Midguts were dissected from worker termites of Reticulitermes flavipes (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) after different feeding/starvation assays. To characterize the structure of the peritrophic matrix, cross sections were examined using scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy. In sawdust-fed termites a continuous layer surrounded the food bolus and was loosely attached to the microvilli seam of the midgut epithelium. The midgut lumina of single starved specimens were filled with an empty, tube-like structure showing no connection to the midgut epithelium. The results obtained so far state that the peritrophic matrix of R. flavipes consists of a single layer, which is produced continuously, even under starvation conditions. The establishment of staining protocols and histochemical analyses is planned in order to identify the biochemical composition of the peritrophic matrix in subterranean termites.
Species 1: Isoptera Rhinotermitidae Reticulitermes flavipes (eastern subterranean termite)
Keywords: peritrophic matrix, morphology
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