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Jiang Y, Deng X, Shih C, Zhao Y, Ren D, Zhao Z. Primitive new termites (Blattodea, Termitoidae) in Cretaceous amber from Myanmar. Zookeys 2024; 1197:115-126. [PMID: 38651112 PMCID: PMC11033552 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1197.114452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2023] [Accepted: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Mastotermitidae, the first-diverging extant family of termites, has only one relic extant species; however, this family had greater richness during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras. Fossil termites from the Cretaceous provide information on the early evolution of termites and the transition between extinct families. Herein, two new Mastotermitidae species found in upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian) Kachin amber are reported. One is a female imago described as Angustitermesreflexusgen. et sp. nov. and assigned to the subfamily Mastotermitinae. The other is Mastotermesreticulatussp. nov., which is described from an isolated forewing. With the comparison especially of the antenna and venation, these new mastotermitids further increase our knowledge of the diversity and morphology of Mastotermitidae during the Mesozoic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yurong Jiang
- Fishery Resource and Environment Research Center, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Beijing, ChinaCapital Normal UniversityBeijingChina
- College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing, ChinaChinese Academy of Fishery SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Xinru Deng
- Fishery Resource and Environment Research Center, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Beijing, ChinaCapital Normal UniversityBeijingChina
- College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing, ChinaChinese Academy of Fishery SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Chungkun Shih
- College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing, ChinaChinese Academy of Fishery SciencesBeijingChina
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USANational Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian InstitutionWashington, DCUnited States of America
| | - Yunyun Zhao
- College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing, ChinaChinese Academy of Fishery SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Dong Ren
- College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing, ChinaChinese Academy of Fishery SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Zhipeng Zhao
- Fishery Resource and Environment Research Center, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Beijing, ChinaCapital Normal UniversityBeijingChina
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Wang MM, Song N, Guo SB, Yin XM. A comprehensive sampling of mitogenomes shows the utility to infer phylogeny of termites (Blattodea: Termitoidae). JOURNAL OF INSECT SCIENCE (ONLINE) 2024; 24:7. [PMID: 38491951 PMCID: PMC10944015 DOI: 10.1093/jisesa/ieae029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2023] [Revised: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 03/18/2024]
Abstract
The mitogenome sequence data have been widely used in inferring the phylogeny of insects. In this study, we determined the complete mitogenome for Macrotermes sp. (Termitidae, Macrotermitinae) using next-generation sequencing. Macrotermes sp. possesses a typical insect mitogenome, displaying an identical gene order and gene content to other existing termite mitogenomes. We present the first prediction of the secondary structure of ribosomal RNA genes in termites. The rRNA secondary structures of Macrotermes sp. exhibit similarities to closely related insects and also feature distinctive characteristics in their helical structures. Together with 321 published mitogenomes of termites as ingroups and 8 cockroach mitogenomes as outgroups, we compiled the most comprehensive mitogenome sequence matrix for Termitoidae to date. Phylogenetic analyses were conducted using datasets employing different data coding strategies and various inference methods. Robust relationships were recovered at the family or subfamily level, demonstrating the utility of comprehensive mitogenome sampling in resolving termite phylogenies. The results supported the monophyly of Termitoidae, and consistent relationships within this group were observed across different analyses. Mastotermitidae was consistently recovered as the sister group to all other termite families. The families Hodotermitidae, Stolotermitidae, and Archotermopsidae formed the second diverging clade, followed by the Kalotermitidae. The Neoisoptera was consistently supported with strong node support, with Stylotermitidae being sister to the remaining families. Rhinotermitidae was found to be non-monophyletic, and Serritermitidae nested within the basal clades of Rhinotermitidae and was sister to Psammotermitinae. Overall, our phylogenetic results are largely consistent with earlier mitogenome studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miao-Miao Wang
- Department of Entomology, Henan International Laboratory for Green Pest Control, Henan Engineering Laboratory of Pest Biological Control, College of Plant Protection, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China
| | - Nan Song
- Department of Entomology, Henan International Laboratory for Green Pest Control, Henan Engineering Laboratory of Pest Biological Control, College of Plant Protection, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China
| | - Shi-Bao Guo
- Department of Plant Protection, Xinyang Agriculture and Forestry University, Xinyang 464399, China
| | - Xin-Ming Yin
- Department of Entomology, Henan International Laboratory for Green Pest Control, Henan Engineering Laboratory of Pest Biological Control, College of Plant Protection, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China
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Bulmer MS, Stefano AM. Termite eusociality and contrasting selective pressure on social and innate immunity. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-021-03090-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Chouvenc T, Šobotník J, Engel MS, Bourguignon T. Termite evolution: mutualistic associations, key innovations, and the rise of Termitidae. Cell Mol Life Sci 2021; 78:2749-2769. [PMID: 33388854 PMCID: PMC11071720 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-020-03728-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2020] [Revised: 11/20/2020] [Accepted: 12/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Termites are a clade of eusocial wood-feeding roaches with > 3000 described species. Eusociality emerged ~ 150 million years ago in the ancestor of modern termites, which, since then, have acquired and sometimes lost a series of adaptive traits defining of their evolution. Termites primarily feed on wood, and digest cellulose in association with their obligatory nutritional mutualistic gut microbes. Recent advances in our understanding of termite phylogenetic relationships have served to provide a tentative timeline for the emergence of innovative traits and their consequences on the ecological success of termites. While all "lower" termites rely on cellulolytic protists to digest wood, "higher" termites (Termitidae), which comprise ~ 70% of termite species, do not rely on protists for digestion. The loss of protists in Termitidae was a critical evolutionary step that fostered the emergence of novel traits, resulting in a diversification of morphology, diets, and niches to an extent unattained by "lower" termites. However, the mechanisms that led to the initial loss of protists and the succession of events that took place in the termite gut remain speculative. In this review, we provide an overview of the key innovative traits acquired by termites during their evolution, which ultimately set the stage for the emergence of "higher" termites. We then discuss two hypotheses concerning the loss of protists in Termitidae, either through an externalization of the digestion or a dietary transition. Finally, we argue that many aspects of termite evolution remain speculative, as most termite biological diversity and evolutionary trajectories have yet to be explored.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Chouvenc
- Entomology and Nematology Department, Institute of Food and Agricultural Science, Ft Lauderdale Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Davie, FL, USA.
| | - Jan Šobotník
- Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Michael S Engel
- Division of Entomology, Natural History Museum, and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, 1501 Crestline Drive, Suite 140, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA
| | - Thomas Bourguignon
- Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic.
- Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Onna-son, Okinawa, Japan.
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5
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Kappeler PM. Parental Care. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-82879-0_11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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6
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Nii R, Oguchi K, Shinji J, Koshikawa S, Miura T. Reduction of a nymphal instar in a dampwood termite: heterochronic shift in the caste differentiation pathways. EvoDevo 2019; 10:10. [PMID: 31123582 PMCID: PMC6521406 DOI: 10.1186/s13227-019-0123-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2019] [Accepted: 04/16/2019] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Generally in termites, alates differentiate through multiple nymphal instars which gradually develop wing buds. However, in a dampwood termite, Hodotermopsis sjostedti, alates molt directly from a single nymphal instar with short wing buds. In this study, to examine the mechanism underlying the wing formation during the alate differentiation in H. sjostedti, histological and morphological observations were carried out on the developmental process of wing formation during the nymphal instar, in comparison with those in Zootermopsis nevadensis, which has two nymphal instars. Furthermore, the expression patterns of genes that are thought to be responsible for wing formation, i.e., wing-patterning genes and genes encoding hormone-related factors, were quantified during alate differentiation and compared between the two species. RESULTS The results showed that, in H. sjostedti, wings were formed in a complicatedly folded shape, not only inside the wing buds as seen in Z. nevadensis, but also under the dorsal thoracic cuticle, where the wing tips shifted toward the median thoracic part. Accordingly, the wing expansion pattern also differed from that in Z. nevadensis. Furthermore, the results of real-time qRT-PCR on overall expression profiles of wing-patterning genes and hormone-related genes suggest that the single nymphal instar in H. sjostedti well resembles to the second nymphal instar in Z. nevadensis. In particular, significant upregulation of vestigial (vg) and downregulation of Krüppel homolog 1 (Kr-h1) that were observed at the second nymphal instar in Z. nevadensis apparently occurred during the single nymphal instar in H. sjostedti. CONCLUSION The developmental events for wing formation are compacted into a single nymphal instar in H. sjostedti, and as a result, the unique wing formation is seen to compensate for the spatial restriction inside small wing buds, leading to the completion of functional wings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryotaro Nii
- Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0810 Japan
| | - Kohei Oguchi
- Misaki Marine Biological Station, School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Miura, Kanagawa 238-0225 Japan
| | - Junpei Shinji
- Misaki Marine Biological Station, School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Miura, Kanagawa 238-0225 Japan
| | - Shigeyuki Koshikawa
- Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0810 Japan
| | - Toru Miura
- Misaki Marine Biological Station, School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Miura, Kanagawa 238-0225 Japan
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Alajmi R, Abdel-Gaber R, AlOtaibi N. Characterization of the 12S rRNA Gene Sequences of the Harvester Termite Anacanthotermes ochraceus (Blattodea: Hodotermitidae) and Its Role as A Bioindicator of Heavy Metal Accumulation Risks in Saudi Arabia. INSECTS 2019; 10:E51. [PMID: 30744024 PMCID: PMC6409844 DOI: 10.3390/insects10020051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2018] [Revised: 01/27/2019] [Accepted: 02/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/07/2022]
Abstract
Termites are social insects of economic importance that have a worldwide distribution. Identifying termite species has traditionally relied on morphometric characters. Recently, several mitochondrial genes have been used as genetic markers to determine the correlation between different species. Heavy metal accumulation causes serious health problems in humans and animals. Being involved in the food chain, insects are used as bioindicators of heavy metals. In the present study, 100 termite individuals of Anacanthotermes ochraceus were collected from two Saudi Arabian localities with different geoclimatic conditions (Riyadh and Taif). These individuals were subjected to morphological identification followed by molecular analysis using mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene sequence, thus confirming the morphological identification of A. ochraceus. Furthermore, a phylogenetic analysis was conducted to determine the genetic relationship between the acquired species and other termite species with sequences previously submitted in the GenBank database. Several heavy metals including Ca, Al, Mg, Zn, Fe, Cu, Mn, Ba, Cr, Co, Be, Ni, V, Pb, Cd, and Mo were measured in both collected termites and soil samples from both study sites. All examined samples (termite and soil) showed high concentrations of metals with different concentrations and ratios. Generally, most measured metals had a significantly high concentration in soil and termites at Taif, except for Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mg, and Ni showing significantly high concentrations at Riyadh. Furthermore, termites accumulated higher amounts of heavy metals than the soil at both locations. The mean concentrations of the measured metals in soil samples were found to be in the descending order Ca ˃ Al ˃ Mg ˃ Zn ˃ Fe ˃ Cu ˃ Mn ˃ Ba ˃ Cr ˃ Co ˃ Be ˃ Ni ˃ V ˃ Pb ˃ Cd ˃ Mo, while it was Ca ˃ Mg ˃ Al ˃ Fe ˃ Zn ˃ Cu ˃ Mn ˃ Be ˃ Ba ˃ Pb ˃ Cr ˃ V ˃ Ni ˃ Cd ˃ Mo ˃ Co in termite specimens. The mean concentrations of the studied metals were determined in the soil and termite specimens at both locations. In addition, the contamination factor, pollution load index (PLI) and degree of contamination were calculated for all studied metals in different samples, indicating that both studied sites were polluted. However, Taif showed a significantly higher degree of pollution. Thus, the accurate identification of economically important insects, such as termites, is of crucial importance to plan for appropriate control strategies. In addition, termites are a good bioindicator to study land pollution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reem Alajmi
- Zoology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
| | - Rewaida Abdel-Gaber
- Zoology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
- Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Cairo 12613, Egypt.
| | - Noura AlOtaibi
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Taif University, Taif 21974, Saudi Arabia.
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8
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Miura T. Juvenile hormone as a physiological regulator mediating phenotypic plasticity in pancrustaceans. Dev Growth Differ 2018; 61:85-96. [PMID: 30467834 DOI: 10.1111/dgd.12572] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2018] [Revised: 09/11/2018] [Accepted: 09/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Phenotypic plasticity and polyphenism, in which phenotypes can be changed depending on environmental conditions, are common in insects. Several studies focusing on physiological, developmental, and molecular processes underlying the plastic responses have revealed that similar endocrine mechanisms using juvenile hormone (JH) are used to coordinate the flexible developmental processes. This review discusses accumulated knowledge on the caste polyphenism in social insects (especially termites), the wing and the reproductive polyphenisms in aphids, and the nutritional polyphenism and sexual dimorphism in stag beetles. For the comparison with non-insect arthropods, extensive studies on the inducible defense (and reproductive polyphenism) in daphnids (crustacean) are also addressed. In all the cases, JH (and methyl farnesoate in daphnids) plays a central role in mediating environmental stimuli with morphogenetic processes. Since the synthetic pathways for juvenoids, i.e., the mevalonate pathway and downstream pathways to sesquiterpenoids, are conserved across pancrustacean lineages (crustaceans and hexapods including insects), the evolution of developmental regulation by juvenoids that control molting (ecdysis) and metamorphosis is suggested to have occurred in the ancestral arthropods. The discontinuous postembryonic development (i.e., molting) and the regulatory physiological factors (juvenoids) would have enabled plastic developmental systems observed in many arthropod lineages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toru Miura
- Misaki Marine Biological Station, School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Miura, Kanagawa, Japan
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9
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Legendre F, Condamine FL. When Darwin's Special Difficulty Promotes Diversification in Insects. Syst Biol 2018; 67:873-887. [PMID: 29481653 DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syy014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2017] [Accepted: 02/14/2018] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Eusociality, Darwin's special difficulty, has been widely investigated but remains a topic of great debate in organismal biology. Eusocial species challenge existing theories, and the impact of highly integrated societies on diversification dynamics is controversial with opposing assertions and hypotheses in the literature. Here, using phylogenetic approaches in termites-the first group that has evolved eusociality-we assessed the fundamental prediction that eusocial lineages have higher diversification rates than non-eusocial clades. We found multiple lines of evidence that eusociality provided higher diversification as compared to non-eusociality. This is particularly exacerbated for eusocial species with "true" workers as compared to species with "false" workers. Because most species with "true" workers have an entirely prokaryotic microbiota, the latter feature is also related to higher diversification rates, but it should be investigated further, notably in relation to angiosperm diversification. Overall, this study suggests that societies with "true" workers are not only more successful at ecological timescales but also over millions of years, which further implies that both organism- and species-level traits act on species selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frédéric Legendre
- Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, UMR 7205 Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité ISYEB - UMR 7205 - MNHN CNRS UPMC EPHE, Sorbonne Universités, 57 rue Cuvier, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France
| | - Fabien L Condamine
- CNRS, UMR 5554 Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution (Université de Montpellier), Place Eugène Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier, France
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10
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Legendre F, Grandcolas P. The evolution of sociality in termites from cockroaches: A taxonomic and phylogenetic perspective. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY PART B-MOLECULAR AND DEVELOPMENTAL EVOLUTION 2018; 330:279-287. [PMID: 29989317 DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.22812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2018] [Revised: 05/14/2018] [Accepted: 06/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Despite multiple studies and advances, sociality still puzzles evolutionary biologists in numerous ways, which might be partly addressed with the advent of sociogenomics. In insects, the majority of sociogenomic studies deal with Hymenoptera, one of the two groups that evolved eusociality with termites. But, to fully grasp the evolution of sociality, studies must obviously not restrict to eusocial lineages. Multiple kinds of social system transitions have been recorded and they all bring complementary insights. For instance, cockroaches, the closest relatives to termites, display a wide range of social interactions and evolved convergently subsocial behaviors (i.e., brood care). In this context, we emphasize the need for natural history, taxonomic, and phylogenetic studies. Natural history studies provide the foundations on which building hypotheses, whereas taxonomy provides the taxa to sample to test these hypotheses, and phylogenetics brings the historical framework necessary to test evolutionary scenarios of sociality evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frédéric Legendre
- Institut Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Paris, France
| | - Philippe Grandcolas
- Institut Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Paris, France
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11
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Bourguignon T, Chisholm RA, Evans TA. The Termite Worker Phenotype Evolved as a Dispersal Strategy for Fertile Wingless Individuals before Eusociality. Am Nat 2016; 187:372-87. [PMID: 26913949 DOI: 10.1086/684838] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Termites are eusocial insects that evolved from solitary cockroaches. It is not known precisely what factors drove the evolution of termite eusociality, that is, skewed reproduction with distinct winged reproductive and wingless worker phenotypes. In other eusocial insects (bees and wasps), reproductive skew evolved first and phenotype differences evolved second. We propose that the reverse pattern occurred in termites, that is, that the winged-wingless diphenism evolved before eusociality. We discuss existing phylogenetic and pheromonal evidence supporting our hypothesis. We provide new experimental evidence from the most basal termite species (Mastotermes darwiniensis), suggesting that the ancestral state was indeed diphenic but presocial. We propose that the mechanism promoting a winged-wingless diphenism-in the absence of eusociality-was greater predation of aerial than terrestrial dispersers, and we support this with a game theoretic model. We augment our hypothesis with a novel explanation for the evolution of the developmental pathways leading to winged and wingless phenotypes in termites. An added benefit of our hypothesis is that it neatly explains the origin of termite eusociality itself: in the pre-eusocial ancestral species, the poor dispersal ability of the wingless phenotype would have led to clustering of relatives around shared resources-a prerequisite for nonparental care of close relatives.
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12
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Dedeine F, Dupont S, Guyot S, Matsuura K, Wang C, Habibpour B, Bagnères AG, Mantovani B, Luchetti A. Historical biogeography of Reticulitermes termites (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) inferred from analyses of mitochondrial and nuclear loci. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2016; 94:778-790. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2015.10.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2014] [Revised: 10/13/2015] [Accepted: 10/19/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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13
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Abdul Rahman N, Parks DH, Willner DL, Engelbrektson AL, Goffredi SK, Warnecke F, Scheffrahn RH, Hugenholtz P. A molecular survey of Australian and North American termite genera indicates that vertical inheritance is the primary force shaping termite gut microbiomes. MICROBIOME 2015; 3:5. [PMID: 25830022 PMCID: PMC4379614 DOI: 10.1186/s40168-015-0067-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2014] [Accepted: 01/02/2015] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Termites and their microbial gut symbionts are major recyclers of lignocellulosic biomass. This important symbiosis is obligate but relatively open and more complex in comparison to other well-known insect symbioses such as the strict vertical transmission of Buchnera in aphids. The relative roles of vertical inheritance and environmental factors such as diet in shaping the termite gut microbiome are not well understood. RESULTS The gut microbiomes of 66 specimens representing seven higher and nine lower termite genera collected in Australia and North America were profiled by small subunit (SSU) rRNA amplicon pyrosequencing. These represent the first reported culture-independent gut microbiome data for three higher termite genera: Tenuirostritermes, Drepanotermes, and Gnathamitermes; and two lower termite genera: Marginitermes and Porotermes. Consistent with previous studies, bacteria comprise the largest fraction of termite gut symbionts, of which 11 phylotypes (6 Treponema, 1 Desulfarculus-like, 1 Desulfovibrio, 1 Anaerovorax-like, 1 Sporobacter-like, and 1 Pirellula-like) were widespread occurring in ≥50% of collected specimens. Archaea are generally considered to comprise only a minority of the termite gut microbiota (<3%); however, archaeal relative abundance was substantially higher and variable in a number of specimens including Macrognathotermes, Coptotermes, Schedorhinotermes, Porotermes, and Mastotermes (representing up to 54% of amplicon reads). A ciliate related to Clevelandella was detected in low abundance in Gnathamitermes indicating that protists were either reacquired after protists loss in higher termites or persisted in low numbers across this transition. Phylogenetic analyses of the bacterial communities indicate that vertical inheritance is the primary force shaping termite gut microbiota. The effect of diet is secondary and appears to influence the relative abundance, but not membership, of the gut communities. CONCLUSIONS Vertical inheritance is the primary force shaping the termite gut microbiome indicating that species are successfully and faithfully passed from one generation to the next via trophallaxis or coprophagy. Changes in relative abundance can occur on shorter time scales and appear to be an adaptive mechanism for dietary fluctuations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nurdyana Abdul Rahman
- />Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, Queensland Australia
| | - Donovan H Parks
- />Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, Queensland Australia
| | - Dana L Willner
- />Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, Queensland Australia
- />Current address: Department of Statistics, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL USA
| | - Anna L Engelbrektson
- />DOE Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, CA USA
- />Current address: Energy Biosciences Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA USA
| | | | - Falk Warnecke
- />DOE Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, CA USA
- />Jena School for Microbial Communication (JSMC) and Microbial Ecology Group, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Rudolf H Scheffrahn
- />Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Davie, FL USA
| | - Philip Hugenholtz
- />Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, Queensland Australia
- />DOE Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, CA USA
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14
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Legendre F, Whiting MF, Grandcolas P. Phylogenetic analyses of termite post-embryonic sequences illuminate caste and developmental pathway evolution. Evol Dev 2014; 15:146-57. [PMID: 25098639 DOI: 10.1111/ede.12023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Termites are highly eusocial insects with a caste polyphenism (i.e., discontinuous morphological differences between castes) and elaborated behaviors. While the developmental pathways leading to caste occurrence are well-known in many species, the evolutionary origin of these pathways is still obscure. Recent molecular phylogenetic studies suggest multiple independent origins of sterile castes in termites, reviving a 30 years old debate. We demonstrate here that diploid sterile castes ("true" workers) evolved several times independently in this group and that this caste was lost at least once in a lineage with developmentally more flexible workers called pseudergates or "false" workers. We also infer that flexibility in post-embryonic development was acquired multiple times independently during termite evolution. We suggest that focusing on detailed developmental pathways in phylogenetic analyses is essential for elucidating the origin of caste polyphenism in termites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frédéric Legendre
- UMR 7205 CNRS, Origine, Structure et Evolution de la Biodiversité, Département Systématique et Evolution, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, CP 50, 45, rue Buffon, 75005, Paris, France
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Cameron SL, Lo N, Bourguignon T, Svenson GJ, Evans TA. A mitochondrial genome phylogeny of termites (Blattodea: Termitoidae): Robust support for interfamilial relationships and molecular synapomorphies define major clades. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2012; 65:163-73. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2012.05.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 116] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2011] [Revised: 05/14/2012] [Accepted: 05/31/2012] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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16
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Rodriguez-Serrano E, Inostroza-Michael O, Avaria-Llautureo J, Hernandez CE. Colony size evolution and the origin of eusociality in corbiculate bees (Hymenoptera: Apinae). PLoS One 2012; 7:e40838. [PMID: 22808274 PMCID: PMC3396608 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0040838] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2011] [Accepted: 06/17/2012] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Recently, it has been proposed that the one of the main determinants of complex societies in Hymenoptera is colony size, since the existence of large colonies reduces the direct reproductive success of an average individual, given a decreased chance of being part of the reproductive caste. In this study, we evaluate colony size evolution in corbiculate bees and their relationship with the sociality level shown by these bees. Specifically i) the correlation between colony size and level of sociality considering the phylogenetic relationship to evaluate a general evolutionary tendency, and ii) the hypothetical ancestral forms of several clades within a phylogeny of corbiculate bees, to address idiosyncratic process occurring at important nodes. We found that the level of social complexity in corbiculate bees is phylogenetically correlated with colony size. Additionally, another process is invoked to propose why colony size evolved concurrently with the level of social complexity. The study of this trait improves the understanding of the evolutionary transition from simple to complex societies, and highlights the importance of explicit probabilistic models to test the evolution of other important characters involved in the origin of eusociality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enrique Rodriguez-Serrano
- Laboratorio de Ecología Molecular and Filoinformática, Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanográficas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile.
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17
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Korb J, Buschmann M, Schafberg S, Liebig J, Bagnères AG. Brood care and social evolution in termites. Proc Biol Sci 2012; 279:2662-71. [PMID: 22398169 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2011.2639] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Cooperative brood care is assumed to be the common driving factor leading to sociality. While this seems to be true for social Hymenoptera and many cooperatively breeding vertebrates, the importance of brood care for the evolution of eusociality in termites is unclear. A first step in elucidating this problem is an assessment of the ancestral condition in termites. We investigated this by determining the overall level of brood care behaviour across four termite species that cover the phylogenetic diversity of the lower termites. Brood care was low in the three species (all from different families) that had an ancestral wood-dwelling lifestyle of living in a single piece of wood that serves as food and shelter. In the fourth species, a lower termite that evolved outside foraging, brood care was more common. Together with data for higher termites, this suggests that brood care in termites only becomes important when switching from a wood-dwelling to a foraging lifestyle. These results imply that early social evolution in termites was driven by benefits of increased defence, while eusociality in Hymenoptera and cooperative breeding in birds and mammals are primarily based on brood care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith Korb
- Behavioural Biology, University of Osnabrueck, Barbarastrasse11, 49076 Osnabrueck, Germany.
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18
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BORDEREAU CHRISTIAN, LACEY MICHAELJ, SÉMON ETIENNE, BRAEKMAN JEANCLAUDE, GHOSTIN JEAN, ROBERT ALAIN, SHERMAN JANETSHELLMAN, SILLAM-DUSSÈS DAVID. Sex pheromones and trail-following pheromone in the basal termites Zootermopsis nevadensis (Hagen) and Z. angusticollis (Hagen) (Isoptera: Termopsidae: Termopsinae). Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2010. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2010.01446.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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19
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Cho MJ, Shin K, Kim YK, Kim YS, Kim TJ. Phylogenetic Analysis of Reticulitermes speratus using the Mitochondrial Cytochrome C Oxidase Subunit I Gene. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010. [DOI: 10.5658/wood.2010.38.2.135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
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20
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Ware JL, Grimaldi DA, Engel MS. The effects of fossil placement and calibration on divergence times and rates: an example from the termites (Insecta: Isoptera). ARTHROPOD STRUCTURE & DEVELOPMENT 2010; 39:204-219. [PMID: 19962450 DOI: 10.1016/j.asd.2009.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2009] [Revised: 11/24/2009] [Accepted: 11/27/2009] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Among insects, eusocial behavior occurs in termites, ants, some bees and wasps. Isoptera and Hymenoptera convergently share social behavior, and for both taxa its evolution remains poorly understood. While dating analyses provide researchers with the opportunity to date the origin of eusociality, fossil calibration methodology may mislead subsequent ecological interpretations. Using a comprehensive termite dataset, we explored the effect of fossil placement and calibration methodology. A combined molecular and morphological dataset for 42 extant termite lineages was used, and a second dataset including these 42 taxa, plus an additional 39 fossil lineages for which we had only morphological data. MrBayes doublet-model analyses recovered similar topologies, with one minor exception (Stolotermitidae is sister to the Hodotermitidae, s.s., in the 42-taxon analysis but is in a polytomy with Hodotermitidae and (Kalotermitidae + Neoisoptera) in the 81-taxon analysis). Analyses using the r8s program on these topologies were run with either minimum/maximum constraints (analysis a = 42-taxon and analysis c = 81-taxon analyses) or with the fossil taxon ages fixed (ages fixed to be the geological age of the deposit from which they came, analysis b = 81-taxon analysis). Confidence intervals were determined for the resulting ultrametric trees, and for most major clades there was significant overlap between dates recovered for analyses A and C (with exceptions, such as the nodes Neoisoptera, and Euisoptera). With the exception of isopteran and eusiopteran node ages, however, none of the major clade ages overlapped when analysis B is compared with either analysis A or C. Future studies on Dictyoptera should note that the age of Kalotermitidae was underestimated in absence of kalotermitid fossils with fixed ages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica L Ware
- Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, 81 Street and Central Park West, New York, NY 10024, USA.
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21
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Bourguignon T, Sobotník J, Hanus R, Roisin Y. Developmental pathways of Glossotermes oculatus (Isoptera, Serritermitidae): at the cross-roads of worker caste evolution in termites. Evol Dev 2010; 11:659-68. [PMID: 19878287 DOI: 10.1111/j.1525-142x.2009.00373.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The onset of a specialized ("true") worker caste is a crucial step in the evolution of termite societies. Such workers, permanently excluded from wing development, repeatedly evolved from totipotent immatures, called "false" workers or pseudergates. In the family Rhinotermitidae, the presence of true workers and the level of specialization of this caste are highly variable, and key taxa illustrate transitional situations providing clues about worker evolution. Here we focused on the status of working immatures of Glossotermes oculatus, from the family Serritermitidae, now thought to represent either the sister-group of the Rhinotermitidae or a basal lineage nested within them. Contrary to previous assumptions, we show that the apterous immatures performing worker tasks in G. oculatus are the source of the single wing-budded nymphal instar preceding the alate. Consequently, they qualify as pseudergates rather than true workers. However, the sex ratio is strongly male biased in pseudergates and soldiers, which is a trait usually restricted to termites with true workers. We therefore argue that pseudergates of G. oculatus are close to a point where the species could easily shift toward the differentiation of a true worker caste, and that G. oculatus pinpoints a new possible route for the evolution of true workers from pseudergates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Bourguignon
- Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, CP 160/12, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Avenue F.D. Roosevelt 50, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
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22
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Boomsma JJ. Lifetime monogamy and the evolution of eusociality. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2010; 364:3191-207. [PMID: 19805427 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2009.0101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 230] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
All evidence currently available indicates that obligatory sterile eusocial castes only arose via the association of lifetime monogamous parents and offspring. This is consistent with Hamilton's rule (br(s) > r(o)c), but implies that relatedness cancels out of the equation because average relatedness to siblings (r(s)) and offspring (r(o)) are both predictably 0.5. This equality implies that any infinitesimally small benefit of helping at the maternal nest (b), relative to the cost in personal reproduction (c) that persists throughout the lifespan of entire cohorts of helpers suffices to establish permanent eusociality, so that group benefits can increase gradually during, but mostly after the transition. The monogamy window can be conceptualized as a singularity comparable with the single zygote commitment of gametes in eukaryotes. The increase of colony size in ants, bees, wasps and termites is thus analogous to the evolution of multicellularity. Focusing on lifetime monogamy as a universal precondition for the evolution of obligate eusociality simplifies the theory and may help to resolve controversies about levels of selection and targets of adaptation. The monogamy window underlines that cooperative breeding and eusociality are different domains of social evolution, characterized by different sectors of parameter space for Hamilton's rule.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacobus J Boomsma
- Centre for Social Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark.
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23
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Davis RB, Baldauf SL, Mayhew PJ. Eusociality and the success of the termites: insights from a supertree of dictyopteran families. J Evol Biol 2009; 22:1750-61. [PMID: 19549138 DOI: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2009.01789.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Sociality in insects may negatively impact on species richness. We tested whether termites have experienced shifts in diversification rates through time. Supertree methods were used to synthesize family-level relationships within termites, cockroaches and mantids. A deep positive shift in diversification rate is found within termites, but not in the cockroaches from which they evolved. The shift is responsible for most of their extant species richness suggesting that eusociality is not necessarily detrimental to species richness, and may sometimes have a positive effect. Mechanistic studies of speciation and extinction in eusocial insects are advocated.
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Affiliation(s)
- R B Davis
- Department of Biology, University of York, York YO105YW, UK.
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24
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(Z)-Dodec-3-en-1-ol, a common major component of the trail-following pheromone in the termites Kalotermitidae. CHEMOECOLOGY 2009. [DOI: 10.1007/s00049-009-0017-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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25
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Korb J, Hartfelder K. Life history and development--a framework for understanding developmental plasticity in lower termites. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2008; 83:295-313. [PMID: 18979593 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-185x.2008.00044.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 107] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Termites (Isoptera) are the phylogenetically oldest social insects, but in scientific research they have always stood in the shadow of the social Hymenoptera. Both groups of social insects evolved complex societies independently and hence, their different ancestry provided them with different life-history preadaptations for social evolution. Termites, the 'social cockroaches', have a hemimetabolous mode of development and both sexes are diploid, while the social Hymenoptera belong to the holometabolous insects and have a haplodiploid mode of sex determination. Despite this apparent disparity it is interesting to ask whether termites and social Hymenoptera share common principles in their individual and social ontogenies and how these are related to the evolution of their respective social life histories. Such a comparison has, however, been much hampered by the developmental complexity of the termite caste system, as well as by an idiosyncratic terminology, which makes it difficult for non-termitologists to access the literature. Here, we provide a conceptual guide to termite terminology based on the highly flexible caste system of the "lower termites". We summarise what is known about ultimate causes and underlying proximate mechanisms in the evolution and maintenance of termite sociality, and we try to embed the results and their discussion into general evolutionary theory and developmental biology. Finally, we speculate about fundamental factors that might have facilitated the unique evolution of complex societies in a diploid hemimetabolous insect taxon. This review also aims at a better integration of termites into general discussions on evolutionary and developmental biology, and it shows that the ecology of termites and their astounding phenotypic plasticity have a large yet still little explored potential to provide insights into elementary evo-devo questions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith Korb
- Biologie I, Universität Regensburg D-93040 Regensburg, Germany.
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26
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Legendre F, Whiting MF, Bordereau C, Cancello EM, Evans TA, Grandcolas P. The phylogeny of termites (Dictyoptera: Isoptera) based on mitochondrial and nuclear markers: Implications for the evolution of the worker and pseudergate castes, and foraging behaviors. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2008; 48:615-27. [PMID: 18502666 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2008.04.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2007] [Revised: 03/25/2008] [Accepted: 04/09/2008] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
A phylogenetic hypothesis of termite relationships was inferred from DNA sequence data. Seven gene fragments (12S rDNA, 16S rDNA, 18S rDNA, 28S rDNA, cytochrome oxidase I, cytochrome oxidase II and cytochrome b) were sequenced for 40 termite exemplars, representing all termite families and 14 outgroups. Termites were found to be monophyletic with Mastotermes darwiniensis (Mastotermitidae) as sister group to the remainder of the termites. In this remainder, the family Kalotermitidae was sister group to other families. The families Kalotermitidae, Hodotermitidae and Termitidae were retrieved as monophyletic whereas the Termopsidae and Rhinotermitidae appeared paraphyletic. All of these results were very stable and supported with high bootstrap and Bremer values. The evolution of worker caste and foraging behavior were discussed according to the phylogenetic hypothesis. Our analyses suggested that both true workers and pseudergates ("false workers") were the result of at least two different origins. Our data support a traditional hypothesis of foraging behavior, in which the evolutionary transition from a one-piece type to a separate life type occurred through an intermediate behavioral form.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frédéric Legendre
- Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Département Systématique et Evolution, UMR 5202, CNRS, CP 50 (Entomologie), 45 rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France.
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27
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Crozier RH, Schlüns H. Genetic caste determination in termites: out of the shade but not from Mars. Bioessays 2008; 30:299-302. [PMID: 18348158 DOI: 10.1002/bies.20732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Several ant species are known with genetic effects on caste determination but, for termites, the role of environment has been assumed to be omnipotent. Now Hayashi et al. report that commitment to the nymph and worker pathways in Reticulitermes speratus follows a simple model involving two alleles at a sex-linked locus. The spread of this system of genetic caste determination seems best explained by selection at the colony level. This remarkable system may be widely applicable throughout termites, although it cannot be universal, and may provide a window into causal aspects of the molecular biology of caste determination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ross H Crozier
- School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
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28
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Coming out of the woods: do termites need a specialized worker caste to search for new food sources? Naturwissenschaften 2008; 95:811-9. [DOI: 10.1007/s00114-008-0387-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2007] [Revised: 03/28/2008] [Accepted: 04/03/2008] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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29
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30
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Lo N, Beninati T, Stone F, Walker J, Sacchi L. Cockroaches that lack Blattabacterium endosymbionts: the phylogenetically divergent genus Nocticola. Biol Lett 2008; 3:327-30. [PMID: 17376757 PMCID: PMC2464682 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2006.0614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Phylogenetic relationships among termites, mantids and the five traditionally recognized cockroach families have been the subject of several studies during the last half-century. One cockroach lineage that has remained notably absent from such studies is the Nocticolidae. This group of small, elusive surface- and cave-dwelling species from the Old World Tropics has been proposed to represent an additional family. Using molecular sequences, we performed an initial phylogenetic examination of Nocticola spp. The hypothesis that they are phylogenetically divergent was confirmed from the analyses of three genes and a combined dataset. To supplement our phylogenetic analyses, we attempted to amplify 16S rRNA from the obligate mutualistic endosymbiont Blattabacterium cuenoti, present in all cockroaches studied to date. Unexpectedly, amplification was unsuccessful in all Nocticola spp. examined. This result was confirmed by microscopic examinations of fat body tissue. These Nocticola spp. are the first cockroaches found to be uninfected by B. cuenoti, which raise questions about when the bacterium first infected cockroaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan Lo
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.
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31
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Molecular taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships among Australian Nasutitermes and Tumulitermes genera (Isoptera, Nasutitermitinae) inferred from mitochondrial COII and 16S sequences. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2007; 45:813-21. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2007.07.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2006] [Revised: 05/29/2007] [Accepted: 07/11/2007] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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32
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Hayashi Y, Lo N, Miyata H, Kitade O. Sex-linked genetic influence on caste determination in a termite. Science 2007; 318:985-7. [PMID: 17991866 DOI: 10.1126/science.1146711] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
The most ecologically successful and destructive termite species are those with both a nymph caste and an irreversibly wingless worker caste. The early developmental bifurcation separating these castes is widely accepted to be strictly environmentally determined. We present evidence that genotype also influences this process. Offspring from four different crosses of nymph- and worker-derived secondary reproductive individuals had strongly differentiated caste and sex ratios, despite uniform rearing conditions. These data fit an X-linked, one-locus-two-allele model. Of five possible genotypes, one was lethal, two resulted in workers, and two resulted in either nymphs or environmentally determined workers. Caste is thus controlled both by environment and by a complex genetic inheritance pattern.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoshinobu Hayashi
- Natural History Laboratory, College of Science, Ibaraki University, Mito, Ibaraki 310-8512, Japan
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33
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Yamada A, Inoue T, Noda S, Hongoh Y, Ohkuma M. Evolutionary trend of phylogenetic diversity of nitrogen fixation genes in the gut community of wood-feeding termites. Mol Ecol 2007; 16:3768-77. [PMID: 17850544 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294x.2007.03326.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Nitrogen fixation by gut microorganisms is one of the crucial aspects of symbiosis in wood-feeding termites since these termites thrive on a nitrogen-poor diet. In order to understand the evolution of this symbiosis, we analysed the nitrogenase structural gene nifH in the gut microbial communities. In conjunction with the published sequences, we compared approximately 320 putatively functional NifH protein sequences obtained from a total of 19 termite samples that represent all the major branches of their currently proposed phylogeny, and from one species of the cockroach Cryptocercus that shares a common ancestor with termites. Using multivariate techniques for clustering and ordination, a phylogeny of NifH protein sequences was created and plotted variously with host termite families, genera, and species. Close concordance was observed between NifH communities and the host termites at genus level, but family level relationships were not always congruent with accepted termite clade structure. Host groups examined included basal families (Mastotermitidae, Termopsidae, Kalotermitidae, as well as Cryptocercus), the most derived lower termite family Rhinotermitidae, and subfamilies representing the advanced and highly diverse apical family Termitidae (Macrotermitinae, Termitinae, and Nasutitermitinae). This selection encompassed the major nesting and feeding styles recognized in termites, and it was evident that NifH phylogenetic divergence, as well as the occurrence of alternative nitrogenase-type NifH, was to some extent dependent on host lifestyle as well as phylogenetic position.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Yamada
- Environmental Molecular Biology Laboratory, RIKEN, Hirosawa 2-1, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
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34
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McLeish MJ, Chapman TW. The origin of soldiers in the gall-inducing thrips of Australia (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae). ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2007. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1440-6055.2007.00617.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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35
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Sillam-Dussès D, Sémon E, Lacey MJ, Robert A, Lenz M, Bordereau C. Trail-Following Pheromones in Basal Termites, with Special Reference to Mastotermes darwiniensis. J Chem Ecol 2007; 33:1960-77. [PMID: 17885791 DOI: 10.1007/s10886-007-9363-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2007] [Revised: 08/08/2007] [Accepted: 08/31/2007] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
In the framework of an evolutionary study, trail pheromones have been studied in the most basal extant termite, Mastotermes darwiniensis (Mastotermitidae), and two other basal termites, the Termopsidae Porotermes adamsoni (Porotermitinae) and Stolotermes victoriensis (Stolotermitinae). Although workers of M. darwiniensis do not walk in single file while exploring a new environment under experimental conditions and are unable to follow artificial trails in 'open field' experiments, they do secrete a trail-following pheromone from their sternal glands. This unique behavior might reflect a primitive function of communication of the sternal gland. The major component of the pheromone appears to be the same in the three basal species: the norsesquiterpene alcohol (E)-2,6,10-trimethyl-5,9-undecadien-1-ol. This represents a new chemical category of trail-following pheromones for termites. The quantity of pheromone was estimated as 20 pg/individual in M. darwiniensis, 700 pg/individual in P. adamsoni, and 4 pg/individual in S. victoriensis. The activity threshold was 1 ng/cm in M. darwiniensis and 10 pg/cm in P. adamsoni. In M. darwiniensis, the trail pheromone was secreted by sternal gland 4 and to a lesser degree by sternal gland 3, sternal gland 5 being almost inactive. This study highlighted phylogenetic relationships between the Mastotermitidae and two subfamilies of the Termopsidae, the Porotermitinae and the Stolotermitinae. Furthermore, it indicated a heterogeneity within the Termopsidae, with Porotermitinae and Stolotermitinae on one hand, and Termopsinae on the other. Finally, Mastotermitidae and Termopsidae, with C14 trail pheromones, are clearly separated from the Kalotermitidae, Rhinotermitidae, and Termitidae that secrete C12 or C20 trail pheromones.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Sillam-Dussès
- CNRS-UMR 5548 Développement et Communication Chimique Chez les Insectes, Université de Bourgogne, 6 Bd. Gabriel, 21000 Dijon, France
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36
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Lo N, Evans TA. Phylogenetic diversity of the intracellular symbiont Wolbachia in termites. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2007; 44:461-6. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2006.10.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2006] [Revised: 10/06/2006] [Accepted: 10/24/2006] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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37
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McLeish MJ, Chapman TW, Crespi BJ. Inbreeding Ancestors: The Role of Sibmating in the Social Evolution of Gall Thrips. J Hered 2006; 97:31-8. [PMID: 16394258 DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esj001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
We used microsatellite data to estimate levels of inbreeding in four species of solitary gall thrips that are in the same clade as the six species with soldier castes. Three of the four species were highly inbred (Fis 0.54-0.68), and the other apparently mated randomly (Fis near zero). These estimates, combined with previous data from species with soldiers, suggest that inbreeding is a pervasive life-history feature of the gall-inducing thrips on Australian Acacia. Mapping of inbreeding estimates onto the phylogeny of the gall inducers showed that the ancestral lineage that gave rise to soldiers was apparently highly inbred, and therefore, inbreeding could have played a role in the origin of sociality within this group. Moreover, there was a trend from high levels of inbreeding at the origin of soldiers to low levels in the most derived species with soldiers, which exhibits the highest levels of reproductive division of labor and soldier altruism. These patterns are consistent with considerations from population genetics, which show that the likelihood of the origin of soldier altruism is higher in inbreeding populations but that, once soldiers have evolved, a reduction in inbreeding levels may facilitate the evolution of enhanced division of labor and reproductive skew.
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Affiliation(s)
- M J McLeish
- School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, South Australia 5001, Australia
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38
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Abstract
Social insects are model organisms for investigating molecular evolution in the innate immune system. Their diversity affords comparative analysis among closely related species, and group living is likely to contribute to the pathogen stress imposed on the immune system. We used different models of nucleotide substitution at nonsynonymous (amino acid altering) and synonymous (silent) sites to compare the different levels and type of selection among three immunity genes in 13 Australian termite species (Nasutitermes). The immunity genes include two encoding pathogen recognition proteins (gram-negative bacterial-binding proteins) that duplicated and diverged before or soon after the evolution of the termites and a transcription factor (Relish), which induces the production of antimicrobial peptides. A comparison of evolutionary models that assign four unrestricted classes of dN/dS (the ratio of the nonsynonymous to synonymous substitution rate) to different Nasutitermes lineages revealed that the occurrence of positive selection (dN/dS > 1) varies among lineages and the three genes. Positive selection appears to have driven the evolution of all three genes in an ancestral lineage of three subterranean termites. It had previously been suggested that there was a transition along this ancestral lineage to termite morphology and ecology associated with a diet of decayed wood, a diet that may expose termites to elevated levels of fungal and bacterial pathogens. Relish appears to have experienced the highest levels of selective pressure for change among all three genes. Positively selected sites in the molecule are located in regions that are important for its activation, which suggests that amino acid substitutions at these sites are a counter response to pathogen mechanisms that disrupt the activation of Relish.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark S Bulmer
- School of Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Douglas, Australia.
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39
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Abstract
The molecular clock does not tick at a uniform rate in all taxa but may be influenced by species characteristics. Eusocial species (those with reproductive division of labor) have been predicted to have faster rates of molecular evolution than their nonsocial relatives because of greatly reduced effective population size; if most individuals in a population are nonreproductive and only one or few queens produce all the offspring, then eusocial animals could have much lower effective population sizes than their solitary relatives, which should increase the rate of substitution of "nearly neutral" mutations. An earlier study reported faster rates in eusocial honeybees and vespid wasps but failed to correct for phylogenetic nonindependence or to distinguish between potential causes of rate variation. Because sociality has evolved independently in many different lineages, it is possible to conduct a more wide-ranging study to test the generality of the relationship. We have conducted a comparative analysis of 25 phylogenetically independent pairs of social lineages and their nonsocial relatives, including bees, wasps, ants, termites, shrimps, and mole rats, using a range of available DNA sequences (mitochondrial and nuclear DNA coding for proteins and RNAs, and nontranslated sequences). By including a wide range of social taxa, we were able to test whether there is a general influence of sociality on rates of molecular evolution and to test specific predictions of the hypothesis: (1) that social species have faster rates because they have reduced effective population sizes; (2) that mitochondrial genes would show a greater effect of sociality than nuclear genes; and (3) that rates of molecular evolution should be correlated with the degree of sociality. We find no consistent pattern in rates of molecular evolution between social and nonsocial lineages and no evidence that mitochondrial genes show faster rates in social taxa. However, we show that the most highly eusocial Hymenoptera do have faster rates than their nonsocial relatives. We also find that social parasites (that utilize the workers from related species to produce their own offspring) have faster rates than their social relatives, which is consistent with an effect of lower effective population size on rate of molecular evolution. Our results illustrate the importance of allowing for phylogenetic nonindependence when conducting investigations of determinants of variation in rate of molecular evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindell Bromham
- Centre for the Study of Evolution, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom.
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40
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Korb J, Katrantzis S. Influence of environmental conditions on the expression of the sexual dispersal phenotype in a lower termite: implications for the evolution of workers in termites. Evol Dev 2004; 6:342-52. [PMID: 15330867 DOI: 10.1111/j.1525-142x.2004.04042.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Phenotypic plasticity is thought to be of prime importance for the evolution of castes in social insects. However, conclusions are generally drawn from holometabolous social Hymenoptera, whereas little is known about the hemimetabolous termites. We investigated the influence of environmental conditions on the expression of the alternative phenotypes, worker versus dispersing sexual, in the drywood termite Cryptotermes secundus. Season played a fundamental role in this regulatory process by setting developmental deadlines. Individuals failing to reach these deadlines developed back to workers, whereas those in time progressed to dispersing sexuals. This seasonal regulation was superposed by the influence of food availability in the nest that adjusted the number of remaining workers versus dispersing sexuals. In line with declining benefits at the natal nest, there were more dispersing sexuals when the food was reduced. Provided that the life type of C. secundus reflects the ancestral state in termite evolution, as is often assumed, our results support the hypothesis that termite workers originated from individuals failing in sexual development. Furthermore, a taxonomical comparison between termite species with different life-styles stresses the importance of a predictable variation in food availability for the existence of a plastic development and the occurrence of conditionally expressed phenotypes in termites. Compared with social Hymenoptera, the mechanisms involved in caste polyphenism in termites differed considerably, which demands more differentiated discussions about social insects caste polyphenism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith Korb
- Biology I, University of Regensburg, 93040 Regensburg, Germany.
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41
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Grandcolas P, Guilbert E, Robillard T, D'Haese CA, Murienne J, Legendre F. Mapping characters on a tree with or without the outgroups. Cladistics 2004; 20:579-582. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1096-0031.2004.00037.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
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42
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Tokuda G, Lo N, Watanabe H, Arakawa G, Matsumoto T, Noda H. Major alteration of the expression site of endogenous cellulases in members of an apical termite lineage. Mol Ecol 2004; 13:3219-28. [PMID: 15367134 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294x.2004.02276.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 87] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Termites are among the most important cellulose-digesting animals on earth, and are well-known for the symbiotic relationship they have with cellulolytic trichomonad and oxymonad flagellates (unicellular eukaryotes). Perhaps less well-known is the fact that approximately 75% of the approximately 2600 described termite species -- those belonging to the family Termitidae -- do not harbour such flagellates. Unlike most termites from other families, the majority of termitids do not consume wood, feeding instead on soil, leaf litter, fungi, grass, or lichen. Recent years have seen the characterization of the endogenous cellulase enzymes that help termites digest cellulose, from one flagellate-harbouring species (Reticulitermes speratus), as well as one termitid (Nasutitermes takasagoensis). The genes encoding the enzymes in these two termites are similar. However, their site of expression differs markedly -- the salivary glands in R. speratus and the midgut in N. takasagoensis. To investigate this difference further, we performed a comparative study of cellulase expression in various termitid and flagellate-harbouring species, using enzyme assays and reverse transcription polymerase chain reactions. Taxa from phylogenetically basal lineages were consistently found to express endogenous genes specifically in the salivary glands, whilst those from a relatively apical lineage containing termitids expressed cellulases solely in the midgut. Relatively low levels of cellulase activity were found in nonwood-feeding species, while the wood-feeding Coptotermes formosanus -- arguably the most destructive pest species world-wide -- was found to have high levels of activity in all parts of the gut when compared to all other termites. In the light of these results, as well as recently accumulated phylogenetic data, we discuss scenarios for the evolution of cellulose digestion in termites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaku Tokuda
- Center of Molecular Biosciences, University of the Ryukyus, Nishihara, Okinawa 903-0213, Japan.
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43
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Roux EA, Korb J. Evolution of eusociality and the soldier caste in termites: a validation of the intrinsic benefit hypothesis. J Evol Biol 2004; 17:869-75. [PMID: 15271087 DOI: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2004.00727.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
In termites the evolution of reproductive altruism is not based on a particularly high relatedness between nestmates. For the evolution and maintenance of the ancestral sterile soldier caste, the benefits generated by the soldiers' presence must compensate the loss of the soldiers' reproductive potential. To study the impact of soldiers on colony's fitness, we manipulated the proportion of soldiers to nonsoldiers in colonies of the dry-wood termite Cryptotermes secundus.'Soldier-less' colonies were obtained by removing soldiers and inhibiting their development with an extract of soldier heads. The colonies were set up for 1 year in experimental nests in the field. 'Soldier-less' colonies produced fewer soldiers. The reduction of soldiers neither affected colony survival nor helper growth, but fewer dispersing sexuals were produced in 'soldier-less' than in control colonies. This confirms what was only supposed so far, that in termites soldiers are maintained for their intrinsic benefit to cost ratio.
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Affiliation(s)
- E A Roux
- Lehrstuhl Biologie I, Universität Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
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44
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Ohkuma M, Yuzawa H, Amornsak W, Sornnuwat Y, Takematsu Y, Yamada A, Vongkaluang C, Sarnthoy O, Kirtibutr N, Noparatnaraporn N, Kudo T, Inoue T. Molecular phylogeny of Asian termites (Isoptera) of the families Termitidae and Rhinotermitidae based on mitochondrial COII sequences. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2004; 31:701-10. [PMID: 15062804 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2003.09.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2003] [Revised: 09/12/2003] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The families Termitidae and Rhinotermitidae are the most evolved and diverse groups of the social insects, termites (Order Isoptera), showing elaborated morphology and complex behavior. Molecular phylogeny of termites with the emphasis on these families was examined by Bayesian and maximum-likelihood analyses based on DNA sequence of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase II (COII) gene of 31 genera sampled in Asia (mainly Thailand and Japan) along with those reported previously. Termitidae was monophyletic and originated from within polyphyletic Rhinotermitidae. Among the four subfamilies of Termitidae, Macrotermitinae was monophyletic suggesting a single common origin of fungus-growing habit characteristic for this subfamily, and was placed in the basal position in the family. A group consisting of other subfamilies Termitinae and Nasutitermitinae, though some important groups were still untouched, was the most apical but neither Termitinae nor Nasutitermitinae formed a monophyletic lineage. It was implied that, as defense systems of the soldier castes, the appearance of snapping mandibles has occurred at a single event, but the development of nasus for chemical secretion has probably not. Our tree provides some evidence concerning contradictions in the previously proposed phylogeny of termites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moriya Ohkuma
- Environmental Molecular Biology Laboratory, RIKEN, Wako, Saitama, Japan.
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45
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Erratum. J Evol Biol 2004. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2004.00698.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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46
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Kitade O. Comparison of Symbiotic Flagellate Faunae between Termites and a Wood-Feeding Cockroach of the Genus Cryptocercus. Microbes Environ 2004. [DOI: 10.1264/jsme2.19.215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Osamu Kitade
- Natural History Laboratory, Faculty of Science, Ibaraki University
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47
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Grandcolas P, D'Haese C. The origin of a ‘true’ worker caste in termites: mapping the real world on the phylogenetic tree. J Evol Biol 2003; 17:461-3. [PMID: 15009279 DOI: 10.1046/j.1420-9101.2003.00662.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The evolution of the 'true' worker caste in termites is not decisively inferred by coding and mapping both this character and the foraging behaviour on a phylogenetic tree. Answering to Thompson et al. (2000, 2003), and with reference to Grandcolas and D'Haese (2002), we show that this indecisive inference depends on the correct consideration paid to the outgroups. These last ones could be non subsocial cockroaches, or some wood-eating subsocial cockroaches often considered misleadingly as living ancestors, or even any hemimetabolous insects, all of them would be unambiguously lacking 'true' worker caste and pseudergate caste and not showing the 'one-piece' life type foraging behaviour. These statements derive from observing, coding and mapping the real world on the tree without making ad hoc assumptions. In that respect, because termites do not exist in isolation, apart from the tree of life, mapping the character of interest on the tree must be applied to the outgroups as well.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Grandcolas
- ESA 8043 CNRS, Département de Systématique et d'Evolution, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France.
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48
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Thompson GJ, Kitade O, Lo N, Crozier RH. On the origin of termite workers: weighing up the phylogenetic evidence. J Evol Biol 2003; 17:217-20. [PMID: 15000664 DOI: 10.1046/j.1420-9101.2003.00645.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Resolving the phylogenetic history of a 'true' worker caste in termites is essential to our understanding of termite eusocial evolution. Whether this caste is ancient and monophyletic or derived and polyphyletic will have a tremendous impact on our interpretation of termite eusocial history and remains an outstanding question in termite biology. Recent work has begun to re-examine this question in light of new phylogenetic information, but new questions have now arisen about how best to model character state changes in termite caste systems. In the present paper, we compare the models of Grandcolas and D'Haese [J. Evol. Biol. 15 (2002) 885] and Thompson et al. [J. Evol Biol. 13 (2000) 8691 and attempt to make explicit how these proposals differ with respect to the number of, and homology between, character states. We highlight the support each model has for the two principal, but competing, evolutionary hypotheses outlined above.
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Affiliation(s)
- G J Thompson
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada.
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49
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Goodisman MAD, Crozier RH. Association between caste and genotype in the termite Mastotermes darwiniensis Froggatt (Isoptera: Mastotermitidae). ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2003. [DOI: 10.1046/j.1440-6055.2003.00320.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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50
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KRISHNA KUMAR, GRIMALDI DAVIDA. The First Cretaceous Rhinotermitidae (Isoptera): A New Species, Genus, and Subfamily in Burmese Amber. AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES 2003. [DOI: 10.1206/0003-0082(2003)390<0001:tfcria>2.0.co;2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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