Molecular evidence that cellulolytic bacterial genus Cohnellais widespread among Neotropical Nasutitermitinae from NE Argentina

Cohnellais a highly cellulolytic bacterial genus, which can be found in a variety of habitats. The aim of this study was to assess its presence in the digestive tract of termite species collected in North-eastern Argentina: Nasutitermes aquilinus, N. cornigerand Cortaritermes fulviceps. Gut homogenates were incubated with cellulosic substrate for bacterial growth. Bacterial 16S rDNA was partially amplified using new primers for Cohnellaspp. and cloned. Sequences obtained showed highest similarity (97.2–99.9%) with those of Cohnellaspp. previously reported from diverse environments. Phylogenetic analysis tended to group the clones according to their host species and sampling sites. These results indicate the association of Cohnella-related intestinal symbionts with three common Neotropical termites. Their potential industrial application encourages further research.