Regulation of Oogenesis in Ants

繁殖的社会调节是群居昆虫群体组织的基础。然而，人们对卵子发生的基本过程知之甚少，除了猜测导致不孕不育的生理过程之外，很难做更多的事情。这项拟议研究的长期目标是确定群居昆虫卵子发生的内分泌基础，并确定繁殖雌性在巢中不育的机制。蚂蚁属Camponotus的工作者呈现出许多特征，使得深入研究卵子发生及其抑制是可行的。在该项目的第一年，研究人员将从现象和形态上定义卵子发生及其对工蚁的抑制。她将产生卵黄蛋白原(VG)抗体。并将其用于体内VG合成的研究。蜜蜂VG和VG抗体将用于开发可应用于蚂蚁的协议。接下来，将开始体内内分泌研究(例如，蜕皮类固醇效价的测定，外源保幼激素对卵子发生的影响)。将开发一种用于体外研究的明确的培养介质和一种基于抗体的VG定量分析方法。然后，研究人员将开始脂肪体合成VG的体外研究。在拟议研究的第三年，将确定处于不同生理状态的脂肪体对荷尔蒙挑战的反应性。研究人员将在体外测试研究卵巢作用的可行性，包括蜕皮类固醇分泌和VG摄取。

Social regulation of reproduction is the foundation of colony organization in social insects. Yet so little is known about the basic process of oogenesis itself, it is difficult to do more than guess what physiological processes are blocked to result in sterility. The long-term objective of the proposed research is to define the endocrine basis of oogenesis in social insects and to identify the mechanisms by which reproductive females sterilize in nestmates. Workers of the ant genus Camponotus present many features that make an in-depth study of oogenesis and its inhibition feasible. In the first year of the project, the investigator will define oogenesis and its inhibition in workers phenomenologically and morphologically. She will produce antibody to vitellogenin (Vg.) and use it in the study of Vg synthesis in vivo. Honeybee Vg and Vg antibody will be used to develop protocols that can be applied to ants. Next, in vivo endocrine studies (e.g., assay of ecdysteroid titers, effects of exogenous juvenile hormone on oogenesis) will begin. A defined culture medium for in vitro studies and an antibody-based assay for quantification of Vg will be developed. Then, the investigator will begin in vitro studies on Vg synthesis by fat body. During the third year of the proposed research, the responsiveness of fat bodies in different physiological states to hormonal challenges will be determined. The investigator will test the feasibility of studying the role of the ovary, including ecdysteroid secretion and Vg uptake, in vitro.