King- and queen-specific degradation of uric acid contributes to reproduction in termites
King- and queen-specific degradation of uric acid contributes to reproduction in termites
复制标题
DOI：
10.1098/rspb.2022.1942
复制
发表时间：
2023-01-11
影响因子：
4.7
通讯作者：
Matsuura, Kenji
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Konishi, Takao;Tasaki, Eisuke;Matsuura, Kenji
群居昆虫基于种姓的生殖分工建立在群体内部资源分配的不对称基础上。国王和王后主要消耗有限的生殖资源，而工人和士兵等非生殖种姓则帮助生殖种姓。研究资源分配中这种不对称性的调节对于理解昆虫维持社会性是至关重要的，尽管对其分子背景了解甚少。我们的重点是尿酸，它被保留下来，并在吃木头的白蚁中用作一种宝贵的氮源。我们发现国王和王后特有的尿酸降解有助于地下白蚁的繁殖。尿酸氧化酶基因(RsUAOX)催化从储存的尿酸中回收氮的第一步，在成熟的国王和王后中高度表达，并随着分化成新的国王/女王而上调。抑制尿酸的降解减少了每只蜂王的产卵量。尿酸被证明是由工人提供给生殖种姓的。我们的结果表明，利用氮的能力是生殖所需的蛋白质合成所必需的，它维持了群体凝聚力，表现为国王和王后持有的生殖垄断。
Caste-based reproductive division of labour in social insects is built on asymmetries in resource allocation within colonies. Kings and queens dominantly consume limited resources for reproduction, while non-reproductive castes such as workers and soldiers help reproductive castes. Studying the regulation of such asymmetries in resource allocation is crucial for understanding the maintenance of sociality in insects, although the molecular background is poorly understood. We focused on uric acid, which is reserved and used as a valuable nitrogen source in wood-eating termites. We found that king- and queen-specific degradation of uric acid contributes to reproduction in the subterranean termite Reticulitermes speratus. The urate oxidase gene (RsUAOX), which catalyses the first step of nitrogen recycling from stored uric acid, was highly expressed in mature kings and queens, and upregulated with differentiation into neotenic kings/queens. Suppression of uric acid degradation decreased the number of eggs laid per queen. Uric acid was shown to be provided by workers to reproductive castes. Our results suggest that the capacity to use nitrogen, which is essential for the protein synthesis required for reproduction, maintains colony cohesion expressed as the reproductive monopoly held by kings and queens.