Robust termite phylogenies built using transposable element composition and insertion events
The result's identifiers
Result code in IS VaVaI
<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F60460709%3A41340%2F25%3A103286" target="_blank" >RIV/60460709:41340/25:103286 - isvavai.cz</a>
Result on the web
<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.10.019" target="_blank" >https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.10.019</a>
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.10.019" target="_blank" >10.1016/j.cub.2025.10.019</a>
Alternative languages
Result language
angličtina
Original language name
Robust termite phylogenies built using transposable element composition and insertion events
Original language description
Phylogenetic trees are typically reconstructed using conserved sequence alignments.1,2 Other genomic elements, such as transposable elements (TEs), make up a large fraction of eukaryotic genomes3 but are ignored for phylogenetic reconstruction, despite potentially containing phylogenetic information,4,5 which could be used to resolve nodes that remain contentious. Here, we reconstructed accurate phylogenetic trees of 45 termites and two cockroaches using two types of characters derived from the TE landscape: (1) genome-wide presence and absence of 37,966 TE families and (2) presence/absence data of 37,966 TE families in the flanking regions of orthologous ultraconserved elements (UCEs), which was a proxy for TE insertions. The topologies of our TE-based phylogenetic trees were largely congruent with phylogenetic trees inferred from alignments of UCEs and single-copy orthologous genes, only differing for a few nodes variably reconstructed in other phylogenetic analyses. Notably, trees based on genome-wide TE family composition were more accurate than trees inferred from mitochondrial genome alignments, and trees based on TE family composition in regions flanking UCEs achieved comparable accuracy with trees inferred from single-copy orthologous gene alignments. Our results demonstrate that the TE landscape is phylogenetically informative, representing an additional set of markers for robust phylogenetic reconstructions, with potential use to resolve ambiguous nodes in the tree of life.
Czech name
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Czech description
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Classification
Type
J<sub>imp</sub> - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database
CEP classification
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OECD FORD branch
10602 - Biology (theoretical, mathematical, thermal, cryobiology, biological rhythm), Evolutionary biology
Result continuities
Project
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Continuities
S - Specificky vyzkum na vysokych skolach
Others
Publication year
2025
Confidentiality
S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů
Data specific for result type
Name of the periodical
CURRENT BIOLOGY
ISSN
0960-9822
e-ISSN
0960-9822
Volume of the periodical
35
Issue of the periodical within the volume
NOV 17 2025
Country of publishing house
CZ - CZECH REPUBLIC
Number of pages
7
Pages from-to
5626-5632
UT code for WoS article
001625425500017
EID of the result in the Scopus database
2-s2.0-105022178854