The relationship between oxidant levels and gut physiology in a litter-feeding termite

The termite gut is an efficient decomposer of polyphenol-rich diets, such as lignocellulosic biomasses, and it has been proposed that non-enzymatic oxidative mechanisms could be involved with the digestive process in these animals. However, oxidant levels are completely unknown in termites, as well as protective mechanisms against oxidative damage to the termite gut and its microbiota. As the first step in investigating the role oxidants plays in termite gut physiology, this work presents oxidant levels, antioxidant enzymatic defenses, cell renewal and microbiota abundance along the litter-feeding termite Cornitermes cumulans gut compartments (foregut, midgut, mixed segment and hindgut p1, p3, p4, and p5 segments) and salivary glands. The results show variable levels of oxidants along the C. cumulans gut, the production of antioxidant enzymes, gut cell renewal as potential defenses against oxidative injuries and the profile of microbiota distribution (being predominantly inverse to oxidant levels). In this fashion, the oxidative challenges imposed by polyphenol-rich diet seem to be circumvented by the C. cumulans gut, ensuring efficiency of the digestive process together with preservation of tissue homoeostasis and microbiota growth. These results present new insights into the physicochemical properties of the gut in a litter-feeding termite, expanding our view in relation to termites’ digestive physiology.