Caracterização taxonômica integrativa de comunidades bacterianas e fúngicas de tripas de cupins e areia de folhas.

The search for microbial cells from different sources is a crucial strategy for discovering new strains with biotechnological potential. Leaf litter fungi, which decompose organic matter, and symbiotic termite bacteria, which digest cellulose, can be harnessed for the development of biotechnologies focused on nutrient recycling, biofuel production, and organic waste treatment. The precise identification of these strains allows the use of their biological capabilities, promoting innovative and sustainable solutions to environmental challenges. In this study, filamentous fungi and bacteria recovered from soil with leaf litter and termite guts were characterized using an integrative taxonomy approach, including classical morphology, ribosomal RNA gene sequencing, MALDI-TOF MS, and FTIR. A total of nine filamentous fungi and nine bacteria were identified. After taxonomic analysis, the bacterial strains were identified as belonging to Rossellomorea marisflavi (n = 2), Bacillus subtilis (n = 2), B. amyloliquefaciens (n = 2), B. cereus (n = 1), Priestia megaterium (n = 1), and Pseudomonas azotoformans (n = 1). The fungal species were identified as Talaromyces mycothecaei (n = 3), Aspergillus fumigatus (n = 1), A. tubingensis (n = 1), A. hiratsukae (n = 1), Trichoderma sp. (n = 1), T. harzianum (n = 1), and Coniochaeta velutina (n = 1). This may be the first report of the isolation of Rossellomorea from the gut microbiome of termites. The results showed that the use of an integrative approach for the taxonomic characterization of microbial strains recovered from environmental samples can improve the accurate identification and understanding of microbial species associated with different environments, such as the termite gut and litter.