Insect gut microbiology and symbiosis
Prof. Dr. Andreas Brune
Research Area
Termite guts are tiny bioreactors converting lignocellulose to microbial fermentation products that fuel the metabolism of the host. My research group studies the role of the gut microbiota in the symbiotic digestion of wood, focusing on the structure and functions of the gut microbiome, the biology of the prokaryotic and eukaryotic symbionts and their interactions, and the evolution of the intestinal microbial community. Other aspects are the microbial processes in the guts of humivorous soil macrofauna, such as soil-feeding termites, scarab beetle larvae, and millipedes.
Recent publications:
Evidence of cospeciation between termites and their gut bacteria on a geological time scale. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 290 (2001), 20230619 (2023)
Elusimicrobiota. In: Bergey's Manual of Systematics of Archaea and Bacteria (Eds. Trujillo, M. E.; Dedysh, S.; DeVos, P.; Hedlund, B.; Kämpfer, P. et al.) (2023)
New insights into the coevolutionary history of termites and their gut flagellates: Description of Retractinympha glossotermitis gen. nov. sp. nov. (Retractinymphidae fam. nov.). FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION 11, 1111484 (2023)
Hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis is the key process in the obligately syntrophic consortium of the anaerobic ameba Pelomyxa schiedti. The ISME Journal (2023)
Comparative Analysis of Brucepastera parasyntrophica gen. nov., sp. nov. and Teretinema zuelzerae gen. nov., comb. nov. (Treponemataceae) Reveals the Importance of Interspecies Hydrogen Transfer in the Energy Metabolism of Spirochetes. Appl Environ Microbiol 88 (14), p. e0050322 (2022)
A new family for 'termite gut treponemes': description of Breznakiellaceae fam. nov., Gracilinema caldarium gen. nov., comb. nov., Leadbettera azotonutricia gen. nov., comb. nov., Helmutkoenigia isoptericolens gen. nov., comb. nov., and Zuelzera stenostrepta gen. nov., comb. nov., and proposal of Rectinemataceae fam. nov. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 72 (5) (2022)
The functional evolution of termite gut microbiota. Microbiome 10 (1), p. 78 (2022)