We propose that the global environmental crises of the Anthropocene are the outcome of a
ratcheting process in long-term human evolution which has favoured groups of increased …

Microbiome breeding is a new artificial selection technique that seeks to change the genetic
composition of microbiomes in order to benefit plant or animal hosts. Recent experimental …

The order Hymenoptera (wasps, ants, sawflies, and bees) represents one of the most
diverse animal lineages, but whether specific key innovations have contributed to its …

The higher classification of termites requires substantial revision as the Neoisoptera, the
most diverse termite lineage, comprise many paraphyletic and polyphyletic higher taxa …

Background Termites primarily feed on lignocellulose or soil in association with specific gut
microbes. The functioning of the termite gut microbiota is partly understood in a handful of …

Background The microbial landscape within termite guts varies across termite families. The
gut microbiota of lower termites (LT) is dominated by cellulolytic flagellates that sequester …

All social insects defend their colony from predators, parasites, and pathogens. In Oster and
Wilson's classic work, they posed one of the key paradoxes about defense in social insects …

Intrinsic dinitrogen (N2) fixation by diazotrophic bacteria in termite hindguts has been
considered an important pathway for nitrogen acquisition in termites. However, studies that …

A eusocial insect colony represents a complex biological entity that must ensure degrees of
perennity once it reaches maturity (production of dispersing imagoes over many successive …

In eusocial organisms, cooperative brood care within a colony represents a situation where
the ancestral parental care duties have shifted away from the reproductive parent (s) …