The Formosan subterranean termite has global economic impact as an urban pest. The nesting and feeding habits of this invasive pest leave many factors of its biology literally hidden in the dark. This lack of knowledge has limited scientists' abilityto evaluate the success of termite management practices and develop novel strategies for termite control. Recently, however, molecular genetic techniques are providing powerful methods to unravel many aspects of termite biology. LSU AgCenter researchersemploy microsatellite genotyping to obtain information about the organization of termite colonies, such as breeding systems, colony affiliation, movement of foraging sites and swarming behavior. Microsatellite genotyping uses poly-merase chain reactionsto make copies of non-coding genomic regions containing repetitive sequences with high mutation rates. This procedure results in specific banding patterns, or genotypic profiles. Genotypes are inherited according to Mendelian rules, which mean that halfof each termite's bands are inherited from each of its parents. Therefore, genotypes contain information about genetic diversity and relationships of individual termites and colonies.
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