Mitochondrial DNA-based identification of two subterranean termite species, Coptotermes heimi and Psammotermes hypostoma from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Termites are economically important pests of wooden household articles, fruits, and ornamental trees in addition to agricultural crops like sugarcane, wheat, peas, and chilies. The termite fauna (Isoptera) has almost 2900 described species in 286 genera worldwide. In the present study, 42-termite samples that were previously used for morphometric identification of two subterranean termite species in the family Rhinotermitidae Coptotermes heimi and Psammotermes hypostoma, were analyzed using the DNA barcoding system with mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene COI to confirm this conventional taxonomical identity on a molecular basis. The obtained COI gene sequences of all 42 termite specimens were submitted to the GenBank (accession numbers: ON529959-ON529969, OP825131-OP825132, and OP890882-OP890910). Eleven out of 42 samples belonging to the Coptotermes heimi and 31 samples for Psammotermes hypostoma were phylogenetically analyzed. All the 11 C. heimi sequences were grouped in a single clade, indicating close relatedness. While 31 sequences of P. hypostoma constituted two clades in the phylogenetic tree, illustrating the diphyletic nature of evolution. Pairwise nucleotide sequence identity and divergence analysis showed that C. heimi sequences showed high nucleotide identities of 87.6-99.5% and less divergence ranging from 0.5% to 13.6%. Similarly, sequences of P. hypostoma also showed high nucleotide identity of 78.6-100% and low divergence among them ranging from 0-10.7%. DNA barcoding using the COI gene is a reliable tool to distinguish C. heimi and P. hypostoma genotypes.