Effects of mating on gene expression profiles of mature ant queens
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Cardiocondyla obscurior
SUBMITTER: Yannick Wurm
PROVIDER: E-GEOD-24953 | biostudies-arrayexpress |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-arrayexpress
Similar Datasets
Project description:In many animals living in groups the reproductivestatus of individuals is determined by their social status. In specieswith social hierarchies, the death of dominant individuals typicallyupheaves the social hierarchy and provides an opportunity for subordinateindividuals to improve their social status. Such a phenomenon occursin the monogyne form of the fire ant\emph{, Solenopsis invicta, }wherecolonies typically contain a single wingless reproductive queen, thousandsof workers and hundreds of winged non-reproductive virgin queens.Upon the death of the mother queen, many virgin queens shed theirwings and initiate reproductive development instead of departing ona mating flight. Workers progressively execute almost all of themover the following weeks. The workers base their collective decisionon pheromonal cues associated with the onset of reproductive developmentof the virgin queens which occurs after orphaning. To examine the factors that determine which virgin queens are executed and which survive, we set up artificial competitions between queens from different colonies. Using microarrays, we found that queens from winning colonies showed higher mitochondrial as well as organ development activities 24 hours after orphaning than did queens from colonies that lost the competitions. Furthermore, queens from colonies where queens shed their wings faster after orphaning were more likely to survive competitions. Finally, higher wing shedding speed is linked to higher mitochondrial activity. Eight competitions were initially conducted between queens form pairs of colonies. Six competitions clearly identified one winning colony and one losing colony. We thus have microarray data for six competitions (ie biological replicates), with one winning and one losing colony within each competition. Thus 12 colonies total. For each colony, RNA extracted from five queens was pooled, and hybridized against an unrelated common reference RNA that had been made from a pool of many S. invicta individuals of all castes and developmental stages. Lab work was conducted in blocks (by competition) with randomized order within competition to avoid introducing bias. No technical replication was performed.
2013-12-14 | E-GEOD-26039 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Transcriptional profiling of post-mating changes in honey bee queens
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Project description:Ants are among the most successful animals on earth, with societies of a complexity that rivals our own. These societies are characterized by reproductive division of labor between female queens that can live several years and lay thousands of eggs per day, workers that live only a few months and are sterile, and males that live only a few weeks and do not participate in colony tasks. These striking differences in lifespan and roles are echoed by extensive morphological and physiological divergence. Using the fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, we conduct the first genome-wide survey of developmental gene expression levels over 20 time-points from larval to adult stages in workers, queens and males Three castes: Worker, queen & male; four colonies used for each caste (12 colonies total). Timepoints: 0h, 3h, 6h, 12h, 18h, 24h, 36h and 48h (hour timepoints) and once every 24hours until eclosion (day timepoints). Eclosion occured after 15 days for male (21 timepoints), 14 days for queen (20 timepoints) and 12 days for worker larvae (19 timepoints). We used a loop design with direct comparisons of consecutive samples within each cast: two loops in one Dye-direction, two loops in the other for balance. Additionally, 3-5 hybridizations against an unrelated Reference RNA were performed within each replicate loop. Microarray batch is indicated in the description column
2013-10-20 | E-GEOD-24906 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:In species with social hierarchies, the death of dominant individuals typically upheaves the social hierarchy and provides an opportunity for subordinate individuals to become reproductives. Such a phenomenon occurs in the monogyne form of the fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, where colonies typically contain a single wingless reproductive queen, thousands of workers and hundreds of winged non-reproductive virgin queens. Upon the death of the mother queen, many virgin queens shed their wings and initiate reproductive development instead of departing on a mating flight. Workers progressively execute almost all of them over the following weeks. To identify the molecular changes that occur in virgin queens as they perceive the loss of their mother queen and begin to compete for reproductive dominance, we collected virgin queens before the loss of their mother queen, six hours after orphaning and 24 hours after orphaning. Their RNA was extracted and hybridized against microarrays to examine the expression levels of approximately 10,000 genes. We identified 297 genes that were consistently differentially expressed after orphaning. These include genes that are putatively involved in the signaling and onset of reproductive development, as well as genes underlying major physiological changes in the young queens. 3 samples: 0h, 6h, 24; five queens pooled per samples; each replicate loop of 3 samples was taken from an independent colony; 8 biological replicates (colonies) used. Hybridization according to a Dye-balanced loop design (no technical replication)
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Project description:Adult reproductive diapause is a powerful overwintering strategy for many continental insect species including bumblebees, which enables queens to survive several months through harsh winter conditions and then build new beehives in the following spring. There are few reports regarding the molecular regulatory mechanism of reproductive diapause in Bombus terrestris, which is an important pollinators of wild plants and crops, and our previous researches identified the conditions for reproductive diapause of year-round mass rearing. Here, we performed combined RNA sequencing transcriptomics and quantitative proteomic analyses in different development phases relate to reproductive diapause. According to the overall analysis, we found these differentially expressed proteins/genes act in the citrate cycle, insect hormone biosynthesis, insulin and mTOR signalling pathway. To get better sense of the reproductive diapause regulated mechanism, some genes regulated JH synthesis, insulin/ TOR signal pathway were detected, the BtRheb, BtTOR, BtVg and BtJHAMT had lower expression levels in diapause queens, and the JH III titers levels and some metabolic enzymes activities were significantly up-regulated in found post-diapause queens. After microinjected insulin-like peptides (ILPs) and JH analog (JHA), some indicators shows the significantly changes of hormones, cold tolerance substances, metabolic enzymes and reproduction. Along with other related researches, a reproductive diapause regulated model during B. terrestris year-round mass rearing process was establishment. This study contribute to a comprehensive view and the molecular regulate mechanism of productive diapause in eusocial insect.
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Project description:We used microarrays to monitor expression patterns of several thousand genes in the brains of same-aged (10 day old) virgin queens, sterile workers, and reproductive workers in honey bees (Apis mellifera).
2008-07-29 | E-MEXP-1044 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:During the nest-founding phase of the bumble bee colony cycle, queens undergo striking changes in maternal care behavior. Early in the founding phase, prior to the emergence of workers in the nest, queens are reproductive and also provision and feed their offspring. However, later in the founding phase, queens cease feeding offspring and become specialized on reproduction. This transition is synchronized with the emergence of workers in the colony, who assume the task of feeding their siblings. Using a social manipulation experiment, we tested the hypothesis that workers socially regulate the transition from feeding brood to specialization on reproduction in nest-founding bumble bee queens. Consistent with this hypothesis, we found that early-stage queens with workers prematurely added to their nests reduce their brood-feeding behavior and increase egg-laying, and likewise, late-stage queens increase their brood-feeding behavior and decrease egg-laying when workers are removed from their nests. Further, brood-feeding and egg-laying behavior were negatively correlated in these queens. We used an Agilent brain EST-based microarray to explore a second hypothesis, that workers alter brain gene expression in nest-founding queens. We found evidence that brain gene expression in nest-founding queens is altered by the presence of workers, with the effect much stronger in late-stage founding queens. Additionally, expression levels of some genes were correlated with quantitative differences in brood-feeding and egg-laying behavior. This study provides new insights into how the transition from feeding brood to specialization on reproduction in bumble bee queens is regulated during the nest initiation phase of the colony cycle.
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