Trichonympha
Encyclopedia
Trichonympha is a genus of parabasalian protist
s that live in the intestines of many, if not most, termite
species
. They are symbiotes, in that they break down the cellulose
in the wood and plant fibers their hosts eat.
Trichonympha resembles teardrops or pears that are wearing wigs. They are extremely motile, and feed by engulfing wood and plant fibers through phagocytosis, which always occurs at the broad ends of their bodies.
As beguiling as a relationship between a wood-eating insect (xylophagous) and its wood-digesting symbiote may seem, further investigations of Trichonympha reveals even more mind-boggling situations.
By itself, Trichonympha lacks the ability to produce cellulase
, it requires bacterial endosymbiotes to produce the cellulase
to digest its food. It also has spirochete ectosymbiotes embedded in its cell membrane
, together with its flagella these symbiotes give their host its characteristic "wiggy" appearance to grant it motility. The relationship with the spirochetes is particularly intriguing, as researchers are unsure whether the spirochetes move their host around, in the manner a group of excited dog
s drag around their dog-walker, or if Trichonympha "commands" them to move it around, much like a charioteer controls the horses of his chariot.
Another, extremely similar metamonad termite symbiote is Mixotricha paradoxa
Protist
Protists are a diverse group of eukaryotic microorganisms. Historically, protists were treated as the kingdom Protista, which includes mostly unicellular organisms that do not fit into the other kingdoms, but this group is contested in modern taxonomy...
s that live in the intestines of many, if not most, termite
Termite
Termites are a group of eusocial insects that, until recently, were classified at the taxonomic rank of order Isoptera , but are now accepted as the epifamily Termitoidae, of the cockroach order Blattodea...
species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
. They are symbiotes, in that they break down the cellulose
Cellulose
Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to over ten thousand β linked D-glucose units....
in the wood and plant fibers their hosts eat.
Trichonympha resembles teardrops or pears that are wearing wigs. They are extremely motile, and feed by engulfing wood and plant fibers through phagocytosis, which always occurs at the broad ends of their bodies.
As beguiling as a relationship between a wood-eating insect (xylophagous) and its wood-digesting symbiote may seem, further investigations of Trichonympha reveals even more mind-boggling situations.
By itself, Trichonympha lacks the ability to produce cellulase
Cellulase
400px|thumb|right|alt = Colored dice with checkered background|Ribbon representation of the Streptomyces lividans beta-1,4-endoglucanase catalytic domain - an example from the family 12 glycoside hydrolases...
, it requires bacterial endosymbiotes to produce the cellulase
Cellulase
400px|thumb|right|alt = Colored dice with checkered background|Ribbon representation of the Streptomyces lividans beta-1,4-endoglucanase catalytic domain - an example from the family 12 glycoside hydrolases...
to digest its food. It also has spirochete ectosymbiotes embedded in its cell membrane
Cell membrane
The cell membrane or plasma membrane is a biological membrane that separates the interior of all cells from the outside environment. The cell membrane is selectively permeable to ions and organic molecules and controls the movement of substances in and out of cells. It basically protects the cell...
, together with its flagella these symbiotes give their host its characteristic "wiggy" appearance to grant it motility. The relationship with the spirochetes is particularly intriguing, as researchers are unsure whether the spirochetes move their host around, in the manner a group of excited dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
s drag around their dog-walker, or if Trichonympha "commands" them to move it around, much like a charioteer controls the horses of his chariot.
Another, extremely similar metamonad termite symbiote is Mixotricha paradoxa
Mixotricha paradoxa
Mixotricha paradoxa is a species of protozoan that lives inside the termite species Mastotermes darwiniensis and has multiple bacterial symbionts. The name, given by the Australian biologist J.L. Sutherland, who first described Mixotricha in 1933,. means “the paradoxical being with mixed-up...