Abstract
Liometopum apiculatum is a species of ants widely distributed in arid and semi-arid ecosystems where there is a relative food shortage compared with tropical ecosystems. L. apiculatum has established an ecological balance involving symbiotic interactions, which have allowed them to survive through mechanisms that are still unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the metabolic potential of isolated bacteria from L. apiculatum using enzymatic activity assay and substrate assimilation. Results revealed a complex bacteria consortium belonging to Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria phylum. Most of the isolated bacteria showed activities associated with biopolymers degradation, from them Exiguobacterium and B. simplex showed the highest amylolytic activity (27 U/mg protein), while A. johnsonii and B. pumulis showed the highest cellulolytic and xylanolytic activities (1 and 2.9 U/mg protein, respectively). By other hand, some microorganisms such as S. ficaria, E. asburiae, P. agglomerans, A. johnsonii, S. rubidaea, S. marcescens, S. warneri, and M. hydrocarbonoxydans were able to grow up to 1000 mg/L of phthalates esters. These results not only revealed the important contribution of the symbionts in L apiculatum ants feeding habits, but also have shown a promising source of enzymes with potential biotechnological applications such as lignocellulosic biomass hydrolysis and bioremediation processes.
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All generated data during this study is included in this published article (and its additional files). The spectral data have been deposited in the PeptideAtlas (https://www.peptideatlas.org/PASS/PASS01383). Request for materials should be addressed to the corresponding author.
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Acknowledgements
JLGE and MAPC thank CONACYT fellowship 386100 and 331852, respectively. Thanks to A Barrera-Pacheco and VE Balderas-Hernández for their technical assistance.
Funding
This work was financially supported by Fondo Sectorial SAGARPA-CONACYT-B-S-3804, FSAG/ST/025/18 and CONACYT Problemas Nacionales 4601.
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González-Escobar, J.L., Pereyra-Camacho, M.A., De Léon-Rodríguez, A. et al. Biodegradation of recalcitrant compounds and phthalates by culturable bacteria isolated from Liometopum apiculatum microbiota. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 36, 73 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-020-02850-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-020-02850-1