Genetic diversity of termites from Ta'if City, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Aim: In Saudi Arabia, termites are considered as notorious pests that cause enormous damage in both rural and urban areas. The diversity of termites collected from various locations in Ta'if City were characterized, based on the mitochondrial genes mt12S rRNA, mtCOI and mtCOII. Methodology: Termite samples were manually collected during the spring of 2016 from different areas. Five different areas were surveyed to cover all regions of Ta'if City. Molecular identification method was applied to study genetic diversity of termite. Results: A total of 2229 termites were identified as eight species from three families on the basis of best gene (mt12S rRNA). Microcerotermes sp. was the most abundant species, whereas Angulitermes sp. was the least abundant with 0.8% representation. Anacanthotermes ochraceus and Microtermes sp. showed the least amount of intraspecific variation, the two species being 100% identical. Microcerotermes arboreus showed the highest intraspecific variation, ranging from 0.0% to 4.0%. Interspecific variability between the collected and identified species ranged from 7% to 21%. Interpretation: The results indicated the presence of eight different species of termites and the possibility of three new species based on genetic data.