Differential responses of termite gut bacterial and fungal community to tropical forest conversion

Although it is well-accepted that land-use change influences biodiversity, how land-use change alters the species’ gut microbiomes is little explored, especially for soil invertebrates. Here, we explore how forest conversion alters bacterial and fungal diversity, composition, and function in termite guts. Our study system is Xishuangbanna, China, a tropical region with high termite diversity that is also experiencing rapid conversion of tropical rainforest into monoculture rubber plantations. We found higher bacterial taxonomic diversity in termite guts from natural forests compared to that of rubber plantations, and the strength of these effects varied across termite species. Comparatively, termite host species identity rather than forest type was the primary driver of fungal diversity. In contrast, for community composition, termite species was the sole determinant of bacterial community composition whereas both termite species and forest type explained fungal community composition. RDA showed that variation in fungal communities was associated with local soil properties, whereas variation in bacterial community was only associated with soil pH. Termite species shared 17% of their gut bacteria and 100% of their fungi with the environment. Forest conversion did not consistently change the network topography features, and co-occurrence network structure of different termite species had different responses to forest conversion. Finally, while only host species significantly predicted bacterial community function, both forest type and termite species were significant predictors of fungal community function. These findings highlight that termite gut microbiome responses to land-use change are multifaceted and taxon-dependent, underscoring their role in ecosystem function resilience under anthropogenic disturbances.