut of an Australian mound-building termite, Coptotermes lacteus. The hindgut extract had a peak separate from those for extracts obtained from the salivary glands and the midgut based on sephacryl S-200 gel chromatography, and also demonstrated an origin different from the endogenous EGs of the termite itself.

Evidence from multiple gene sequences indicates that termites evolved from wood-feeding cockroaches.

Despite more than half a century of research, the evolutionary origin of termites remains unresolved [1] [2] [3]. A clear picture of termite ancestry is crucial for understanding how these insects evolved eusociality, particularly because they lack the haplodiploid genetic system associated with eusocial evolution in bees, ants, wasps and thrips [4] [5]. Termites, together with cockroaches and praying mantids, constitute the order Dictyoptera, which has been the focus of numerous conflicting phylogenetic studies in recent decades [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12].

Metazoan cellulase genes from termites: intron/exon structures and sites of expression.

Endogenous endo-beta-1,4-glucanase (EGase, EC 3.2.1.

Cellulose and Xylan Utilisation in the Lower Termite Reticulitermes speratus.

The distribution of the enzymes of cellulose and xylan metabolism namely endo-beta-1,4-glucanase, beta-glucosidase, endo-beta-1,4-xylanase and beta-xylosidase activities, in Reticulitermes speratus (Kolbe) was measured both in the salivary glands and in the major gut sections and along the length of the gut in freshly collected termites. The majority of the endo-beta-1,4-glucanase activity (77.8%) was found in the salivary glands which also contained 23.

Functions of symbiotic fungus gardens in higher termites of the genus Macrotermes: evidence against the acquired enzyme hypothesis.

Behavioural, microbiological and biochemical studies on Macrotermes subhyalinus and M. michaelseni by collaborating laboratories in the U.K.

N,N-Dimethyltryptamine Production in Phalaris aquatica Seedlings: A Mathematical Model for its Synthesis.

The activities of three enzymes and the concentration of intermediates involved in the synthesis of N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) from endogenous tryptophan (TRP) have been measured in vitro in seedlings of Phalaris aquatica L. cv Australian Commercial over 16 days after planting. The activities of tryptophan decarboxylase and the two N-methyl-transferases increased rapidly to maximal rates of substrate conversion at day 5 of 95, 1000, and 2200 micromoles per hour per milliliter, respectively.

Affinity chromatography of an S-adenosylmethionine-dependent methyltransferase using immobilized S-adenosylhomocysteine. Purification of the indolethylamine N-methyltransferases of phalaris tuberosa.

In the cases that have been studied so far, S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) is a powerful inhibitor of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) binding to SAM-dependent methyltransferases. We deduced, from the available data on the binding of SAM and SAH analogues to SAM dependent methyltransferases, that linkage of SAH through the carboxyl group to an immobilized support would lead to a more general affinity adsorbent for SAM-dependent methyltransferases than linkage through other functional groups. This paper describes the synthesis of this affinity adsorbent and its use to purify the two indolethylamine N-methyltransferases of Phalaris tuberosa.

Bacteria from the gut of Australian termites.

The major gut bacteria of the worker caste of nine species of Australian termites, belonging to four families, were isolated and identified to generic level. All species were either facultative anaerobes or strict aerobes. A correlation appears to exist between the major gut bacterium and the family to which the termite belongs.