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Unique zinc mass in mandibles separates drywood termites from other groups of termites

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Abstract

Previously, the presence of metals in arthropod mandibles has been linked with harder cuticle, and in termites, a 20% increase in hardness has been found for mandibles containing major quantities of zinc. The current study utilises electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis to assess incidence and abundance of metals in all extant subfamilies of the Isoptera. The basal clades contain no zinc and little to no manganese in the cutting edge of the mandible cuticle, suggesting that these states are ancestral for termites. However, experimentation with mandibles in vitro indicates the presence of some elements of the cuticular biochemistry necessary to enable uptake of zinc. The Termopsidae, Serritermitidae, Rhinotermitidae and Termitidae all contain minor quantities of manganese, while trace to minor quantities of zinc occur in all except the Serritermitidae. In contrast, all Kalotermitidae or drywood termites contain major levels of zinc in the mandible edge. Diet and life type are explored as links to metal profiles across the termites. The presence of harder mandibles in the drywood termites may be related to lack of access to free water with which to moisten wood. Scratch tests were applied to a set of mandibles. The coefficient of friction for Cryptotermes primus (Kalotermitidae) mandibles, when compared with species from other subfamilies, indicates that zinc-containing mandibles are likely to be more scratch resistant.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge supply of termite samples from Prof. Reginaldo Constantino, Universidade de Brasília, Brasil; Mrs. Vivienne Uys, Plant Protection Research Institute, Queenswood, South Africa and Dr. Gerhard Prinsloo, Agricultural Research Council-Plant Protection Research Institute, Pretoria, South Africa; Dr. Michael K. Rust, Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA; Dr. B. Peters, Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries; Mr. Greg Daniels, The University of Queensland Insect Collection, Brisbane, Australia; and Mrs. Rachel Hancock Narangbar, Queensland, Australia. We thank Mr. Yueqin Wu, University of Queensland, for his experimental assistance in scratching tests and Dr. Michael Lenz, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation-Entomology, Canberra, and Dr. David Merritt and Dr. Lyn Cook, University of Queensland for their helpful comments on the manuscript when in preparation. The experiments comply with the current laws of the country in which they were performed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Microscopy & Microanalysis, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, 4072, Australia

    Bronwen W. Cribb & Ronald Rasch

  2. School of Integrative Biology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, 4072, Australia

    Bronwen W. Cribb, Aaron Stewart & Myron P. Zalucki

  3. National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology, 39 Kessels Road, Coopers Plains, Brisbane, 4108, Australia

    Aaron Stewart & Barry Noller

  4. School of Engineering, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, 4072, Australia

    Han Huang & Rowan Truss

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  1. Bronwen W. Cribb
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  2. Aaron Stewart
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  3. Han Huang
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  5. Barry Noller
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  6. Ronald Rasch
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  7. Myron P. Zalucki
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Correspondence to Bronwen W. Cribb.

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Cribb, B.W., Stewart, A., Huang, H. et al. Unique zinc mass in mandibles separates drywood termites from other groups of termites. Naturwissenschaften 95, 433–441 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-008-0346-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-008-0346-3

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