Macrotermes natalensis

Macrotermes natalensis is a fungus-growing termite species, which belongs to genus Macrotermes, commonly reported in South Africa. This species is associated with Termitomyces fungal genus. M. natalenis has domesticated Termitomyces fungus for producing food for the colony members. This termite-fungus obligate symbiotic relationship originated approximately 30 million years ago. M. natalensis is a well-studied fungus-growing termite species. Genomic sequence reads give 1.3-Gb data for a Macrotermes natalensis is the largest insect genome sequenced to date. All the fungus-growing termite's colonies have very similar caste systems. Each caste plays a different role in the colony, but it is not yet known how caste selection occurs within the colony. The primary reproductive caste or royal pair is made up of a king and a queen. The winged alates make up the secondary reproductive caste. Sterile castes do not possess any reproductive capacity and include workers and soldiers, both major and minor. Termitomyces fungi play a major role in termite nutrition. They also influence termite survival and caste development. The Termitomyces fungal garden is managed by the worker caste. In a mature M. natalensis colony, old workers collect dead plant material along with the Termitomyces spores from their habitat and hand it over to the young workers. The young workers only stay in the colony. The young workers collect the plant material and ingest it along with Termitomyces asexual spores. Later young workers defecate this blended plant material, along with fungal spores, somewhere in the colony. It forms a 'comb', where the fungal mycelium establishes and forms a dense network. The Termitomyces use the nutrient from the comb and complete their life-cycle by end-up with a fruiting body.