Termites are well recognized by their complex development trajectories, involving dynamic differentiation process between non‐reproductive castes, workers and soldiers. These insects are associated with endosymbiotic microorganisms, which help in lignocellulose digestion and nitrogen metabolism. Aiming to identify genes harbouring biotechnological potential, we analyzed workers and soldiers RNA‐Seq data of three neotropical termites: Heterotermes tenuis (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae), Velocitermes heteropterus (Isoptera: Termitidae) and Cornitermes cumulans (Isoptera: Termitidae). We observed differences in the microbiota associated with each termite family, and found protists' genes in both Termitidae species. We found an opposite pattern of caste‐biased gene expression between H. tenuis and the termitids studied. Moreover, the two termitids are considerably different concerning the number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Functional annotation indicated considerable differences in caste‐biased gene content between V. heteropterus and C. cumulans, even though they share similar diet and biological niche. Among the most DEGs, we highlighted those involved in caste differentiation and cellulose digestion, which are attractive targets for studying more efficient technologies for termite control, biomass digestion and other biotechnological applications.

中文翻译：

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新热带白蚁的表达谱揭示了微生物群相关、种姓偏见基因和生物技术目标

白蚁因其复杂的发展轨迹而广为人知，涉及非生殖种姓、工人和士兵之间的动态分化过程。这些昆虫与内共生微生物有关，有助于木质纤维素的消化和氮代谢。为了鉴定具有生物技术潜力的基因，我们分析了三种新热带白蚁的工人和士兵 RNA-Seq 数据：细长异白蚁（等翅目：Rhinotermitidae）、异翅目（等翅目：白蚁科）和Cornitermes cumulans（等翅目：白蚁科）。我们观察到与每个白蚁家族相关的微生物群的差异，并在两种白蚁科物种中发现了原生生物的基因。我们在H之间发现了一种相反的种姓偏见基因表达模式。研究了tenuis和白蚁。此外，这两种白蚁在差异表达基因 (DEG) 的数量方面有很大不同。功能注释表明V之间的种姓偏见基因含量存在显着差异。异翅目和C . 积云，即使他们共享相似的饮食和生物生态位。在大多数 DEG 中，我们强调了种姓分化和纤维素消化涉及的那些，这是研究白蚁控制、生物质消化和其他生物技术应用的更有效技术的有吸引力的目标。