Abstract
Termites have a distinct polyphenism controlled by concise hormonal and molecular mechanisms. Workers undergo double molts to transform into soldiers (worker–presoldier–soldier). Juvenile hormone analogs, such as methoprene, can induce workers to transform into presoldiers. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the worker-to-presoldier transformation in Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki is still not clear. We sequenced the transcriptome of workers four days after they had fed on methoprene-treated filter paper and control group workers, which fed on acetone-treated filter paper. The transcriptome of C. formosanus was assembled using the de novo assembly method. Expression levels of unigenes in the methoprene-treated group and the control group were compared. The differentially expressed genes were further analyzed by Gene Ontology (GO) term enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis. Tetrapyrrole binding, oxidoreductase activity, and metal ion binding were the only three enriched GO terms. Juvenile hormone synthesis was the first ranked enriched pathway. Carbohydrate, amino acid, and lipid metabolism pathways were also enriched. These three pathways may be related to fat body development, which is critical for presoldier formation. Our results have demonstrated the significance of JH synthesis pathways, and pathways related to fat body development in the artificial induction of presoldiers.
Highlights
IntroductionIn which the members of the colony have different morphologies to accomplish the division of labor
Paired filter paper was put into the Petri dish (35 mm in diameter), and wetted with 240 μL of deionized water
The RNA-Seq method, through comparing group treated with for methoprene forof four andUsing the control group, we identified the comparing thegenes groupafter treated with methoprene for fourindays and the control group, weisidentified the early response workers fed on methoprene
Summary
In which the members of the colony have different morphologies to accomplish the division of labor. In contrast with the holometabolous social insects, in which the haplodiploid system controls the sex development within the colony, termites are hemimetabolous, and all colony members are diploid and have the same genetic background. The caste regulation mechanism in Hymenopteran insects, such as honey bees, has been widely studied from hormone to pheromone, and from genetic control to epigenetic studies [1,2,3]. Our knowledge on the genetic and epigenetic control of caste differentiation in termites is relatively limited. Termites have a very complex polyphenic system. In lower termites (evolutionarily basal), the developmental pathway is linear, meaning that pseudergates/workers can develop into alates (winged reproductives) and soldiers; in higher termites (termites in the family Termitidae), Insects 2020, 11, 71; doi:10.3390/insects11020071 www.mdpi.com/journal/insects
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