Evolutionary Relationships of Omani <i>Macrotermes subhyalinus</i>, <i>Macrotermitinae</i>

Abstract

A study was conducted to investigate the evolutionary relationships of Macrotermes subhyalinus from Oman, in the southeastern part of the Arabian Peninsula. Sequences of the mitochondrial COI and the nuclear large-subunit ribosomal RNA (LSU rRNA, 28S) genes were used to investigate the populations of M. subhyalinus across their distribution in Oman to determine their relationships with other Macrotermes species. Our findings indicate that M. subhyalinus in Oman is a member of an East African clade, distinct from those in West Africa. Analyses of the COI showed that there is base composition bias among the taxa (non-stationarity) that has not been considered in earlier studies. We provide the first report of pseudogene copies of 28S in M. subhyalinus that are differentially amplified.

Keywords

• <i>M. subhyalinus</i>
• <i>COI</i>
• <i>28S</i>
• Oman
• pseudogene