Trichonympha is a genus of single-celled, anaerobic parabasalids of the order Hypermastigia that is found exclusively in the hindgut of lower termites and wood roaches.[1]Trichonympha’s bell shape and thousands of flagella make it an easily recognizable cell.[2] The symbiosis between lower termites/wood roaches and Trichonympha is highly beneficial to both parties: Trichonympha helps its host digest cellulose and in return receives a constant supply of food and shelter. Trichonympha also has a variety of bacterial symbionts that are involved in sugar metabolism and nitrogen fixation.[3][4][5][6][7]
^Ohkuma M, Ohtoko K, Iida T, Tokura M, Moriya S, Usami R, Horikoshi K, Kudo T (May 2000). "Phylogenetic identification of hypermastigotes, Pseudotrichonympha, Spirotrichonympha, Holomastigotoides, and parabasalian symbionts in the hindgut of termites". The Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology. 47 (3): 249–59. doi:10.1111/j.1550-7408.2000.tb00044.x. PMID10847341. S2CID24622299.
^Cleveland LR (November 1960). "The Centrioles of Trichonympha from Termites and their Functions in Reproduction". The Journal of Protozoology. 7 (4): 326–341. doi:10.1111/j.1550-7408.1960.tb05979.x.
^Sato T, Hongoh Y, Noda S, Hattori S, Ui S, Ohkuma M (April 2009). "Candidatus Desulfovibrio trichonymphae, a novel intracellular symbiont of the flagellate Trichonympha agilis in termite gut". Environmental Microbiology. 11 (4): 1007–15. Bibcode:2009EnvMi..11.1007S. doi:10.1111/j.1462-2920.2008.01827.x. PMID19170725.