Differential gene expression between adult queens and workers in the ant Lasius niger
Differential gene expression between adult queens and workers in the ant Lasius niger
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DOI：
10.1111/j.1365-294x.2007.03162.x
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发表时间：
2007-02-01
影响因子：
4.9
通讯作者：
Keller, Laurent
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Graeff, Johannes;Jemielity, Stephanie;Keller, Laurent
蚂蚁和其他社会性昆虫形成大的社会，其特征通常是明显的生殖分工。蚁后在很大程度上垄断了繁殖，而工蚁几乎没有繁殖潜力。此外，一些社会性昆虫物种在女王和工人种姓之间显示出巨大的寿命差异。值得注意的是，蚁后和工蚁的基因型通常是相同的，这意味着两个种姓之间的任何表型差异都来自种姓特异性基因表达。使用差异显示，微阵列和反向北方印迹相结合，我们发现了16个基因的差异表达的成年蚁后和工人之间的蚂蚁黑蚁，一个物种具有高度显着的生殖分工和几倍的寿命差异之间的皇后和工人。RNA连接酶介导的cDNA末端的快速扩增（RLM-RACE）和基因步移被用来进一步表征这些基因。根据其最近同源物的分子功能，三个基因似乎参与生殖分工。另外三个基因只在蚁后中过表达，可能与索马的维持和修复有关，这是决定寿命的一个候选机制。现在需要对这些基因进行深入的功能分析，以揭示它们的确切作用。
Ants and other social insects forming large societies are generally characterized by marked reproductive division of labour. Queens largely monopolize reproduction whereas workers have little reproductive potential. In addition, some social insect species show tremendous lifespan differences between the queen and worker caste. Remarkably, queens and workers are usually genotypically identical, meaning that any phenotypic differences between the two castes arise from caste-specific gene expression. Using a combination of differential display, microarrays and reverse Northern blots, we found 16 genes that were differentially expressed between adult queens and workers in the ant Lasius niger, a species with highly pronounced reproductive division of labour and a several-fold lifespan difference between queens and workers. RNA ligase mediated rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RLM-RACE) and gene walking were used to further characterize these genes. On the basis of the molecular function of their nearest homologues, three genes appear to be involved in reproductive division of labour. Another three genes, which were exclusively overexpressed in queens, are possibly involved in the maintenance and repair of the soma, a candidate mechanism for lifespan determination. In-depth functional analyses of these genes are now needed to reveal their exact role.