Evolution and ecology of cellulolytic enzyme genes in termite gutprotist

白蚁与其肠道内的微生物群落之间的关系是一个众所周知的共生关系的例子，它有助于有效消化顽固的木质纤维素。由于共生原生生物极难培育，我们对它们的生理和功能了解甚少。本研究采用单细胞方法对共生原生生物降解木质纤维素的过程进行了研究。这些结果表明，GHF基因是从基因组中的许多同源基因中选择性表达的，这可能与肠道原生生物对木质纤维素的有效降解有关。

The relationship between termites and microbial community intheir gut is a well-known example of symbiosis, which aids efficient digestion ofrecalcitrant lignocellulose. Because the symbiotic protists are extremely difficult tocultivate, our knowledge about their physiology and functions are poor. In this study,single cell approach was applied for the symbiotic protist to investigate the process forlignocellulose degradation. These results suggests that the GHF gene was selectivelyexpressed from many homologous genes in the genome, it probably attributed to theefficient degradation of lignocellulose by the gut protists.