Abstract
Eusocial termites have a complex caste system, which leads to the division of labor. Previous studies offered some insight into the caste differentiation in lower termites; however, few studies were focusing on the molecular mechanisms of higher termites with sophisticated societies. Comparative transcriptomic analyses of five immature castes of a higher termite, Macrotermes barneyi Light, suggest that phenotypic plasticity is modulated by an array of transcriptional changes, including differentially expressed genes (e.g., caste-biased genes Vtg and TnC), co-expression networks (e.g., genes associated with nymph reproduction), and alternative splicing (e.g., events related to muscle development in presoldiers). Transcriptional (RT-PCR and RT-qPCR) and functional (in vivo RNAi) validation studies reveal multiple molecular mechanisms contributing to the phenotypic plasticity in eusocial termites. Molecular mechanisms governing the phenotypic plasticity in M. barneyi could be a rule rather than an exception in the evolution of sociality.
Highlights
Phenotypic plasticity is the ability of individuals to modify their physiology, morphology and/ or behavior to adapt different biotic or abiotic environments and plays a crucial role in evolution and speciation (Nijhout, 1999)
If genes showed strong relationship with reproductive traits and were key genes in modules associated with reproduction, we considered them as candidate genes for reproduction
Whole-body samples derived from the five immature castes of M. barneyi were deeply sequenced to generate more than 70 Gb of high-quality clean reads (Q20 > 96.19%, GC contents ranged from 42.88% to 45.85%, Table S6)
Summary
Phenotypic plasticity is the ability of individuals to modify their physiology, morphology and/ or behavior to adapt different biotic or abiotic environments and plays a crucial role in evolution and speciation (Nijhout, 1999). Immature castes, including nymphs, major and minor presoldiers, and major and minor preworkers, were identified and collected based on their morphological traits (Figure S1; body lengths, W = 220.838, P < 0.001; head width, F = 1624.882, df = 4, P < 0.001).
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