Genetic basis of chemical communication in eusocial insects

Yan, Hua; Liebig, Jürgen

doi:10.1101/gad.346965.120

Cited by 29 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 132 publications

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“…As has been shown for several organisms, including humans ( Lee et al 2010 ), yeast ( Kruegel et al 2011 ), and C. elegans ( Vilchez et al 2012 ), increased proteosome activity can extend lifespan by reducing proteotoxic stress ( López-Otín et al 2013 ). An increase in connectivity of fatty-acid synthase 3 may have implications for colony communication ( Yan and Liebig 2021 ). Further highly connected genes include ribosomal proteins or genes involved in the correct folding, post-translational modification, or transport of proteins.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gene Coexpression Network Reveals Highly Conserved, Well-Regulated Anti-Ageing Mechanisms in Old Ant Queens

Harrison

Nino

Rodrigues

et al. 2021

Genome Biology and Evolution

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Evolutionary theories of ageing predict a reduction in selection efficiency with age, a so-called ‘selection shadow’, due to extrinsic mortality decreasing effective population size with age. Classic symptoms of ageing include a deterioration in transcriptional regulation and protein homeostasis. Understanding how ant queens defy the trade-off between fecundity and lifespan remains a major challenge for the evolutionary theory of ageing. It has often been discussed that the low extrinsic mortality of ant queens, that are generally well protected within the nest by workers and soldiers, should reduce the selection shadow acting on old queens. We tested this by comparing strength of selection acting on genes upregulated in young and old queens of the ant, Cardiocondyla obscurior. In support of a reduced selection shadow, we find old-biased genes to be under strong purifying selection. We also analysed a gene co-expression network (GCN) with the aim to detect signs of ageing in the form of deteriorating regulation and proteostasis. We find no evidence for ageing. In fact, we detect higher connectivity in old queens indicating increased transcriptional regulation with age. Within the GCN, we discover five highly correlated modules that are upregulated with age. These old-biased modules regulate several anti-ageing mechanisms such as maintenance of proteostasis, transcriptional regulation and stress response. We observe stronger purifying selection on central hub genes of these old-biased modules compared to young-biased modules. These results indicate a lack of transcriptional ageing in old C. obscurior queens possibly facilitated by strong selection at old age and well-regulated anti-ageing mechanisms.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gene Coexpression Network Reveals Highly Conserved, Well-Regulated Anti-Ageing Mechanisms in Old Ant Queens

Harrison

Nino

Rodrigues

et al. 2021

Genome Biology and Evolution

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“…In addition, morphological and molecular characterization of other sensory organs, particularly the mouthparts, may offer further information on chemical communication in termites. Compared with current knowledge in social Hymenoptera [ 64 , 65 ], electrophysiological studies and functional genetics in termites are still in their infancy. However, recent utilization of neurophysiological approaches such as SSR [ 66 ] and immunohistochemistry [ 67 ], the development of next-generation sequencing tools [ 68 , 69 ], and the successful application of the RNA interference technique [ 70 , 71 ], offer important avenues for the future exploration of chemosensation and division of labor in termites.…”

Section: Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative Antennal Morphometry and Sensilla Organization in the Reproductive and Non-Reproductive Castes of the Formosan Subterranean Termite

Castillo

Sun

2021

Insects

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Antennae are the primary sensory organs in insects, where a variety of sensilla are distributed for the perception of the chemical environment. In eusocial insects, colony function is maintained by a division of labor between reproductive and non-reproductive castes, and chemosensation is essential for regulating their specialized social activities. Several social species in Hymenoptera display caste-specific characteristics in antennal morphology and diversity of sensilla, reflecting their differential tasks. In termites, however, little is known about how the division of labor is associated with chemosensory morphology among castes. Using light and scanning electron microscopy, we performed antennal morphometry and characterized the organization of sensilla in reproductive (female and male alates) and non-reproductive (worker and soldier) castes in the Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki. Here, we show that the antennal sensilla in alates are twice as abundant as in workers and soldiers, along with the greater number of antennal segments and antennal length in alates. However, all castes exhibit the same types of antennal sensilla, including basiconicum, campaniformium, capitulum, chaeticum I, chaeticum II, chaeticum III, marginal, trichodeum I, and trichodeum I. The quantitative composition of sensilla diverges between reproductive and non-reproductive castes, but not between female and male alates or between worker and soldier castes. The sensilla display spatial-specific distribution, with basiconicum exclusively and capitulum predominantly found on the ventral side of antennae. In addition, the abundance of chemosensilla increases toward the distal end of antennae in each caste. This research provides morphological signatures of chemosensation and their implications for the division of labor, and suggests future neurophysiological and molecular studies to address the mechanisms of chemical communication in termites.

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“…Environmental signals induce activation of sensory neurons and internal hormonal responses, which in turn modulate signal transduction pathways and activity of transcription factors (TFs). TFs recruit epigenetic factors and turn on the expression of target genes (reviewed in [48][49][50][51]). Even when the environmental signal is no longer present, the changes in hormonal composition or target gene expression may be maintained, suggesting that epigenetic processes could be at play in the maintenance of molecular changes induced by the environment [48][49][50].…”

Section: Dnmt3mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Much of the communication that occurs within a colony is a result of pheromones and other volatile chemicals (chemical communication is reviewed in [51], and the evolution of the insect olfactory system is reviewed in [123]), and it is worth noting that dnmt3 expression is associated with queen-related pheromonal cues in honeybees as well as in ants [124]. Queen mandibular pheromone (QMP) manipulates a variety of physiological traits of honeybee workers, including reproductive inhibition [125,126], learning [127], and various aspects of behavior [128,129].…”

Section: Social Communicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

(Epi)Genetic Mechanisms Underlying the Evolutionary Success of Eusocial Insects

Sieber

Dorman

Newell

et al. 2021

Insects

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Eusocial insects, such as bees, ants, and wasps of the Hymenoptera and termites of the Blattodea, are able to generate remarkable diversity in morphology and behavior despite being genetically uniform within a colony. Most eusocial insect species display caste structures in which reproductive ability is possessed by a single or a few queens while all other colony members act as workers. However, in some species, caste structure is somewhat plastic, and individuals may switch from one caste or behavioral phenotype to another in response to certain environmental cues. As different castes normally share a common genetic background, it is believed that much of this observed within-colony diversity results from transcriptional differences between individuals. This suggests that epigenetic mechanisms, featured by modified gene expression without changing genes themselves, may play an important role in eusocial insects. Indeed, epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation, histone modifications and non-coding RNAs, have been shown to influence eusocial insects in multiple aspects, along with typical genetic regulation. This review summarizes the most recent findings regarding such mechanisms and their diverse roles in eusocial insects.

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Genetic basis of chemical communication in eusocial insects

Cited by 29 publications

References 132 publications

Gene Coexpression Network Reveals Highly Conserved, Well-Regulated Anti-Ageing Mechanisms in Old Ant Queens

Gene Coexpression Network Reveals Highly Conserved, Well-Regulated Anti-Ageing Mechanisms in Old Ant Queens

Comparative Antennal Morphometry and Sensilla Organization in the Reproductive and Non-Reproductive Castes of the Formosan Subterranean Termite

(Epi)Genetic Mechanisms Underlying the Evolutionary Success of Eusocial Insects

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