Lignocellulosic fungi in nests and food content of Constrictotermes cyphergaster and Inquilinitermes fur (Isoptera, Termitidae) from the semiarid region of Brazil Ana M  arcia Barbosa-Silva a, * , Maria Arlene Araújo Farias b , Ant ^ onio Paulino de Mello a , Anne Evelline Franco de Souza c , Hugo Henrique Mendez Garcia d , Maria Avany Bezerra-Gusm ~ ao a a Laborat orio de Ecologia de T ermitas, Programa de P os Graduaç~ ao em Ecologia e Conservaç~ ao, Universidade Estadual da Paraíba, Rua das Baraúnas, 351, Complexo Tr^ es Marias, Sala 06, Departamento de Biologia, Campus I, Bairro Universit ario, Campina Grande, PB, CEP: 58.429-500, Brazil b Laborat orio de Microbiologia, Departamento de Ci^ encias Biol ogicas, Centro de Ci^ encias agr arias, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Campus III, Areia, PB, Brazil c Centro de Ci^ encias Agr arias, Departamento de Ci^ encias Veterin arias, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Campus III, Areia, PB, Brazil d Centro de Ci^ encias da Saúde, Departamento de Morfologia, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Campus Jo~ ao Pessoa, PB, Brazil article info Article history: Received 1 July 2014 Received in revised form 20 September 2015 Accepted 8 November 2015 Available online xxx Corresponding editor: Duur Aanen Keywords: Lignocellulose Food content Fungal colonies Symbionts Organic matter Termite inquilines abstract Termite nests are microenvironments rich in organic matter and fauna, and are home to several groups of organisms such as lichens and fungi. Termite species from the genus Inquilinitermes live in the nests of Constrictotermes cyphergaster and feed on the feces of their host, which is a dark material (black mass) rich in lignin and cellulose. This study assessed the richness of lignocellulosic fungi associated with the black mass from the nests and the food content of C. cyphergaster and the inquilinous Inquilinitermes fur. The black mass of the nests and their adjacent soils, in addition to the food content from 100 workers of each termite species, were submitted to serial dilutions of up to 10 4 g ml 1 . Ten species of fungi were recorded. The analysis of similarity revealed two groups (soil and black mass versus food content of termites) that were 84% dissimilar. For I. fur, fungal richness was higher in the paunch, while for C. cyphergaster, the richness was higher in the crop. The mycobiota consisted of ascomycetes known for their potential to decompose cellulose and lignin. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and The British Mycological Society. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Termites form eusocial societies and live in colonies, creating nest systems that may be underground, epigeous or arboreal. The nests are built with soil particles, excrement or a mixture of both and become a system of tunnels, cavities and interconnected gal- leries that form an isolated environment with a partially-controlled interior microclimate (Noirot and Darlington, 2000). Although many species build nests, others are essentially in- quilines. It is common to find more than one type of termite living in the same termite active or abandoned nest (Bandeira, 1983). Bezerra-Gusm~ ao and Bandeira (personal communication) recorded the presence of Heterotermes sp., Diversitermes sp., Amitermes sp. and a species of the subfamily Apicotermitinae cohabiting the same abandoned termite nest in a savanna vegetation area. Macrotermes michaelseni, Cornitermes cumulans, Cornitermes snyderi, Nasuti- termes spp. and Syntermes grandis are recognized for harboring other species of termites in their nests (Redford, 1984; Costa et al., 2009; Cunha and Morais, 2010; Darlington, 2012). The association that inquilines have with their hosts may vary from a facultative dependence to an obligatory dependence. Facultative-dependent inquilines can build nests, but they can also inhabit nests built by other termite species. Obligatory-dependent inquiline species do not have the ability to build their own nests and depend largely on their hosts (Mathews, 1977). According to Bandeira (1983), the inquilines are motivated by the protection and * Corresponding author. Programa de P os-Graduaç~ ao em Ecologia e Conservaç~ ao, Universidade Estadual da Paraíba, 58109-790, Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil. E-mail address: anamarcia1983@hotmail.com (A.M. Barbosa-Silva). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Fungal Ecology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/funeco http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.funeco.2015.11.002 1754-5048/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd and The British Mycological Society. All rights reserved. Fungal Ecology 20 (2016) 75e78