RNAseq of four termite species

Chemical communication is fundamental for the complex interactions in the colonies of social insects. Current advances in DNA and RNA sequencing enable to explore the chemical communication at the mechanistic level of pheromone biosynthesis and detection, as well as to reconstruct the evolution of underlying enzymes and chemoreceptors. This project focuses on the major milestone in the evolution of chemical communication in termites, i.e. the switch to unsaturated fatty alcohols with twelve carbon atoms as trail-following and sex-pairing pheromones.