Oxytocin/vasopressin-like peptide inotocin regulates cuticular hydrocarbon synthesis and water balancing in ants.

ABSTRACT: Oxytocin/vasopressin-like peptides are important regulators of physiology and social behavior in vertebrates. However, the function of inotocin, the homologous peptide in arthropods, remains largely unknown. Here, we show that the level of expression of inotocin and inotocin receptor are correlated with task allocation in the ant Camponotus fellah Both genes are up-regulated when workers age and switch tasks from nursing to foraging. in situ hybridization revealed that inotocin receptor is specifically expressed in oenocytes, which are specialized cells synthesizing cuticular hydrocarbons which function as desiccation barriers in insects and for social recognition in ants. dsRNA injection targeting inotocin receptor, together with pharmacological treatments using three

SUBMITTER: Koto A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6431230 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature