Scientists unravel termite's genetic code. What did they learn?

The genome of the termite reveals several clues about the insects' complex social structures, say scientists.

The genome of the termite has just been sequenced, and it is revealing several clues about how the pests create their rigid social order.

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition

For instance, the new genome, detailed today (May 20) in the journal Nature Communications, uncovers some of the underpinnings of termites' caste system, as well as the roots of the males' sexual staying power.

Like othersocial insects such as ants, honeybees and some wasps termites live in highly structured "caste systems," with each creature programmed to perform a rigidly defined job. A select few termite kings and queens reproduce, while drones and soldiers work, defend the colony or care for young. [Image Gallery: Ants of the World]

Yet termites evolved their social structure independently from ants and bees, which belong to an order known as Hymenoptera.

To understand how this happened, Jrgen Liebig, a behavioral biologist at Arizona State University, and his colleagues collected dampwood termites(Zootermopsis nevadensis nuttingi)that lived in Monterey, California. The researchers then sequenced the genome of the insects and measured how those genes were expressed, or turned on and off.

The research revealed several insights about termite sexual and social behavior.

Termite society is roughly half males and half females. Termites have sexually active kings as well as queens, and kings make sperm throughout their lifetimes. Dampwood termite males also have testes that shrivel and grow seasonally.

Read more here:
Scientists unravel termite's genetic code. What did they learn?