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Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Larval RNA Interference in the Red Flour Beetle, Tribolium castaneum
Published on: October 13, 2014
The non-LTR retrotransposon R2 in termites (Insecta, Isoptera): characterization and dynamics
Silvia Ghesini1, Andrea Luchetti, Mario Marini
1Dipartimento di Biologia Evoluzionistica Sperimentale, Università di Bologna, Via Selmi 3, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
Abstract:
The full-length element of the non-LTR retrotransposon R2 is here characterized in three European isopteran species: the more primitive Kalotermes flavicollis (Kalotermitidae), including two highly divergent mitochondrial lineages, and the more derived Reticulitermes lucifugus and R. urbis (Rhinotermitidae). Partial 3' sequences for R. grassei and R. balkanensis were also analyzed. The essential structural features of R2 elements are conserved in termites. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that termite elements belong to the same clade and that their phylogeny is fully compatible with the phylogeny of their host species. The study of the number and the frequency of R2 insertion variants in four R. urbis colonies suggests a greatly reduced, or completely absent, recent element activity.
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