Insects protect themselves from microbial infections through innate immune responses, including pathogen recognition, phagocytosis, the activation of proteolytic cascades, and the synthesis of antimicrobial peptides. Termites, eusocial insects inhabiting microbe-rich wood, live in closely-related family groups that are susceptible to shared pathogen infections. To resist pathogenic infection, t...

Six Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin isolates were obtained from Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar) and Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki in the U.S. and China. These isolates, plus the B. bassiana isolate 26037 from American Type Culture Collection that was isolated from Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say)) were compared against C. formosanus and R. flavipes in the laborat...

Current taxonomic and biogeographical information on Reticulitermes in the United States suggests the only species found in Arizona isReticulitermes tibialis Banks.Reticulitermes occurs naturally throughout Arizona with the exception of much of the Sonoran and Colorado deserts. Collections of Reticulitermes from disparate locations in Arizona and neighboring states were made to characterize the...

Three hundred Reticulitermes virginicus (Banks) workers were exposed to three 1-cm3 wood blocks of either Quercus sp. (Red Oak), Populus sp. (Poplar), Pinus sp. (Pine), or Sequoia sp. (Redwood) placed into one of the three bioassay designs (no-, two-, and four-choice) for 21 d. Termite wood consumption was measured by wood weight loss, resistance class, and visual rating. Wood consumption rates...

Bacillus oleronius strain DSM 9356 isolated from the termite Reticulitermes santonensis was sequenced to gain insights in relation to its closest phylogenetic neighbor Bacillus sporothermodurans. The draft genome of strain DSM 9356 contains 5,083,966 bp with an estimated G + C content of 35%, 4899 protein-coding genes, 116 tRNAs and 18 rRNAs. The RAST annotation assigned these genes into 462 su...