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RESEARCH PRODUCT
Gene expression is stronger associated with behaviour than with age and fertility in ant workers
Austin R. AllemanBarbara FeldmeyerRomain LibbrechtPhilip KohlmeierSusanne Foitziksubject
media_common.quotation_subjectfungiNutritional statusFertilityBiologyANTBroodTranscriptomeLipid biosynthesisGene expressionbehavior and behavior mechanismsDivision of labourreproductive and urinary physiologyDemographymedia_commondescription
AbstractThe ecological success of social insects is based on division of labour, not only between queens and workers, but also among workers. Whether a worker tends the brood or forages is strongly influenced by age, fertility and nutritional status, with brood carers being younger, more fecund and corpulent. Here, we experimentally disentangle behaviour from age and fertility inTemnothorax longispinosusant workers and analyse how these parameters are linked to whole-body gene expression. Our transcriptome analysis reveals four times more genes associated with behaviour than with age and only few fertility-associated genes. Brood carers exhibited an upregulation of genes involved in lipid biosynthesis, whereas foragers invested in metabolism. Additional simulations revealed that the experimental disassociation of co-varying factors reduces transcriptomic noise, potentially explaining discrepancies between transcriptomic studies on worker behaviour in other social insects. Our study highlights the influence of nutritional status on task choice in ant workers.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-02-18 |