Comparison of fire ant adult workers with different Gp-9 (BB and Bb) genotypes and from monogyne and polygyne colonies.
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ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Solenopsis invicta
PROVIDER: GSE11694 | GEO | 2008/06/06
SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA106101
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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Project description:In fire ants, a complex colony level phenotype, colony queen number, is completely associated with a single Mendelian factor marked by the gene Gp-9. The first aim of this study was to investigate whether variation in the genomic region marked by Gp-9 is associated with differences in patterns of expression of genes other than Gp-9 in workers. The second aim was to study how the social environment (i.e., presence or absence of nestmate workers with the b allele) can alter individual gene expression patterns. Keywords: Genotype comparison and social form comparison Three-condition experiment: Gp-9 BB monogyne, Gp-9 BB polygyne, and Gp-9 Bb polygyne. Biological replicates: 8 of each sample type from 2004 compared to common reference RNA batch 2004, and 12 of each sample type from 2006 compared to common reference RNA batch 2006. A fourth condition, Gp-9 bb polygyne with 1 biological replicate from 2004 and 1 from 2006, was compared to the respective reference RNA batch. One replicate per array.
2008-06-06 | E-GEOD-11694 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:We used whole-genome fire ant microarrays to examine the molecular basis for social organization in Solenopsis invicta. Monogyne (single queen) fire ant colonies were collected in the field and transported into the lab were they were reared in standard conditions for two weeks. At this point, each colony was split into two sub-colonies: one sub-colony contained the functional mother queen (queenright) while the other was left queenless. Each sub-colony included a nesting chamber, containing the brood and workers performing nursing tasks, and a foraging area, separated from the nesting chamber and provided with food and water sources. For both queenright and queenless sub-colonies, foraging workers were collected in the foraging area while non-foraging workers were collected in the nesting chamber. Total RNA was isolated from pools of 10 whole workers and processed for microarrays.
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Project description:Transcriptomes of dissected brains from workers from polygyne fire ants were analyzed. Four replicates were obtained.
2020-07-18 | GSE117432 | GEO
Project description:The red imported fire ant Solenopsis invicta is an invasive pest in the USA, eastern Asia and Australia that causes billions worth of damage where it has been introduced. In the insect colony, workers perform tasks based on their age as well as the subcaste, where the younger workers as well as the members of the smaller subcastes of workers tend to remain in the nest and tend to the brood while the older ants as well as the members of the larger subcastes of workers leave the nest to perform activities such as foraging. In eusocial insects, juvenile hormone has been identified to be a catalyst for behavioral changes among the worker caste, but the involvement of this hormone in S. invicta task allocation has not been investigated. Here, we conducted RNAseq analysis to identify genes associated with worker division of labor by comparing the expression profiles of foragers and nurses from the medium subcaste. Additionally, we evaluated the changes in the transcriptome of nurses in response to the application of the juvenile hormone analog, S-hydroprene. We found 816 differentially expressed genes between foragers and nurses and 100 differentially expressed genes between nurses treated with acetone and nurses treated with S-hydroprene. Here, we focused on the differentially expressed genes between foragers and nurses that were associated with different molecular pathways such as energy metabolism, glycolysis, juvenile hormone synthesis and metabolism, and immunity. Our results showed that the juvenile hormone analog induced changes in worker gene expression, some of which were as expected if the juvenile hormone is involved in regulating the shift from nursing to foraging in S. invicta workers. This analysis and data from this experiment can provide a slew of potential target genes to be used for control of this invasive pest.
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Project description:Ant societies exhibit a division of labor in which a queen is in charge of reproduction while non-reproductive workers maintain the colony. In Harpegnathos saltator, workers retain reproductive ability, inhibited by the queen pheromones. Following the queen loss, the colony undergoes social unrest with an antenna dueling tournament. Most workers quickly abandon the tournament while a few workers continue the dueling for months and become gamergates (pseudoqueens). However, the temporal dynamics of the molecular mechanisms underlining the caste transition and social dominance remain unclear. To identify genetic factors responsible for this transition, we compared transcriptomes of ovary, fat body, and non-visual brains between dueling and non-dueling workers.
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Project description:This experiment was performed to investigate the effect of the manipulation of social rank on gene expression. Fire ants newly mated queens were paired and placed in nesting chambers. After emergence of workers, queensM-^R behavior was monitored. Once the behavioral observation revealed the social rank of the two cofoundresses (winners and losers), queens were weighed again and re-paired with a different partner. We created the following three groups of queens: a) winner + winner (similar weight), b) loser + loser (similar weight), and c) winner + loser (different weights). Again, we monitored the behavior until the social rank of the newly coupled specimens was evident and we collected 4 new behavioral phenotypes in the same way as above: a) winners switched into losers (win/los), b) losers switched into winners (los/win), c) continuing winners (win/win) and d) continuing losers (los/los).
2013-08-21 | E-MEXP-3898 | biostudies-arrayexpress
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
2013-10-20 | GSE24906 | GEO
Project description:Animal longevity widely differs across species, and even individuals from the same species may exhibit different rates of ageing. In different species, the rate at which individuals actually age is related to the level of their social interactions, but this was still not known in ants. In a given colony, ant individuals are close genetic relatives, exhibit very different behaviours and a contrasted lifespan according to the Caste. Such characteristics constitute main advantages to study relationships between sociality and ageing. Therefore, the aim of this study was to characterize differences in the proteome of Lasius niger queens versus that of domestic and foraging workers. Proteomic data were put in relation with the behaviour of individuals from the three Castes. Hence, it was found that sociality correlates with ant longevity, with i) social immunity enabling the queen to mainly invest in soma protection, and ii) marked exposition of workers to the environment and nutrients inducing metabolic pathways that reduce their lifespan.
2020-08-03 | PXD006779 | Pride
Project description:In the fire ant Solenopsis invicta, a colony queen number is determined by the founding queen's genotypes at the 13 Mb supergene with the non-recombining variants SB and Sb. Single-queen colonies are always headed by SB/SB queens while multiple-queens colonies are always headed by SB/Sb queens. The two variants of the supergene, SB and Sb are completely linked to the two alleles (B and b) of the gene Gp-9. SB/SB and SB/Sb queens differ in many physiological traits including their maturation rate and odor. To explain why SB/SB and SB/Sb queens have different odors, and why SB/SB virgins mature faster and accumulate more fat, we measured expression of ~6000 genes in virgin queens 1 and 11 days after eclosion and in reproductive queens. Keywords: fire ants, Solenopsis invicta, Supergene, queen, Gp-9, social form, maturation, fat storage, queen odor, cuticular hydrocarbon, worker discrimination, monogyne, polygyne, transposon, chemical signaling
2012-11-07 | GSE42062 | GEO
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