Symbioses of flagellates and bacteria in the gut of termites

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Various associations between cellulolytic protists and bacteria in the gut microbial community of termites were identified, detected, and investigated in terms of their co-evolutionary relationships. The complete genome sequences of two endosymbiotic bacterial species, determined after the whole genome amplification starting from small numbers of the manually isolated cells, disclosed their symbiotic relationship involving the provision of essential nitrogenous nutrients. The primary metabolism of the protists that efficiently eliminates reducing equivalents as molecular hydrogen was inferred from their meta-transcriptomic analysis.