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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 23, 2025

Extracting DNA from the Gut Microbes of the Termite Zootermopsis Angusticollis and Visualizing Gut Microbes

Extracting DNA from the Gut Microbes of the Termite Zootermopsis Angusticollis and Visualizing Gut Microbes

Published on: May 28, 2007

Using ultraconserved elements to reconstruct the termite tree of life.

Simon Hellemans¹, Menglin Wang¹, Nonno Hasegawa¹

¹Okinawa Institute of Science & Technology Graduate University, 1919-1 Tancha, Onna-son, Okinawa 904-0495, Japan.

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution

|May 16, 2022

Summary

Researchers developed a new tool using ultraconserved elements (UCEs) to study termite evolution, overcoming limitations of previous methods and enabling analysis of even old museum samples.

Keywords:

Data Mining Isoptera Mitochondrial genome Nuclear genome Phylogenomics Taxonomy

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Investigating the Microbial Community in the Termite Hindgut - Interview

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Last Updated: Sep 23, 2025

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Investigating the Microbial Community in the Termite Hindgut - Interview

Investigating the Microbial Community in the Termite Hindgut - Interview

Published on: May 28, 2007

Area of Science:

Evolutionary Biology
Genomics
Zoology

Background:

Phylogenetic history of termites is crucial for understanding insect evolution.
Mitochondrial genomes and transcriptomes have limitations for termite phylogenetics, including potential incongruences and sample preservation requirements.

Purpose of the Study:

To design and validate a termite-specific ultraconserved elements (UCEs) bait set for robust phylogenetic analysis.
To overcome limitations of previous genetic markers and enable global taxonomic revision of termites, including from poorly preserved specimens.

Main Methods:

Designed termite-specific baits targeting 50,616 UCE loci.
Tested the UCE bait set on 42 termite and 3 Cryptocercus samples, generating low-coverage genome assemblies.
Extracted 3,426 to 42,860 non-duplicated UCEs per sample and reconstructed a maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree using 5,934 UCE loci.

Main Results:

Successfully extracted a large number of UCEs from fragmented genome assemblies of termite samples.
The phylogenetic tree generated using UCEs was congruent with transcriptome-based phylogenies.
Demonstrated the reliability and phylogenetic informativeness of the UCE bait set.

Conclusions:

The developed UCE bait set is a reliable tool for termite phylogenetic studies.
This UCE approach, combined with non-destructive DNA extraction, facilitates global taxonomic revision of termites, even from old museum samples.
The Termite UCE database is publicly available for further research.