Mitochondrial DNA genetic diversity of the drywood termites, Incisitermes minor and I. snyderi

The western drywood termite, Incisitermes minor (Hagen) and the light southern drywood termite I. snyderi (Light) are common drywood termites in southernwestern and southern United States respectively. Despite the economic importance of I. minor, no information exists on the mitochondrial genetic diversity of this species. A molecular genetics study involving DNA sequencing of a portion of the mitochondrial DNA 16S rRNA gene was undertaken to determine the extent of genetic variation in I. minor and I. snyderi. A total of nine haplotypes were observed for I. minor collected from Arizona, Texas, Utah, and California. A total of five haplotypes were observed for I. snyderiI. snyderi, whereas, I. minor had two distinct clades.