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.zeige mehrzeige weniger

Volltext Dateien herunterladen

Metadaten exportieren

Weitere Dienste

Suche bei Google Scholar Anzahl der Zugriffe auf dieses Dokument
Metadaten
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):License LogoCreative 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
Einverstanden
Diese Webseite verwendet technisch erforderliche Session-Cookies. Durch die weitere Nutzung der Webseite stimmen Sie diesem zu. Unsere Datenschutzerklärung finden Sie hier.