TY - JOUR A1 - Westwood, S. A1 - Martos, G. A1 - Josephs, R. A1 - Choteau, T. A1 - Wielgosz, R. A1 - Davies, S. A1 - Moawad, M. A1 - Tarrant, G. A1 - Chan, B. A1 - Alamgir, M. A1 - de Rego, E. A1 - Wollinger, W. A1 - Garrido, B. A1 - Fernandes, J. A1 - de Sena, R. A1 - Oliveira, R. A1 - Melanson, J. A1 - Bates, J. A1 - Mai Le, P. A1 - Meija, J. A1 - Quan, C. A1 - Huang, T. A1 - Zhang, W. A1 - Ma, R. A1 - Zhang, S. A1 - Hao, Y. A1 - He, Y. A1 - Song, S. A1 - Wang, H. A1 - Su, F. A1 - Zhang, T. A1 - Li, H. A1 - Lam, W. A1 - Wong, W. A1 - Fung, W. A1 - Philipp, Rosemarie A1 - Dorgerloh, Ute A1 - Meyer, Klas A1 - Piechotta, Christian A1 - Riedel, Juliane A1 - Westphalen, Tanja A1 - Giannikopoulou, P. A1 - Alexopoulos, Ch. A1 - Kakoulides, E. A1 - Kitamaki, Y. A1 - Yamazaki, T. A1 - Shimizu, Y. A1 - Kuroe, M. A1 - Numata, M. A1 - Pérez-Castorena, A. A1 - Balderas-Escamilla, M. A1 - Garcia-Escalante, J. A1 - Krylov, A. A1 - Mikheeva, A. A1 - Beliakov, M. A1 - Palagina, M. A1 - Tkachenko, I. A1 - Spirin, S. A1 - Smirnov, V. A1 - Tang Lin, T. A1 - Pui Sze, C. A1 - Juan, W. A1 - Lingkai, W. A1 - Ting, L. A1 - Quinde, L. A1 - Yizhao, C. A1 - Lay Peng, S. A1 - Fernandes-Whaley, M. A1 - Prevoo-Franzsen, D. A1 - Quinn, L. A1 - Nhlapo, N. A1 - Mkhize, D. A1 - Marajh, D. A1 - Chamane, S. A1 - Ahn, S. A1 - Choi, K. A1 - Lee, S. A1 - Han, J. A1 - Baek, S. A1 - Kim, B. A1 - Marbumrung, S. A1 - Jongmesuk, P. A1 - Shearman, K. A1 - Boonyakong, C. A1 - Bilsel, M. A1 - Gündüz, S. A1 - Ün, I. A1 - Yilmaz, H. A1 - Bilsel, G. A1 - Gökçen, T. A1 - Clarkson, C. A1 - Warren, J. A1 - Achtar, E. T1 - Mass fraction assignment of Bisphenol-A high purity material N2 - The CCQM-K148.a comparison was coordinated by the BIPM on behalf of the CCQM Organic Analysis Working Group for NMIs and DIs which provide measurement services in organic analysis under the CIPM MRA. It was undertaken as a "Track A" comparison within the OAWG strategic plan. CCQM-K148.a demonstrates capabilities for assigning the mass fraction content of a solid organic compound having moderate molecular complexity, where the compound has a molar mass in the range (75 - 500) g/mol and is non-polar (pKow < −2), when present as the primary organic component in a neat organic solid and where the mass fraction content of the primary component in the material is in excess of 950 mg/g. Participants were required to report the mass fraction of Bisphenol A present in one supplied unit of the comparison material. Participants using a mass balance method for the assignment were also required to report their assignments of the impurity components present in the material. Methods used by the seventeen participating NMIs or DIs were predominantly based on either stand-alone mass balance (summation of impurities) or qNMR approaches, or the combination of data obtained using both methods. The results obtained using thermal methods based on freezing-point depression methods were also reported by a limited number of participants. There was excellent agreement between assignments obtained using all three approaches to assign the BPA content. The assignment of the values for the mass fraction content of BPA consistent with the KCRV was achieved by most of the comparison participants with an associated relative standard uncertainty in the assigned value in the range (0.1 - 0.5)%. KW - Bisphenol-A KW - Purity assessment KW - Interlaboratory key comparison KW - Metrology PY - 2021 DO - https://doi.org/10.1088/0026-1394/58/1A/08015 VL - 58 IS - 1A SP - 08015 PB - IOP Publishing AN - OPUS4-54188 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Westwood, S. A1 - Josephs, R. A1 - Choteau, T. A1 - Daireaux, A. A1 - Stoppacher, N. A1 - Wielgosz, R. A1 - Davies, S. A1 - do Rego, E. A1 - Wollinger, W. A1 - Garrido, B. A1 - Fernandes, J. A1 - Lima, J. A1 - Oliveira, R. A1 - de Sena, R. A1 - Windust, A. A1 - Huang, T. A1 - Dai, X. A1 - Quan, C. A1 - He, H. A1 - Zhang, W. A1 - Wei, C. A1 - Li, N. A1 - Gao, D. A1 - Liu, Z. A1 - Lo, M. A1 - Wong, W. A1 - Pfeifer, Dietmar A1 - Koch, Matthias A1 - Dorgerloh, Ute A1 - Rothe, Robert A1 - Philipp, Rosemarie A1 - Hanari, N. A1 - Rezali, M. A1 - Arzate, C. A1 - Berenice, M. A1 - Caballero, V. A1 - Osuna, M. A1 - Krylov, A. A1 - Kharitonov, S. A1 - Lopushanskaya, E. A1 - Liu, Q. A1 - Lin, T. A1 - Fernandes-Whaley, M. A1 - Quinn, L. A1 - Nhlapo, N. A1 - Prevoo-Franzsen, D. A1 - Archer, M. A1 - Kim, B. A1 - Baek, S. A1 - Lee, S. A1 - Lee, J. A1 - Marbumrung, S. A1 - Kankaew, P. A1 - Chaorenpornpukdee, K. A1 - Chaipet, T. A1 - Shearman, K. A1 - Gören, A. A1 - Gündüz, S. A1 - Yilmaz, H. A1 - Un, I. A1 - Bilsel, G. A1 - Clarkson, C. A1 - Bedner, M. A1 - Camara, J. A1 - Lang, B. A1 - Lippa, K. A1 - Nelson, M. A1 - Toman, B. A1 - Yu, L. T1 - Mass fraction assignment of folic acid in a high purity material - CCQM-K55.d (Folic acid) Final Report N2 - The comparison required the assignment of the mass fraction of folic acid present as the main component in the comparison sample. Performance in the comparison is representative of a laboratory's measurement capability for the purity assignment of organic compounds of medium structural complexity [molecular weight range 300–500] and high polarity (pKOW < −2). Methods used by the eighteen participating NMIs or DIs were based on a mass balance (summation of impurities) or qNMR approach, or the combination of data obtained using both methods. The qNMR results tended to give slightly lower values for the content of folic acid, albeit with larger associated uncertainties, compared with the results obtained by mass balance procedures. Possible reasons for this divergence are discussed in the report, without reaching a definitive conclusion as to their origin. The comparison demonstrates that for a structurally complex polar organic compound containing a high water content and presenting a number of additional analytical challenges, the assignment of the mass fraction content property value of the main component can reasonably be achieved with an associated relative standard uncertainty in the assigned value of 0.5% KW - CCQM key comparison KW - Purity assessment KW - Folic acid PY - 2018 UR - https://www.bipm.org/utils/common/pdf/final_reports/QM/K55/CCQM-K55.d.pdf DO - https://doi.org/10.1088/0026-1394/55/1A/08013 VL - 55 IS - Technical Supplement, 2018 SP - 08013, 1 EP - 38 PB - Institute of Physics Publishing (IOP) ; Bureau International des Poids et Mesures AN - OPUS4-44999 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bothe, Martin A1 - Mya, K.Y. A1 - Lin, E.M.J. A1 - Yeo, C. C. A1 - Lu, X. A1 - He, C. A1 - Pretsch, Thorsten T1 - Triple-shape properties of star-shaped POSS-polycaprolactone polyurethane networks N2 - Here, we present an investigation of the triple-shape properties of star-shaped polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane-poly(ε-caprolactone) polyurethanes (SPOSS-PUs), which have three-dimensional network structures. In a typical 'triple-shape functionalization process', mostly consisting of two tensile deformations at different temperatures, chain immobilization of the polymer network component poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) was successfully realized first through crystallization and then through vitrification. Subsequently, large parts of the respective strains were released under stress-free recovery conditions. The two-fold fixed ('programmed') specimens responded to heating with two independent length contractions (switching steps); the first shape change was associated with PCL devitrification and the second one with the melting of hitherto crystalline PCL. It was revealed that the triple-shape properties of SPOSS-PU networks considerably depend on PCL network chain length. When applying exactly the same 'triple-shape creation procedure', larger strain releases were detected in the first transition for polymers with a higher PCL network chain length, whereas the second transition was more accentuated for SPOSS-PU networks with a shorter PCL chain length. In the course of thermo-mechanical cycling, the formation of a neck during the second tensile deformation was repeatedly detected for SPOSS-PUs with higher PCL network chain length; in the subsequent recovery process the specimens even exhibited the highest total strain recoverability. Finally, gradual strain release could be achieved at temperatures below the PCL melting transition through the selection of up to four temperature holding steps, at which every time stable shapes were formed. KW - Shape memory polymer KW - Active polymer KW - Triple-shape polymer KW - Hybrid star-shaped polymer KW - POSS-polycaprolactone polyurethanes KW - Thermo-mechanical properties PY - 2012 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/c1sm06474f SN - 1744-683X VL - 8 IS - 4 SP - 965 EP - 972 PB - RSC Publ. CY - Cambridge AN - OPUS4-25260 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Heeger, Felix A1 - Bourne, E. C. A1 - Wurzbacher, C. A1 - Funke, E. A1 - Lipzen, A. A1 - He, G. A1 - Ng, V. A1 - Grigoriev, I. V. A1 - Schlosser, D. A1 - Monaghan, M. T. T1 - Evidence for Lignocellulose-Decomposing Enzymes in the Genome and Transcriptome of the Aquatic Hyphomycete Clavariopsis aquatica N2 - Fungi are ecologically outstanding decomposers of lignocellulose. Fungal lignocellulose degradation is prominent in saprotrophic Ascomycota and Basidiomycota of the subkingdom Dikarya. Despite ascomycetes dominating the Dikarya inventory of aquatic environments, genome and transcriptome data relating to enzymes involved in lignocellulose decay remain limited to terrestrial representatives of these phyla. We sequenced the genome of an exclusively aquatic ascomycete (the aquatic hyphomycete Clavariopsis aquatica), documented the presence of genes for the modification of lignocellulose and its constituents, and compared differential gene expression between C. aquatica cultivated on lignocellulosic and sugar-rich substrates. We identified potential peroxidases, laccases, and cytochrome P450 monooxygenases, several of which were differentially expressed when experimentally grown on different substrates. Additionally, we found indications for the regulation of pathways for cellulose and hemicellulose degradation. Our results suggest that C. aquatica is able to modify lignin to some extent, detoxify aromatic lignin constituents, or both. Such characteristics would be expected to facilitate the use of carbohydrate components of lignocellulose as carbon and energy sources. KW - Aquatic fungi KW - Differential expression KW - Lignocellulose KW - Laccase KW - RNA-Seq PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-536843 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/jof7100854 VL - 7 IS - 10 SP - 2 EP - 11 PB - MDPI CY - Basel, Schweiz AN - OPUS4-53684 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - He, Shulin A1 - Sieksmeyer, Thorben A1 - Che, Y. A1 - Mora, M. A. E. A1 - Stiblik, P. A1 - Banasiak, Ronald A1 - Harrison, M. C. A1 - Sobotnik, J. A1 - Wang, Z. A1 - Johnston, P. R. A1 - McMahon, Dino Peter T1 - Evidence for reduced immune gene diversity and activity during the evolution of termites N2 - The evolution of biological complexity is associated with the emergence of bespoke immune systems that maintain and protect organism integrity. Unlike the well-studied immune systems of cells and individuals, little is known about the origins of immunity during the transition to eusociality, a major evolutionary transition comparable to the evolution of multicellular organisms from single-celled ancestors. We aimed to tackle this by characterizing the immune gene repertoire of 18 cockroach and termite species, spanning the spectrum of solitary, subsocial and eusocial lifestyles. We find that key transitions in termite sociality are correlated with immune gene family contractions. In cross-species comparisons of immune gene expression, we find evidence for a caste-specific social defence system in termites, which appears to operate at the expense of individual immune protection. Our study indicates that a major transition in organismal complexity may have entailed a fundamental reshaping of the immune system optimized for group over individual defence. KW - Social insect KW - Subsocial KW - Cockroach KW - Major transition KW - Contraction KW - Expansion PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-538878 DO - https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.3168 SN - 0962-8452 SN - 1471-2954 VL - 288 IS - 1945 SP - 1 EP - 10 PB - The Royal Society CY - London AN - OPUS4-53887 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sieksmeyer, T. A1 - He, S. A1 - Esparza Mora, Margy Alejandra A1 - Jiang, S. A1 - Petrasiunaite, V. A1 - Kuropka, B. A1 - Banasiak, Ronald A1 - Julseth, M. J. A1 - Weise, C. A1 - Johnston, P. R. A1 - Rodriguez-Rojas, A. A1 - McMahon, Dino Peter T1 - Eating in a losing cause: Limited benefit of modifed macronutrient consumption following infection in the oriental cockroach Blatta orientalis N2 - Background: Host–pathogen interactions can lead to dramatic changes in host feeding behaviour. One aspect of this includes self-medication, where infected individuals consume substances such as toxins or alter their macronutrient consumption to enhance immune competence. Another widely adopted animal response to infection is illness-induced anorexia, which is thought to assist host immunity directly or by limiting the nutritional resources available to pathogens. Here, we recorded macronutrient preferences of the global pest cockroach, Blatta orientalis to investigate how shifts in host macronutrient dietary preference and quantity of carbohydrate (C) and protein (P) interact with immunity following bacterial infection. Results: We fnd that B. orientalis avoids diets enriched for P under normal conditions, and that high P diets reduce cockroach survival in the long term. However, following bacterial challenge, cockroaches signifcantly reduced their overall nutrient intake, particularly of carbohydrates, and increased the relative ratio of protein (P:C) consumed. Surprisingly, these behavioural shifts had a limited efect on cockroach immunity and survival, with minor changes to immune protein abundance and antimicrobial activity between individuals placed on diferent diets, regardless of infection status. Conclusions: We show that cockroach feeding behaviour can be modulated by a pathogen, resulting in an illness-induced anorexia-like feeding response and a shift from a C-enriched to a more P:C equal diet. However, our results also indicate that such responses do not provide signifcant immune protection in B. orientalis, suggesting that the host’s dietary shift might also result from random rather than directed behaviour. The lack of an apparent beneft of the shift in feeding behaviour highlights a possible reduced importance of diet in immune regulation in these invasive animals, although further investigations employing pathogens with alternative infection strategies are warranted. KW - Animal immune system KW - A key interface KW - Host and symbiont ecology KW - Behavioural mechanisms KW - Biotic environment PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-550022 DO - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-022-02007-8 SN - 2730-7182 VL - 22 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 14 PB - Springer Nature CY - London, UK AN - OPUS4-55002 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - He, Shulin A1 - Johnston, P. R. A1 - Kuropka, B. A1 - Lokatis, S. A1 - Weise, C. A1 - Plarre, Rüdiger A1 - Kunte, Hans-Jörg A1 - McMahon, Dino Peter T1 - Termite soldiers contribute to social immunity by synthesizing potent oral secretions N2 - The importance of soldiers to termite Society defence has long been recognized, but the contribution of soldiers to other societal functions, such as colony immunity, is less well understood. We explore this issue by examining the role of soldiers in protecting nestmates against pathogen infection. Even though they are unable to engage in grooming behaviour, we find that the presence of soldiers of the Darwin termite, Mastotermes darwiniensis, significantly improves the survival of nestmates following entomopathogenic infection. We also show that the copious exocrine oral secretions produced by Darwin termite soldiers contain a high concentration of Proteins involved in digestion, chemical biosynthesis, and immunity. The oral secretions produced by soldiers are sufficient to protect nestmates against infection, and they have potent inhibitory activity against a broad spectrum of microbes. Our findings support the view that soldiers may play an important role in colony immunity, and broaden our understanding of the possible function of soldiers during the origin of soldier-first societies. KW - External KW - Social KW - Immunity KW - Soldier KW - Antimicrobial KW - Proteome PY - 2018 DO - https://doi.org/10.1111/imb.12499 SN - 1365-2583 SN - 0962-1075 VL - 27 IS - 5 SP - 564 EP - 576 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Oxford AN - OPUS4-45726 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mya, K.Y. A1 - Gose, H.B. A1 - Pretsch, Thorsten A1 - Bothe, Martin A1 - He, C. T1 - Star-shaped POSS-polycaprolactone polyurethanes and their shape memory performance N2 - Star-shaped polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (SPOSS)-based multi-arm poly(ε-caprolactones) (PCLs) with various arm lengths were synthesized by ring opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone. Increasing the PCL arm lengths was observed to increase the melting temperature and also the melt crystallization temperature in SPOSS-PCLs. Star-shaped POSS-PCL polyurethanes (SPOSS-PUs) were then prepared by cross-linking SPOSS-PCLs with hexamethylene diisocyanate (HMDI) and their shape memory (SM) behaviour was determined. For this purpose two cyclic thermo-mechanical testing concepts with similar programming (deformation and shape fixing) but different recovery strategies (free strain versus fixed-strain constrained stress recovery) were used and the synthesized polymers were systematically investigated around the crystallization and melting temperatures of PCL. SPOSS-PU with the highest POSS content exhibited remarkable cycles-averaged (N = 2–5) shape fixities and strain recoverabilities of 98% and stress recoverabilities close to 100%. The main structural factors that were expected to reduce the SM performances with increasing PCL arm lengths were a lowering of cross-link density (content of octasubstituted POSS) and an increase in chain flexibility/molecular mobility. KW - Shape memory polymer KW - Active polymer KW - Hybrid star-shaped polymer KW - POSS-polycaprolactone polyurethanes KW - Thermo-mechanical properties PY - 2011 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/c0jm04459h SN - 0959-9428 SN - 1364-5501 VL - 21 IS - 13 SP - 4827 EP - 4836 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge AN - OPUS4-23479 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Liu, Cong A1 - Aumont, Cédric A1 - Mikhailova, Alina A. A1 - Audisio, Tracy A1 - Hellemans, Simon A1 - Weng, Yi-Ming A1 - He, Shulin A1 - Clitheroe, Crystal A1 - Wang, Zongqing A1 - Haifig, Ives A1 - Sillam-Dussès, David A1 - Buček, Aleš A1 - Tokuda, Gaku A1 - Šobotník, Jan A1 - Harrison, Mark C. A1 - McMahon, Dino P. A1 - Bourguignon, Thomas T1 - Unravelling the evolution of wood-feeding in termites with 47 high-resolution genome assemblies N2 - Termites are a lineage of social cockroaches abundant in tropical ecosystems where they are key decomposers of organic matter. Despite their ecological significance, only a handful of reference-quality termite genomes have been sequenced, which is insufficient to unravel the genetic mechanisms that have contributed to their ecological success. Here, we perform sequencing and hybrid assembly of 45 taxonomically and ecologically diverse termites and two cockroaches, resulting in haplotype-merged genome assemblies of 47 species, 22 of which were near-chromosome level. Next, we examine the link between termite dietary evolution and major genomic events. We find that Termitidae, which include ~80% of described termite species, have larger genomes with more genes and a higher proportion of transposons than other termites. Our analyses identify a gene number expansion early in the evolution of Termitidae, including an expansion of the repertoire of CAZymes, the genes involved in lignocellulose degradation. Notably, this expansion of genomes and gene repertoires coincided with the origin of soil-feeding in Termitidae and remained unchanged in lineages that secondarily reverted to a wood-based diet. Overall, our sequencing effort multiplies the number of available termite genomes by six and provides insights into the genome evolution of an ancient lineage of social insects. KW - Comparative genomics KW - Entomology KW - Genome evolution KW - Phylogenetics PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-651719 DO - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-65969-5 SN - 2041-1723 VL - 16 SP - 1 EP - 14 PB - Springer Science and Business Media LLC AN - OPUS4-65171 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Was, G.S. A1 - Bahn, C.-B. A1 - Busby, J. A1 - Cui, B. A1 - Farkas, D. A1 - Gussev, M. A1 - Rigen He, M. A1 - Hesterberg, J. A1 - Jiao, Z. A1 - Johnson, D. A1 - Kuang, W. A1 - McMurtrey, M. A1 - Robertson, I. A1 - Sinjlawi, A. A1 - Song, M. A1 - Stephenson, K. A1 - Sun, K. A1 - Swaminathan, Srinivasan A1 - Wang, M. A1 - West, E. T1 - How irradiation promotes intergranular stress corrosion crack initiation N2 - Irradiation assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC) is a form of intergranular stress corrosion cracking that occurs in irradiated austenitic alloys. It requires an irradiated microstructure along with high temperature water and stress. The process is ubiquitous in that it occurs in a wide range of austenitic alloys and water chemistries, but only when the alloy is irradiated. Despite evidence of this degradation mode that dates back to the 1960s, the mechanism by which it occurs has remained elusive. Here, using high resolution electron backscattering detection to analyze local stress-strain states, high resolution transmission electron microscopy to identify grain boundary phases at crack tips, and decoupling the roles of stress and grain boundary oxidation, we are able to unfold the complexities of the phenomenon to reveal the mechanism by which IASCC occurs. The significance of the findings impacts the mechanical integrity of core components of both current and advanced nuclear reactor designs worldwide. KW - Irradiation KW - Stress corrosion cracking KW - Grain boundaries KW - Oxidation KW - Austenitic alloys PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-595748 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmatsci.2024.101255 SN - 0079-6425 VL - 143 SP - 1 EP - 15 PB - Elsevier AN - OPUS4-59574 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bucek, A. A1 - Sobotnik, J. A1 - He, Shulin A1 - Shi, M. A1 - McMahon, Dino Peter A1 - Holmes, E.C. A1 - Roisin, Y. A1 - Lo, N. A1 - Bourguignon, T. T1 - Evolution of Termite Symbiosis Informed by Transcriptome-Based Phylogenies N2 - Termitidae comprises 80% of all termite species that play dominant decomposer roles in Tropical cosystems. Two major events during Termite evolution were the loss of cellulolytic gut protozoans in the ancestor of Termitidae and the subsequent gain in the termitid subfamily Macrotermitinae of fungal symbionts cultivated externally in ‘‘combs’’ constructed within the nest. How these symbiotic transitions occurred remains unresolved. Phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial data previously suggested that Macrotermitinae is the earliest branching termitid lineage, followed soon after by Sphaerotermitinae, which cultivates bacterial symbionts on combs inside its nests. This has led to the hypothesis that comb building was an important evolutionary step in the loss of gut protozoa in ancestral termitids. We sequenced genomes and transcriptomes of 55 termite species and reconstructed phylogenetic trees from up to 4,065 orthologous genes of 68 species. We found strong support for a novel sister-group relationship between the bacterial comb-building Sphaerotermitinae and fungus comb-building Macrotermitinae. This key finding indicates that comb building is a derived trait within Termitidae and that the creation of a comb-like ‘‘external rumen’’ involving bacteria or fungi may not have driven the loss of protozoa from ancestral termitids, as previously hypothesized. Instead, associations with gut prokaryotic symbionts, combined with dietary shifts from wood to other plant-based substrates, may have played a more important role in this symbiotic transition. Our phylogenetic tree provides a platform for future studies of comparative termite evolution and the evolution of symbiosis in this taxon. KW - Molecular clock KW - Fungiculture KW - Gut symbionts KW - Insect evolution KW - Isoptera PY - 2019 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2019.08.076 VL - 29 IS - 21 SP - 3728 EP - 3734.e4 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-49647 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -