Reduced genetic diversity through inbreeding can negatively affect pathogen resistance. This relationship becomes more complicated in social species, such as social insects, since the chance of disease transmission increases with the frequency of interactions among individuals. However, social insects may benefit from social immunity, whereby individual physiological defenses may be bolstered by collective-level immune responses, such as grooming or sharing of antimicrobial substance through trophallaxis. We set out to determine whether differences in genetic diversity between colonies of the subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes, accounts for colony survival against pathogens. We sampled colonies throughout the United States (Texas, North Carolina, Maryland, and Massachusetts) and determined the level of inbreeding of each colony. To assess whether genetically diverse colonies were better able to survive exposure to diverse pathogens, we challenged groups of termite workers with two strains of a pathogenic fungus, one local strain present in the soil surrounding sampled colonies and another naive strain, collected outside the range of this species. We found natural variation in the level of inbreeding between colonies, but this variation did not explain differences in susceptibility to either pathogen. Although the naive strain was found to be more hazardous than the local strain, colony resistance was correlated between two strains, meaning that colonies had either relatively high or low susceptibility to both strains regardless of their inbreeding coefficient. Overall, our findings may reflect differential virulence between the strains, immune priming of the colonies via prior exposure to the local strain, or a coevolved resistance toward this strain. They also suggest that colony survival may rely more upon additional factors, such as different behavioral response thresholds or the influence of a specific genetic background, rather than the overall genetic diversity of the colony.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.7233

Natural variation in colony inbreeding does not influence susceptibility to a fungal pathogen in a termite.

Social insect colonies are among the most complex social organisations in nature, with reproductive and non-reproductive individuals co-ordinating to maintain the survival of the colony. Multiple reproductive schemes occur in social insects, from simple schemes with one founding reproductive pair, to more complex ones involving within-colony inbreeding and more than two unrelated reproductives. Colony breeding schemes and genetic structure remain understudied in termites, compared to the Hymenoptera. In this study, we performed the first genetic characterisation of the colony breeding structure of Nasutitermes exitiosus (Blattodea: Termitidae), an endemic Australian termite with a broad distribution across southern mainland Australia. We analysed the genetic structure of 60 N. exitiosus colonies from the Eastern part of its distribution, using microsatellites and mitochondrial sequence data. We found that most colonies were headed by one founding pair of reproductives, although some colonies exhibited a more complex breeding structure, including within-colony inbreeding and the presence of multiple unrelated reproductives. We found evidence for the presence of seven unrelated queens in one colony, to our knowledge, the highest number of unrelated queens yet found in a termite from the family Termitidae. We found some evidence for genetic isolation by distance, indicating that the species is a relatively poor disperser over long ranges.

High numbers of unrelated reproductives in the Australian ‘higher’ termite Nasutitermes exitiosus (Blattodea: Termitidae)

Development and annotation of species-specific microsatellite markers from transcriptome sequencing for a higher group termite, Globitermes sulphureus Haviland (Blattodea: Termitidae)

The subterranean termite Globitermes sulphureus (Blattodea: Termitidae) can be found in tropical regions. We chose seven novel species-specific microsatellite markers to infer the breeding pattern of G. sulphureus based on its colony and population genetic structure in eight selected populations (natural-n = 4 and metropolitan-n = 4) in Kedah and Penang, Malaysia. A strong correlation with their geographical location is shown by the acquired genetic gap for all studied populations from this study. The breeding pattern of family structure and comparisons of estimated F-statistics among G. sulphureus workers suggests 60% of all colonies are mixed families, whereas the remaining are simple families. Average relatedness values within simple and mixed family colonies are similar (r = 0.121). Positive fixation index F ST values (F ST = 0.086) indicate all eight populations (>500 m apart) have a significantly moderate genetic differentiation and low levels of inbreeding based on the low overall inbreeding coefficient F IT value of 0.391. Furthermore, four populations; Palapes USM (PU), Tmn Astana (TA), Kg Teluk (KT), and Penang National Park (NP), deviate from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (HWE, all p = 0.000) and five studied polymorphic loci (GS1, GS10, GS15, GS27 and GS29) are possibly under selection. The findings also reveal signs of a bottleneck effect in two populations: Tikam Batu (TB) and Penang National Park (NP), indicating genetic drift.

Population Genetic Structure and Breeding Pattern of Higher Group Termite Globitermes sulphureus (Haviland) (Blattodea:Termitidae)

We assessed the efficacy of a discontinuous soil treatment using a diluent of fipronil suspension concentrate in controlling colonies of Coptotermes formosanus and Reticulitermes speratus. In-ground monitoring stations were installed at Isogi Park and Kindai University, and individual termites inhabiting the stations were collected for four or six years to determine the numbers and locations of colonies present in test areas before and after the discontinuous soil treatment. Microsatellite genotyping indicated that two C. formosanus and two R. speratus colonies in the test area at Isogi Park and five R. speratus colonies in the test area at Kindai University were active and that their territories fluctuated every year. One of the two C. formosanus colonies at Isogi Park and one of the five R. speratus colonies at Kindai University were subjected to discontinuous soil treatments with fipronil and were strongly affected by the treatment at the colony level, resulting in the suppression and possible elimination of colonies. Termite activity of the fipronil-treated colony of C. formosanus was detected within one week after the discontinuous soil treatment and was not found for more than two years (28 months), while termite activity of the fipronil-treated colony of R. speratus was detected within four days and three weeks after the discontinuous soil treatment and was not detected thereafter for three years. Fipronil residue analysis showed that workers of C. formosanus moved at least 28 m and that workers of R. speratus moved 6 m from the treated soil locations for up to three weeks.

https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/12/4/334/pdf

Colony Suppression and Possible Colony Elimination of the Subterranean Termites Coptotermes formosanus and Reticulitermes speratus by Discontinuous Soil Treatment Using a Diluent of Fipronil Suspension Concentrate

Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar) has become the most destructive subterranean termite pest, on urban structures in Nebraska. In this study, we used seven microsatellite loci to infer the colony breeding system and population genetic structure among 20 infested urban structures in Nebraska. Our data revealed that 17 structures were infested by simple family colonies of R. flavipes, while, the remaining three were infested with mixed family colonies. The measure of population differentiation, FCT value (0.459) indicated that all the 20 urban colonies (10 - 410 km apart) represented pronounced levels of genetic differentiation. The Mantel test disclosed a weak and significantly-positive correlation between genetic and geographic distance (slope = 0.0009, P = 0.001). The urban populations of R. flavipes in Nebraska possessed a breeding system characterized by monogamous pairs of outbred reproductives with excessive heterozygosity.

/pdf/breeding-patterns-and-population-genetics-of-eastern-1737zph11d.pdf

Breeding Patterns and Population Genetics of Eastern Subterranean Termites Reticulitermes flavipes in Urban Environment of Nebraska, United States

In this study, we repeated sampling from individual eight colonies from Wilderness Park, Lincoln, Nebraska separated by at least 200 meters over a three years period and during seasonal change (fall-winter) from 2009 to 2011. Ten workers from each site were genotyped at seven microsatellite loci. The results show that 62.5% of simple family colonies converted into mixed family after a year. The overall breeding pattern of the eight colonies changed from simple to mixed family colonies throughout the three years and back to simple family colonies type during the transition from fall to winter in 2010. F-statistics and relatedness analysis showed that the colony founded by unrelated pair of reproductives have high relatedness value (r>0.85) within colony. Our data indicated that termite colonies could form through the colonies fusion over time under natural conditions and probably could be influenced by seasonal temperature change.

https://www.longdom.org/open-access/colony-genetic-organization-and-breeding-pattern-2161-0983-133.pdf

Colony Genetic Organization and Breeding Pattern of Subterranean Termite (Reticulitermes flavipes) over the Three Field Seasons in Nebraska, U.S.A

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Breeding Patterns and Population Genetics of Eastern Subterranean Termites Reticulitermes flavipes in Urban Environment of Nebraska, United States

Colony Genetic Organization and Breeding Pattern of Subterranean Termite (Reticulitermes flavipes) over the Three Field Seasons in Nebraska, U.S.A