Zitieren Sie bitte immer diesen URN: urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-651719
Unravelling the evolution of wood-feeding in termites with 47 high-resolution genome assemblies
- 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 inTermites 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.…


| Autor*innen: | Cong LiuORCiD, Cédric AumontORCiD, Alina A. Mikhailova, Tracy Audisio, Simon HellemansORCiD, Yi-Ming Weng, Shulin He, Crystal ClitheroeORCiD, Zongqing Wang, Ives HaifigORCiD, David Sillam-Dussès, Aleš Buček, Gaku TokudaORCiD, Jan Šobotník, Mark C. HarrisonORCiD, Dino P. McMahonORCiD, Thomas BourguignonORCiD |
|---|---|
| Dokumenttyp: | Zeitschriftenartikel |
| Veröffentlichungsform: | Verlagsliteratur |
| Sprache: | Englisch |
| Titel des übergeordneten Werkes (Englisch): | Nature Communications |
| Jahr der Erstveröffentlichung: | 2025 |
| Organisationseinheit der BAM: | 4 Material und Umwelt |
| 4 Material und Umwelt / 4.3 Molekulare und angewandte Entomologie | |
| Veröffentlichende Institution: | Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) |
| Verlag: | Springer Science and Business Media LLC |
| Jahrgang/Band: | 16 |
| Aufsatznummer: | 11154 |
| Erste Seite: | 1 |
| Letzte Seite: | 14 |
| DDC-Klassifikation: | Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / Ingenieurwissenschaften / Sanitär- und Kommunaltechnik; Umwelttechnik |
| Freie Schlagwörter: | Comparative genomics; Entomology; Genome evolution; Phylogenetics |
| Themenfelder/Aktivitätsfelder der BAM: | Umwelt |
| Umwelt / Biokorrosion | |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41467-025-65969-5 |
| URN: | urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-651719 |
| ISSN: | 2041-1723 |
| Verfügbarkeit des Dokuments: | Datei für die Öffentlichkeit verfügbar ("Open Access") |
| Lizenz (Deutsch): | Creative Commons - CC BY-NC-ND - Namensnennung - Nicht kommerziell - Keine Bearbeitungen 4.0 International |
| Datum der Freischaltung: | 18.12.2025 |
| Referierte Publikation: | Ja |
| Datum der Eintragung als referierte Publikation: | 22.12.2025 |
| Schriftenreihen ohne Nummerierung: | Wissenschaftliche Artikel der BAM |


