Termites May Have Finally Found Their Match

As some homeowners can attest to, termite infestation is one of the worst things that could happen to the place, other than floods, earthquakes and wildfires. The insects are insanely hard to get rid of, and can bring structures a few thousand times their size down in a matter of months. In their nests, which are damp, warm and crowded, infections and microbes should be a common occurrence, yet they rarely succumb to epidemics. Now, researchers have figured out why, and this may prove fatal to the termites.

In their studies, experts have learned that the insects spray their bodies and the walls of their nests with an anti-microbial protein, in order to keep epidemics away. Known as Gram-negative bacteria binding proteins (GNBP), these natural defenses not only bind to the sugars on the walls of invading microbes and bacteria like GNBP in humans and other species do, but they also attack the cell wall, making the microorganism “leak” and become more susceptible to attacks from other immune system cells.

In humans, for instance, the immune system is known to become more active when a pathogen is detected. GNBP bind to the sugars in invaders and alert the rest of the active cells that they found something that does not belong in the body. However, in our species, their role is that of a guard, rather than an attacker, as it is in termites. But, despite this action, researchers from the Towson University in Maryland have discovered that a simple molecular complex, the sugar derivate GDL, has the ability to destroy these proteins in termites.

When the complex was sprayed over GNBP in the lab, it immediately destroyed it, and the termites that sprayed it died from fungal infections within five days. In other instances, the insects died after eating GDL, but not because of fungal infestation, but on account of opportunistic microbes, which infected them. In a control group, subjected to infections, but whose members hadn't eaten GDL, individuals lasted four to five days longer. Their GNBP was so concentrated, that the extract from a single termite could destroy thousands of bacterial spores in one go, ScienceNow reports.

Investigators at the university, led by Molecular Ecologist Mark Bulmer, are now looking for ways of incorporating GDL into paints, baits and wood, so as to make termites susceptible to infestation. The sugar derivative is non-toxic and inexpensive, and is even used as a food additive in some instances. If further research proves that GDL is, indeed, that effective, then we could soon see it as a standard feature in paints and other wood-maintenance chemicals.