ABSTRACT
Contents Introduction........................................................................................................................ 361 Subterranean termite biology and control ..................................................................... 362 Paratransgenesis ................................................................................................................363 Proof of concept of the use of paratransgenesis in the Formosan subterranean termite ...........................................................................................................................364 Termite gut protozoa as targets .......................................................................................365 Antimicrobial peptides to kill gut symbionts ...............................................................366 Yeast as a prototype expression system for lytic peptides .......................................... 369 Bacterial diversity in the gut of the Formosan subterranean termite........................ 371 Summary ............................................................................................................................ 372 Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................. 372 References ........................................................................................................................... 373
Introduction Termites (order Isoptera) comprise over 2,700 species and are of global importance as decomposers of lignocellulose material (Kambhampati and Eggleton, 2000; König et al., 2006). Over 80% of the approximately 183 economically important termite species are subterranean termites, with the genus Coptotermes accounting for the largest number (28) of pest species (Su and Scheffrahn, 1998). In the United States, the need for control of the native Eastern subterranean termite (Reticulitermes flavipes) and the invasive Formosan subterranean termite (Coptotermes formosanus) supports a multimillion-dollar pest control industry (Su and Scheffrahn, 1998). The cost of control and repairs due to subterranean termite damage is estimated at over $2 billion per year in the United States alone (Culliney and Grace, 2000).
