ECOLOGICAL STUDIES ON TILE SYMBIOSIS OF TER ITOMYCES ...

7-6*3 DISCUSSION
Nitro2en
in general the nitrogen contents of the-funguo-combs of different
species are quite, similar, ranging froto 0*00% - 2sl 7%9 with combs of
0dontotermes, species, generally being higher than the Macroternes species
(Tables 7.6ol - 7492). An the food moves through the systea nitrogen
appears-to be conserveds, increasing from the raw food material to food-
store to fungus combs -This
Is due to weight loss in decomposition by
the removal of carbon compoundse The nitrogen content drops from the
fresh edge. of the comb to the middle zone due to TerInitomyces utilizing
the nitrogen* 7he data In Table-7.6-1 Is not statistically significant
but the trend Is there and It In supported by Rohrmann (1978) and AbO-
Khatwa (1977) in Table 7-6.2. Some loseea of nitrogen would then occur
here due to the grazing of the termites on TermitonneS mycotOtes mid
mycellum, The concentration ot-nitrogen. in the mycotOtes Is very hight
but similar to values obtained for mycotOtes from other speciess IndIcAt-
Ing the value of these as a nitrogen source to the tenilites. Itungate
(1944) concluded that In termites which feed on wood attacked by fungi
the fungus protoplasm was an Important food and that tile fungi served as
a relatively rich nitrogenous supplement to the wood dietv which would
appear to confer similar advantages to those obtained by fungus growing
termites. The nitrogen value of the mycA)tAten In much higher than that
of the pseudorhiza and basidiocarps of Ternit=cns 124%rforans which are
approximately 22.7% nitrouen. The latter are similar to the values In
various 11asidiomycetes of 1-87% (Stark 1973) for fungus fruit bodies on
wood, and 1.56% In the wild to 7*6% In cultivated sporophores (Cochrane
1958). Nitrogen content of nasidiorsycate mycellum varies from 0023 -
3,27% (Herril and Cowling 1966)o and of rhizomorphs from 0.59 - -4.31%
358o