title: Analysis of the workers head transcriptome of the Asian subterranean termite, Coptotermes gestroi.
abstract: The lower termite, Coptotermes gestroi (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae), is originally from Southeast Asia and has become a pest in Brazil. The main goal of this study was to survey C. gestroi transcriptome composition. To accomplish this, we sequenced and analyzed 3003 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) isolated from libraries of worker heads. After assembly, 695 uniESTs were obtained from which 349 have similarity with known sequences. Comparison with insect genomes demonstrated similarity, primarily with genes from Apis mellifera (28%), Tribolium castaneum (28%) and Aedes aegypti (10%). Notably, we identified two endogenous cellulases in the sequences, which may be of interest for biotechnological applications. The results presented in this work represent the first genomic study of the Asian subterranean termite, Coptotermes gestroi.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Genômica e Expressão, Departamento de Genética Evolução e Bioagentes, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: F C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Leonardo
authors.forename: A F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: da Cunha
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Carazzolle
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Costa-Leonardo
authors.forename: F F
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Pereira
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D044602:Cellulases / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D020224:Expressed Sequence Tags; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D015723:Gene Library; D049750:Genome, Insect; D006257:Head; D020049:Isoptera / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D008018:Life Cycle Stages; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D044602:Cellulases