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Origin and evolution of the Italian subterranean termite Reticulitermes lucifugus (Blattodea, Termitoidae, Rhinotermitidae).
Bull Entomol Res. 2013 Dec; 103(6):734-41.BE

Abstract

The Holarctic genus Reticulitermes shows seven species within the Mediterranean Basin. While phylogeny and systematics at continental level has been deeply investigated, a few studies concentrated on local ranges. To gain a clearer picture of the diversity and evolution of the Italian species Reticulitermes lucifugus, we analyzed the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase II (COII) gene marker in newly collected colonies across the Peninsula. Data were gathered with all R. lucifugus sequences available from previous studies; COII sequences of the closely related Iberian taxa were also added to the data set. Maximum-likelihood, median-joining and statistical parsimony network elaborations on the resulting 119 colonies all agreed in indicating that: (i) the Sardo-Corsican subspecies R. lucifugus corsicus, strictly related to Southern Italian populations (including the Sicilian ones), is phylogenetically closer to the Iberian Reticulitermes grassei; and (ii) R. lucifugus lucifugus peninsular populations are structured into three clusters. The phylogenetic relationships and the biogeography of extant taxa suggest a scenario in which R. lucifugus ancestors colonized the Italian region through the Sardo-Corsican microplate during its Oligocene-Miocene anticlockwise rotation. Moreover, well after the colonization took place, northward range expansion might have produced the presently observed genetic diversity, as inferred from haplotype and nucleotide diversity estimates. On the whole, this study highlights the evolution of Italian Reticulitermes taxa and supports the importance of a wide taxon sampling especially when dealing with organisms easily dispersed by human activities.

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Authors+Show Affiliations

Luchetti A
Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali - Università di Bologna, via Selmi 3-40126 Bologna, Italy.
Scicchitano V
No affiliation info available
Mantovani B
No affiliation info available

MeSH

AnimalsBiological EvolutionElectron Transport Complex IVIsopteraItalyPhylogeography

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Language

eng

PubMed ID

23883615

Citation

Luchetti, A, et al. "Origin and Evolution of the Italian Subterranean Termite Reticulitermes Lucifugus (Blattodea, Termitoidae, Rhinotermitidae)." Bulletin of Entomological Research, vol. 103, no. 6, 2013, pp. 734-41.
Luchetti A, Scicchitano V, Mantovani B. Origin and evolution of the Italian subterranean termite Reticulitermes lucifugus (Blattodea, Termitoidae, Rhinotermitidae). Bull Entomol Res. 2013;103(6):734-41.
Luchetti, A., Scicchitano, V., & Mantovani, B. (2013). Origin and evolution of the Italian subterranean termite Reticulitermes lucifugus (Blattodea, Termitoidae, Rhinotermitidae). Bulletin of Entomological Research, 103(6), 734-41. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007485313000400
Luchetti A, Scicchitano V, Mantovani B. Origin and Evolution of the Italian Subterranean Termite Reticulitermes Lucifugus (Blattodea, Termitoidae, Rhinotermitidae). Bull Entomol Res. 2013;103(6):734-41. PubMed PMID: 23883615.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Origin and evolution of the Italian subterranean termite Reticulitermes lucifugus (Blattodea, Termitoidae, Rhinotermitidae). AU - Luchetti,A, AU - Scicchitano,V, AU - Mantovani,B, Y1 - 2013/07/24/ PY - 2013/7/26/entrez PY - 2013/7/26/pubmed PY - 2014/7/16/medline SP - 734 EP - 41 JF - Bulletin of entomological research JO - Bull Entomol Res VL - 103 IS - 6 N2 - The Holarctic genus Reticulitermes shows seven species within the Mediterranean Basin. While phylogeny and systematics at continental level has been deeply investigated, a few studies concentrated on local ranges. To gain a clearer picture of the diversity and evolution of the Italian species Reticulitermes lucifugus, we analyzed the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase II (COII) gene marker in newly collected colonies across the Peninsula. Data were gathered with all R. lucifugus sequences available from previous studies; COII sequences of the closely related Iberian taxa were also added to the data set. Maximum-likelihood, median-joining and statistical parsimony network elaborations on the resulting 119 colonies all agreed in indicating that: (i) the Sardo-Corsican subspecies R. lucifugus corsicus, strictly related to Southern Italian populations (including the Sicilian ones), is phylogenetically closer to the Iberian Reticulitermes grassei; and (ii) R. lucifugus lucifugus peninsular populations are structured into three clusters. The phylogenetic relationships and the biogeography of extant taxa suggest a scenario in which R. lucifugus ancestors colonized the Italian region through the Sardo-Corsican microplate during its Oligocene-Miocene anticlockwise rotation. Moreover, well after the colonization took place, northward range expansion might have produced the presently observed genetic diversity, as inferred from haplotype and nucleotide diversity estimates. On the whole, this study highlights the evolution of Italian Reticulitermes taxa and supports the importance of a wide taxon sampling especially when dealing with organisms easily dispersed by human activities. SN - 1475-2670 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/23883615/Origin_and_evolution_of_the_Italian_subterranean_termite_Reticulitermes_lucifugus__Blattodea_Termitoidae_Rhinotermitidae__ L2 - https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0007485313000400/type/journal_article DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -