AUTHOR=De Martini Francesca , Coots Nicole L. , Jasso-Selles Daniel E. , Shevat Jordyn , Ravenscraft Alison , Stiblík Petr , Šobotník Jan , Sillam-Dussès David , Scheffrahn Rudolf H. , Carrijo Tiago F. , Gile Gillian H. TITLE=Biogeography and Independent Diversification in the Protist Symbiont Community of Heterotermes tenuis JOURNAL=Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution VOLUME=9 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/ecology-and-evolution/articles/10.3389/fevo.2021.640625 DOI=10.3389/fevo.2021.640625 ISSN=2296-701X ABSTRACT=
The eukaryotic microbiome of “lower” termites is highly stable and host-specific. This is due to the mutually obligate nature of the symbiosis and the direct inheritance of protists by proctodeal trophallaxis. However, vertical transmission is occasionally imperfect, resulting in daughter colonies that lack one or more of the expected protist species. This phenomenon could conceivably lead to regional differences in protist community composition within a host species. Here, we have characterized the protist symbiont community of