CAU Professor Published Breakthrough Study on Termite Evolution in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution

Professor Ulugbek Togaev from the Engineering School of CAU published his latest scientific research in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, a prestigious journal indexed in SCOPUS and SCIE.

The study explores the long-standing symbiotic relationship between termites and the microscopic organisms living in their digestive systems, which play a key role in breaking down and digesting wood. Focusing on Anacanthotermes, a harvester termite species found in arid regions, the research applied advanced microscopy, single-cell PCR, and molecular sequencing techniques to analyze gut microbial diversity.

The results identified four distinct groups of gut microbes and revealed new insights into their evolutionary history. One notable finding showed that Spirotrichonymphea did not originate from the common ancestor of termites, as previously believed, but instead evolved and diversified within a specific termite lineage. The study also provided evidence of microbial transfer between distantly related termite species over time.

These findings offer new perspectives on co-evolution, biodiversity, and the complex dynamics of symbiotic relationships across evolutionary time.