Thomas Bourguignon

High-fidelity long-read metagenomics reveals the metabolic functions of dominant termite gut bacteria

This study uses high-fidelity long-read metagenomics to reconstruct genomes of dominant termite gut bacteria and reveals their lineage-specific metabolic functions.

The ancestral endosymbiont Blattabacterium was lost ten times independently in Blattellidae, Pseudophyllodromiidae and Anaplectidae cockroaches

The study finds that Blattabacterium was lost ten times independently in three cockroach families, with some losses possibly compensated by Wolbachia associations.

Genome size, rather than sociality, predicts the turnover of duplicated genes in termites and hymenopterans

Termites became the dominant decomposers of the tropics after two diversification pulses

This study identifies two diversification pulses in termites, linking their evolutionary history to climate changes and their rise as dominant tropical decomposers.

Social caste switching triggers emergence of novel cellular identities in Zootermopsis termites

The paper generates single-cell transcriptomic atlases of Zootermopsis termites to investigate if caste switching creates new cellular identities, finding that while some cell types are caste-specific, key physiological pathways remain largely unchanged.

Rapid termite diversification is associated with increased transposable element activity

This study links rapid termite diversification to increased transposable element activity across two evolutionary waves.

Evolutionary origin of terpenoid biosynthesis in termites

This study identifies a gene family in termites responsible for terpenoid biosynthesis, revealing evolutionary mechanisms and functional enzymes involved in producing diverse terpenoids.

Deciphering the evolution of sex determination across the termite tree of life using high-quality genome assemblies

This study investigates the evolution of sex determination in termites using genome assemblies, finding undifferentiated sex chromosomes and varying roles of the doublesex gene.

Convergent genetic rewiring of the brain underlies termite sociality

The paper identifies genetic changes in odorant receptors and other genes associated with termite sociality across multiple species.

Horizontal gene transfers are widespread across termite genomes but do not confer metabolic innovations

Exploration and generation of cell transcriptomes over deep evolutionary time

The paper develops a computational strategy to compare cell atlases across species, trains a universal model for cell type annotation, and generates synthetic cell atlases for extinct species.

Unravelling termite evolution with 47 high-resolution genome assemblies

This study sequenced 47 termite genomes, revealing genomic expansions linked to dietary evolution and ecological success in Termitidae.

Shrinking in the dark: Parallel endosymbiont genome erosions are associated with repeated host transitions to an underground life

The paper examines genome erosion in Blattabacterium symbionts of soil-burrowing cockroaches, finding repeated gene inactivation linked to host transitions to an underground lifestyle.