Studies on the regulatory mechanisms of imaginal organ developments during a caste differentiation of termites

为了阐明白蚁分工的调控机制，我注意到了一些物种在辅助生殖(新)分化过程中的发育变化。特别是在精巢蚁中，早产儿通过分离母体巢来诱导幼虫分化，在幼虫分化过程中可以观察到成体器官的发育。此外，在新生儿中，卵黄蛋白原基因的表达和保幼激素效价显示出非常高的水平。

To clarify the regulatory mechanisms of the division of labor in termites, I paid attention to the developmental changes during the differentiation of the supplementary reproductives (neotenics) of some species. Especially, in Reticulitermes speratus, neotenic differentiation was induced from premature individuals by the isolation from their maternal nests, and imaginal organ developments could be observed during neotenic differentiation. Moreover, vitellogenin gene expression and juvenile hormone titer were shown to be extraordinarily high in neotenics.