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Identification Of Eastern United States Reticulitermes Termite Species Via Pcr-Rflp, Assessed Using Training And Test Data, Ryan C. Garrick, Benjamin D. Collins, Rachel N. Yi, Rodney J. Dyer, Chaz Hyseni

Biology Publications

Reticulitermes termites play key roles in dead wood decomposition and nutrient cycling in forests. They also damage man-made structures, resulting in considerable economic loss. In the eastern United States, five species (R. flavipes, R. virginicus, R. nelsonae, R. hageni and R. malletei) have overlapping ranges and are difficult to distinguish morphologically. Here we present a molecular tool for species identification. It is based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of a section of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit II gene, followed by a three-enzyme restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) assay, with banding patterns resolved via agarose gel electrophoresis. The assay …