Genetic characterization and distribution of termites in Taita Taveta County, Kenya

Abstract

Termites have colonized tropical ecosystems with both ecological and economic impact but their diversity remains ununderstood. This study aimed to assess the diversity of termite communities in Taita Taveta County, a threatened biodiversity hotspot in Kenya using morphological and molecular approaches. Termites (soldiers) were collected from different vegetation types within the County using descriptive survey design. The termites were observed under a dissecting microscope and morphological characters noted were transformed into quasi-characters then used for the construction of a dendrogram. Mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase II (COII) gene region was amplified from DNA extracted from termite samples, sequenced and analyzed. Phylogenetic tree construction was performed using the newly obtained sequences and closely taxonomically affiliated sequences retrieved from the nucleotide sequence database (GenBank). The phylogenetic analysis results were confirmed based on nucleotide composition and pairwise genetic distance measures. Three termite genera Macrotermes, Amitermes and Odontotermes were differentiated by morphological characterization. Molecular characterization clustered the termites into the three genera and into their respective species using relative percentage sequence similarity with the Genebank sequences. The termite species clustered with M. M. michaelseni, A. conformis and O. ceylonicus. Macrotermes species were ubiquitous whereas the Amitermes and Odontotermes were restricted to the forests and shrub savannah respectively. The study noted possibility of two new species and recommends further

investigation using series of data sets to enrich the knowledge of termite diversity and distribution in Taita Taveta County and in Kenya.