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Updated: Feb 15, 2026

Investigating the Microbial Community in the Termite Hindgut - Interview
Published on: May 28, 2007
Arms races between selfish genetic elements and their host defence in termites
Bitao Qiu1, Daniel Elsner2, Judith Korb3,4
1Evolutionary Biology & Ecology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany. bitao.qiu.88@gmail.com.
None:
Arms races between parasites and hosts are key drivers of evolution. Selfishly replicating transposable elements (TEs) are thought to follow similar dynamics, but strong evidence is missing. We test this in termites, social insects in which TEs have been linked to ageing. Sequencing genomes and profiling DNA methylation across the termite phylogeny reveal corresponding phylogenetic signals in TEs and TE methylation, indicative of co-evolution. TE methylation reduces TE success, as both TE abundance and spreading efficiency decrease with increasing methylation. TEs also become less harmful with TE age: evolutionarily older TEs spread less, insert less into exons, and erode into short remnants. Correspondingly, defence through methylation is strongest against young TEs. Yet, as in typical host-parasite arms races, some TEs persist, implying resistance or recurrent invasions. Our results reveal arms races between TEs and DNA methylation, positioning TEs as drivers of genome evolution similar to symbionts in organismic evolution.
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