Termites artificially-fed on unusual diet and resulting enzymatic switches

Wood-feeding termites as Reticulitermes santonensis generally feed on cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin. However, these opportunistic insects are also able to degrade other carbohydrates, such as starch. The production of putative endogenous α - amylase has been previously shown in R. flavipes, as the disappearance of the major symbiotic flagellates from the hindgut. Here, we compared enzymatic activities (CMCase, MCCase, xylanase, amylase, α- and β-glucosidase) between different fractions of the digestive tract of starch-, cellulose-, and wood-fed termites. Main compounds of the artificial diets, namely starch or MCC, resulted in differential enzymatic activity. Even the substitution of wood by artificial diets itself seemed to induce changes in enzymatic activities, regardless of the main substrate in the diet, as we observed strong midgut α-glucosidase activity only for artificially-fed termites. Preliminary assays to isolate and characterize enzymes were performed using proteomic methods