Animals are usually thought as gonochoric panmictic reproducing organisms, but many alternative reproductive strategies exist (hermaphroditism, parthenogenesis, hybridogenesis, androgenesis, eusociality, etc.). The main goal is to highlight the impact that non-canonical reproduction has on genetic variability levels and therefore on taxonomy and phylogeny in Isoptera and Notostraca. Obviously, these analyses are also of basic importance for a correct setting of heterochromatic compartment studies. Data from both mitochondrial (CO II, CO I, 12S, 16S, AT- rich) and nuclear compartments (ITS, microsatellites, inter-SINE) are also analyzed in the light of the different hypothesis which have been put forward to explain the wider occurrence of gonochorism despite its higher costs (i.e. Fisher-Muller/Muller’s ratchet/Red Queen hypotheses).

Most recent papers: A., GHESINI S., LUCHETTI A., MARINI M., MANTOVANI B. (2010) Starting from Crete, a phylogenetic re-analysis of the genus Reticulitermes in the Mediterranean area. Mol Phylog Evol, in press; MANTOVANI B., CESARI M., SCANABISSI F. (2009) Molecular taxonomy and phylogeny of Italian Lepidurus taxa (Branchiopoda: Notostraca). It J Zool, 76(4): 358–365; VELONA’ A., LUCHETTI A., SCANABISSI F., MANTOVANI B. (2009) Genetic variability and reproductive modalities in European populations of Triops cancriformis (Crustacea, Branchiopoda,Notostraca). It J Zool, 76 (4): 366-375; MANTOVANI B., CESARI M., LUCHETTI A., SCANABISSI F. (2008) Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA variability in the living  fossil Triops cancriformis (Bosc, 1801) (Crustacea, Branchiopoda, Notostraca). Heredity 100: 496-505,

DNA Barcoding

Barcoding of life is a broad project on planetary scale aiming to develop a DNA sequence-based global standard for species determination. For this purpose, the first 500 bp of the cox1 mitochondrial gene have been identified as the more reliable barcoding sequence for almost all animal species (http://www.barcoding.si.edu).

BART (BARcoding Termites) project

Termites are organisms of great basic and applied interest as they are i) the only diplo-diploid (eu)social insects, ii) ecologically important, being  among the few invertebrate species able to digest cellulose, iii) a dangerous pest for wooden artifact, comprising architectural and ancient artistic material. BART project is devoted to barcode termite species, beginning from the European species Reticulitermes spp. and Kalotermes spp. The task includes i) sample collections in both natural and urban habitats, ii) specimens identification and storage, iii) cox1 sequencing and species barcoding. 

Phasmida DNA barcoding

Launched in 2009 by Paul Brock (Scientific Associate, Natural History Museum, London, e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it - Website: http://phasmida.speciesfile.org) and Barbara Mantovani, this DNA barcoding campaign aims to build a comprehensive COI barcode reference library for all stick and leaf insect (Insecta: Phasmida [= Phasmatodea]) species in the world (ca. 3,000 species). Fulfilling such an ambitious goal is not an easy task; although c. 250 species are kept in culture, many lack adequate collecting data. This project is expected to be a long-term research program, with many challenges, not least with parthenogenetic species, which may also be hybrid in origin and therefore carry the maternal mitochondrial genome. Further molecular markers from the nuclear genome (such as the ITS rDNA region) will be taken into account to validate the diagnosis. We anticipate exciting discoveries during the progress of the campaign, started with the Australian fauna (Australian representative: Jack Hasenpusch, Australian Insect Farm, Garradunga, Queensland. e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).