DISTRIBUTION AND GENETIC VARIATION OF RETICULITERMES(ISOPTERA: RHINOTERMITIDAE) IN OKLAHOMA

Abstract

Sequencing of a portion of the mitochondrial DNA 16S gene was undertaken to determine genetic variation and distribution of Reticulitermes in Oklahoma. From 16 Oklahoma counties, 43 R. flavipes, four R. hageni, one R. virginicus, and seven R. tibialis samples were collected, identified and subjected to DNA sequencing. No genetic variation was observed in R. virginicus, while two haplotypes were observed in R. hageni, four in R. tibialis, and 10 for R. flavipes. Among the 10 R. flavipes haplotypes, nine nucleotides were variable and genetic variation ranged from 0.2 to 1.4%. Phylogenetic analysis revealed several minor relationships within R. tibialis and R. flavipes; however, there was no apparent geographical association to the haplotypes. The high amount of genetic variation, but a lack of geographically distinct haplotypes in R. flavipes, indicate that this termite species has been distributed randomly in Oklahoma by humans due to its association with structures.