Methanogenic Symbionts and the Locality of their Host Lower Termites.

SSU rRNA genes of symbiotic methanogens in the hindgut of four lower Japanese termites and one Australian lower termite Mastotermes darwiniensis as well as a soil sample collected near a nest of Reticulitermes speratus were amplified, cloned and phylogenetically analyzed. Most of the clones found in the lower termites were of the genus Methanobrevibacter. The symbiotic methanogens in the Japanese termites and in the soil sample were related to each other. The clones obtained from M. darwiniensis grouped separately from the clones of Japanese termites. These results suggest that the methanogen community of lower termites reflects host locality rather than phylogeny.