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RESEARCH PRODUCT
Transcriptomes of parents identify parenting strategies and sexual conflict in a subsocial beetle
Craig A. WallingChristopher B. CunninghamClare E. StamperElizabeth C. MckinneyAllen J. MooreAllen J. MooreMichael G. RitchieDarren J. ParkerEileen M. Roy-zokanMegan L. HeadMegan L. Headsubject
MaleNicrophorus-vespilloidesQH301 BiologyGeneral Physics and AstronomySexual conflictSexual Behavior AnimalSocial-Behaviorparenting strategiesFeeding-behaviorMatingR2Cmedia_commonGeneticskovakuoriaisetMultidisciplinarybiologyFlexibility (personality)Nicrophorus vespilloidesbeetlesNicrophorus vespilloidesColeopteraEvolutionary transitionsBurying beetleFemaleErratumReproductionJuvenile-hormoneHoney-beeBDCOffspringmedia_common.quotation_subjectMolecular Sequence DataGeneral Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular BiologyQH301Penduline titsAnimalsLife-historySocial BehaviorDrosophila takeout geneQLGene Expression Profilingta1184General ChemistryQL Zoologybiology.organism_classificationEvolutionary biologysexual conflictta1181TranscriptomePaternal careBurying beetlesdescription
This work was funded by UK NERC grants to M.G.R. and A.J.M. an NERC studentship to D.J.P. the University of Georgia and a US NSF grant to A.J.M. and M.G.R. Parenting in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides is complex and, unusually, the sex and number of parents that can be present is flexible. Such flexibility is expected to involve specialized behaviour by the two sexes under biparental conditions. Here, we show that offspring fare equally well regardless of the sex or number of parents present. Comparing transcriptomes, we find a largely overlapping set of differentially expressed genes in both uniparental and biparental females and in uniparental males including vitellogenin, associated with reproduction, and takeout, influencing sex-specific mating and feeding behaviour. Gene expression in biparental males is similar to that in non-caring states. Thus, being ‘biparental’ in N. vespilloides describes the family social organization rather than the number of directly parenting individuals. There was no specialization; instead, in biparental families, direct male parental care appears to be limited with female behaviour unchanged. This should lead to strong sexual conflict. Publisher PDF Peer reviewed
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-09-29 |