Supplementing Blends of Sugars, Amino Acids, and Secondary Metabolites to the Diet of Termites (Reticulitermes flavipes) Drive Distinct Gut Bacterial Communities

Although it is well known that diet is one of the major modulators of the gut microbiome, how the major components of diet shape the gut microbial community is not well understood. Here, we developed a simple system that allows the investigation of the impact of given compounds as supplements of the diet on the termite gut microbiome. The 16S rRNA pyrosequencing analysis revealed that feeding termites different blends of sugars and amino acids did not majorly impact gut community composition; however, ingestion of blends of secondary metabolites caused shifts in gut bacterial community composition. The supplementation of sugars and amino acids reduced the richness significantly, and sugars alone increased the evenness of the gut bacterial community significantly. Secondary metabolites created the most dramatic effects on the microbial community, potentially overriding the effect of other types of compounds. Furthermore, some microbial groups were stimulated specifically by particular groups of compounds. For instance, termites fed with secondary metabolites contained more Firmicutes and Spirochaetes compared to the other treatments. In conclusion, our results suggest that the termite (Reticulitermes flavipes) can be used as a simple and effective system to test the effects of particular chemical compounds in modulating the gut microbiome.