Table 1.
Chemical analysis of lignocellulose samples digested by C. formosanus termite workers
| Japanese cedar | Japanese beech | Rice straw | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original | Digested | Original | Digested | Original | Digested | ||
| Lignin content (mg/g CWR) | 239.2 ± 2.0 | 463.0 ± 22.2 * | 196.0 ± 3.7 | 334.9 ± 2.8 * | 150.2 ± 4.7 | 205.3 ± 3.0 * | |
| Lignin composition | |||||||
| Syringyl units, S (%) | N.D. | N.D. | 75.2 ± 0.1 | 70.2 ± 1.3 * | 43.6 ± 1.5 | 54.7 ± 0.3 * | |
| Guaiacyl units, G (%) | 99.5 ± 0.1 | 99.8 ± 0.1 | 24.8 ± 0.1 | 29.7 ± 1.3 * | 52.3 ± 1.4 | 41.9 ± 0.6 * | |
| p-Hydroxyphenyl units, H (%) | 0.5 ± 0.1 | 0.2 ± 0.1 | trace | 0.2 ± 0.1 | 4.2 ± 0.5 | 3.5 ± 0.4 | |
| S/G ratio | 0.00 ± 0.00 | 0.00 ± 0.00 | 3.05 ± 0.01 | 2.37 ± 0.14 * | 0.84 ± 0.05 | 1.31 ± 0.03 * | |
| Carbohydrate content (mg/g CWR) | |||||||
| Glucan (crystalline) | 442.1 ± 8.7 | 210.7 ± 10.5 * | 428.2 ± 40.9 | 235.5 ± 23.4 * | 454.4 ± 18.5 | 354.1 ± 52.0 * | |
| Glucan (Amorphous) | 27.2 ± 1.2 | 27.4 ± 4.2 | 23.9 ± 2.6 | 9.6 ± 1.3 * | 22.6 ± 1.2 | 18.7 ± 0.6 * | |
| Xylan | 64.4 ± 3.2 | 108.7 ± 9.5 * | 305.82 ± 12.6 | 80.2 ± 3.2 * | 81.0 ± 5.5 | 41.3 ± 1.1 * | |
| Mannan | 66.4 ± 2.8 | 52.0 ± 4.9 * | 8.67 ± 0.6 | 1.85 ± 0.7 * | 3.4 ± 0.7 | 8.3 ± 0.6 * | |
| Arabinan | 15.3 ± 0.1 | 26.2 ± 2.6 * | 7.6 ± 0.3 | 7.83 ± 1.9 | 29.8 ± 0.6 | 19.5 ± 0.2 * | |
| Galactan | 16.1 ± 1.1 | 22.3 ± 1.9 * | 8.8 ± 0.8 | 10.9 ± 1.5 | 12.9 ± 1.4 | 15.9 ± 0.6 * | |
Lignin composition was determined by analytical thioacidolysis. Values are means ± SD (n = 3) and asterisks (*) indicate significant difference between original and digested lignocellulose diets (P < 0.05). N.D., not detected.