title: Differences in numbers of  termicins expressed in two termite species affected by fungal contamination of  their environments.
abstract: Termicin is a defensin-like antimicrobial peptide of  termites that has strong antifungal activity. Fifty-six different termicin  mRNAs encoding 46 different peptides were amplified and identified from Odontotermes  formosanus (Termitidae), a species that inhabits environments with a large  variety of microbial fauna. In contrast, only 38 different termicin mRNAs  encoding 21 different peptides were amplified and identified from Reticulitermes  chinensis (Rhinotermitidae). All mRNAs were amplified by reverse transcript  PCR, with primers designed from reported termicin mRNA sequences. All of these  genes showed high intraspecific sequence identity and were found to be highly  homologous with other reported termicin genes. These two termite species live  in different environments; the latter encounters relatively fewer pathogens in  its habitat. We conclude that differences in microenvironmental pressure can  affect the number of termicin genes expressed in termite species.
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: X-X
authors.initials: XX
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D001483:Base Sequence; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D005658:Fungi / Q000502:physiology*; D020440:Gene Duplication / Q000235:genetics; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D014644:Genetic Variation; D020049:Isoptera / Q000235:genetics* / Q000382:microbiology*; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D010802:Phylogeny; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D010455:Peptides; C428304:termicin