Pyrolysis–mass spectrometry confirms enrichment of lignin in the faeces of a wood-feeding termite, Zootermopsis nevadensis and depletion of peptides in a soil-feeder, Cubitermes ugandensis

Changes in biopolymer products during transit of the intestine in two termites with contrasting feeding habits were quantified by pyrolysis mass-spectrometry. In Zootermopsis nevadensis, a wood-feeder, native lignin-derived fractions increased in the faeces, with little indication of modification or degradation, but 62% of hexose polymer and 43% of xylan were degraded. In the soil-feeding Cubitermes ugandensis, polysaccharide and alkene-derived mass ions were enriched in faeces while amino acid-derived ions were depleted, consistent with a proposed model of fermentative digestion supported by peptides released from soil organic matter.