Experimental increase in fecundity causes upregulation of fecundity and body maintenance genes in the fat body of ant queens.

ABSTRACT: In most organisms, fecundity and longevity are negatively associated and the molecular regulation of these two life-history traits is highly interconnected. In addition, nutrient intake often has opposing effects on lifespan and reproduction. In contrast to solitary insects, the main reproductive individual of social hymenopterans, the queen, is also the most long-lived. During development, queen larvae are well-nourished, but we are only beginning to understand the impact of nutrition on the queens' adult life and the molecular regulation and connectivity of fecundity and longevity. Here, we used two experimental manipulations to alter queen fecundity in the ant Temnothorax rugatulus and investigated associated changes in fat body gene expression. Egg removal triggered a fecundity

SUBMITTER: Negroni MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8086957 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature