Tags

Type your tag names separated by a space and hit enter

Morphology and phylogeny of Reticulitermes sp. (Isoptera, Rhinotermitidae) from Cyprus.
Bull Entomol Res. 2012 Dec; 102(6):672-81.BE

Abstract

Taxonomy and phylogeny of termites of the genus Reticulitermes in central and eastern Mediterranean lands are poorly understood, partly due to insufficient sampling. This study aims to contribute to the knowledge of east Mediterranean termites by presenting morphological and molecular data on Reticulitermes from Cyprus. Samples from 15 colonies were collected throughout the island. Qualitative and quantitative morphological characters were analyzed for alate and soldier castes. Partial sequences of the mitochondrial genes COII and 16S were used to evaluate genetic diversity of Cypriot colonies and to determine their phylogenetic relationships with taxa from central and eastern Mediterranean areas. Cypriot alates have some morphological features in common with the Israeli R. clypeatus: an enlarged postclypeus and a wide unpigmented margin of the eye. They are larger than R. clypeatus but smaller than western European species, such as R. banyulensis, R. lucifugus corsicus and R. grassei. For Cypriot soldiers, two size groups were identified, possibly in relation with the age of their mother colonies. Phylogenetic analysis shows that, contrary to what might be expected, the samples with the highest affinity with Cypriot samples are not those from the nearby mainland (south Turkey, Israel), but from north-eastern Greece. Comprehensive sampling in the nearby mainland is lacking, so the possibility that populations exist it that region with an affinity towards Cypriot Reticulitermes sp. cannot be ruled out. Together with samples from the Halkidiki peninsula, north-eastern Greece, northern Turkey and Crete, Cypriot Reticulitermes form a well-supported north-eastern Mediterranean clade.

Links

Publisher Full Text

Authors+Show Affiliations

Ghesini S
Dipartimento di Biologia Evoluzionistica Sperimentale, University of Bologna, Italy.
Marini M
No affiliation info available

MeSH

AnimalsCyprusElectron Transport Complex IVGenes, MitochondrialHaplotypesIsopteraMalePhylogenyRNA, Ribosomal, 16S

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article

Language

eng

PubMed ID

22647386

Citation

Ghesini, S, and M Marini. "Morphology and Phylogeny of Reticulitermes Sp. (Isoptera, Rhinotermitidae) From Cyprus." Bulletin of Entomological Research, vol. 102, no. 6, 2012, pp. 672-81.
Ghesini S, Marini M. Morphology and phylogeny of Reticulitermes sp. (Isoptera, Rhinotermitidae) from Cyprus. Bull Entomol Res. 2012;102(6):672-81.
Ghesini, S., & Marini, M. (2012). Morphology and phylogeny of Reticulitermes sp. (Isoptera, Rhinotermitidae) from Cyprus. Bulletin of Entomological Research, 102(6), 672-81. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007485312000260
Ghesini S, Marini M. Morphology and Phylogeny of Reticulitermes Sp. (Isoptera, Rhinotermitidae) From Cyprus. Bull Entomol Res. 2012;102(6):672-81. PubMed PMID: 22647386.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Morphology and phylogeny of Reticulitermes sp. (Isoptera, Rhinotermitidae) from Cyprus. AU - Ghesini,S, AU - Marini,M, Y1 - 2012/05/30/ PY - 2012/6/1/entrez PY - 2012/6/1/pubmed PY - 2014/4/23/medline SP - 672 EP - 81 JF - Bulletin of entomological research JO - Bull Entomol Res VL - 102 IS - 6 N2 - Taxonomy and phylogeny of termites of the genus Reticulitermes in central and eastern Mediterranean lands are poorly understood, partly due to insufficient sampling. This study aims to contribute to the knowledge of east Mediterranean termites by presenting morphological and molecular data on Reticulitermes from Cyprus. Samples from 15 colonies were collected throughout the island. Qualitative and quantitative morphological characters were analyzed for alate and soldier castes. Partial sequences of the mitochondrial genes COII and 16S were used to evaluate genetic diversity of Cypriot colonies and to determine their phylogenetic relationships with taxa from central and eastern Mediterranean areas. Cypriot alates have some morphological features in common with the Israeli R. clypeatus: an enlarged postclypeus and a wide unpigmented margin of the eye. They are larger than R. clypeatus but smaller than western European species, such as R. banyulensis, R. lucifugus corsicus and R. grassei. For Cypriot soldiers, two size groups were identified, possibly in relation with the age of their mother colonies. Phylogenetic analysis shows that, contrary to what might be expected, the samples with the highest affinity with Cypriot samples are not those from the nearby mainland (south Turkey, Israel), but from north-eastern Greece. Comprehensive sampling in the nearby mainland is lacking, so the possibility that populations exist it that region with an affinity towards Cypriot Reticulitermes sp. cannot be ruled out. Together with samples from the Halkidiki peninsula, north-eastern Greece, northern Turkey and Crete, Cypriot Reticulitermes form a well-supported north-eastern Mediterranean clade. SN - 1475-2670 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/22647386/Morphology_and_phylogeny_of_Reticulitermes_sp___Isoptera_Rhinotermitidae__from_Cyprus_ L2 - https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0007485312000260/type/journal_article DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -