1
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Chung CY, Shigenobu S. Reproductive constraint in the social aphid Ceratovacuna japonica: Sterility regulation in the soldier caste of a viviparous insect. INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2022; 145:103756. [PMID: 35367587 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2022.103756] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2021] [Revised: 03/04/2022] [Accepted: 03/05/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Differentiation of the non-reproductive caste is a unique feature of eusocial insects. Apoptosis in oocytes plays a major role in constraining the reproductivity of the eusocial insects including bees, ants, and termites. However, the regulation of reproductive constraint in non-reproductives of primitively eusocial insects other than hymenopterans and blattodeans is almost unknown. Here, we investigated the soldier sterility in a hemipteran insect, the social aphid Ceratovacuna japonica. We compared the gonads of soldiers, that are completely sterile, with those of reproductives in their viviparous development. We found that soldiers possess a pair of ovaries and the same number of germaria as reproductives, but soldiers' ovarioles were small and lacking gastrulating embryos. Unlike in most model social insects, the staining of cleaved Caspase-3 showed apoptosis in the maternal nutritive cells, rather in the oocyte, of soldier ovaries. In addition, the ubiquitous C. japonica vasa1 and piwi2a expression indicates the developmental failure of embryos in soldier ovaries. The absence of posterior nos1, an insect posterior determinant, indicates deficient posterior patterning in soldier ovarioles. Our findings suggest a different mode of reproductive constraint, which regulates both oogenesis and embryogenesis in a viviparous insect ovary. This is the first report of the reproductive constraint in a viviparous social insect at the molecular level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen-Yo Chung
- Laboratory of Evolutionary Genomics, National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki, 444-8585, Aichi, Japan
| | - Shuji Shigenobu
- Laboratory of Evolutionary Genomics, National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki, 444-8585, Aichi, Japan; Department of Basic Biology, School of Life Science, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Okazaki, 444-8585, Japan.
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2
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Aamidor SE, Cardoso-Júnior CAM, Harianto J, Nowell CJ, Cole L, Oldroyd BP, Ronai I. Reproductive plasticity and oogenesis in the queen honey bee (Apis mellifera). JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2022; 136:104347. [PMID: 34902433 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2021.104347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2021] [Revised: 11/28/2021] [Accepted: 12/07/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
In the honey bee (Apis mellifera), queen and worker castes originate from identical genetic templates but develop into different phenotypes. Queens lay up to 2000 eggs daily whereas workers are sterile in the queen's presence. Periodically queens stop laying: during swarming, when resources are scarce in winter, and when they are confined to a cage by beekeepers. We used confocal microscopy and gene expression assays to investigate the control of oogenesis in the ovaries of honey bee queens that were caged inside and outside the colony. We find evidence that queens use a different combination of 'checkpoints' to regulate oogenesis compared to honey bee workers and other insect species. However, both queen and worker castes likely use the same programmed cell death pathways to terminate oocyte development at their caste-specific checkpoints. Our results also suggest that a key factor driving the termination of oogenesis in queens is nutritional stress. Thus, queens may regulate oogenesis via the same regulatory pathways that were utilised by ancestral solitary species but likely have adjusted physiological checkpoints to suit their highly-derived life history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah E Aamidor
- Behaviour and Genetics of Social Insects Laboratory, Ecology and Evolution, School of Life and Environmental Science, Macleay Building A12, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
| | - Carlos A M Cardoso-Júnior
- Departamento de Biologia Celulare Bioagentes Patogênicos, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirao Preto, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Ribeirao Preto, Brazil
| | - Januar Harianto
- School of Life and Environmental Science, Macleay Building A12, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Cameron J Nowell
- Drug Discovery Biology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville 3052, Victoria, Australia
| | - Louise Cole
- Microbial Imaging Facility, I3 Institute, Faculty of Science, The University of Technology Sydney, Australia
| | - Benjamin P Oldroyd
- Behaviour and Genetics of Social Insects Laboratory, Ecology and Evolution, School of Life and Environmental Science, Macleay Building A12, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Isobel Ronai
- Behaviour and Genetics of Social Insects Laboratory, Ecology and Evolution, School of Life and Environmental Science, Macleay Building A12, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
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3
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Cardoso-Júnior CAM, Oldroyd BP, Ronai I. Vitellogenin expression in the ovaries of adult honeybee workers provides insights into the evolution of reproductive and social traits. INSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2021; 30:277-286. [PMID: 33427366 DOI: 10.1111/imb.12694] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2020] [Revised: 12/10/2020] [Accepted: 01/06/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Social insects are notable for having two female castes that exhibit extreme differences in their reproductive capacity. The molecular basis of these differences is largely unknown. Vitellogenin (Vg) is a powerful antioxidant and insulin-signalling regulator used in oocyte development. Here we investigate how Royal Jelly (the major food of honeybee queens) and queen mandibular pheromone (a major regulator of worker fertility), affect the longevity and reproductive status of honey bee workers, the expression of Vg, its receptor VgR and associated regulatory proteins. We find that Vg is expressed in the ovaries of workers and that workers fed a queen diet of Royal Jelly have increased Vg expression in the ovaries. Surprisingly, we find that expression of Vg is not associated with ovary activation in workers, suggesting that this gene has potentially acquired non-reproductive functions. Therefore, Vg expression in the ovaries of honeybee workers provides further support for the Ovarian Ground Plan Hypothesis, which argues that genes implicated in the regulation of reproduction have been co-opted to regulate behavioural differences between queens and workers.
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Affiliation(s)
- C A M Cardoso-Júnior
- Departamento de Biologia Celular e Bioagentes Patogênicos, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
- Behaviour and Genetics of Social Insects Laboratory, Ecology and Evolution, School of Life and Environmental Sciences A12, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - B P Oldroyd
- Behaviour and Genetics of Social Insects Laboratory, Ecology and Evolution, School of Life and Environmental Sciences A12, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - I Ronai
- Behaviour and Genetics of Social Insects Laboratory, Ecology and Evolution, School of Life and Environmental Sciences A12, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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4
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Cardoso-Junior CAM, Ronai I, Hartfelder K, Oldroyd BP. Queen pheromone modulates the expression of epigenetic modifier genes in the brain of honeybee workers. Biol Lett 2020; 16:20200440. [PMID: 33290662 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2020.0440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Pheromones are used by many insects to mediate social interactions. In the highly eusocial honeybee (Apis mellifera), queen mandibular pheromone (QMP) is involved in the regulation of the reproductive and other behaviour of workers. The molecular mechanisms by which QMP acts are largely unknown. Here, we investigate how genes responsible for epigenetic modifications to DNA, RNA and histones respond to the presence of QMP in the environment. We show that several of these genes are upregulated in the honeybee brain when workers are exposed to artificial QMP. We propose that pheromonal communication systems, such as those used by social insects, evolved to respond to environmental signals by making use of existing epigenomic machineries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Antônio Mendes Cardoso-Junior
- Departamento de Biologia Celular e Bioagentes Patogênicos, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.,Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution (BEE) laboratory, University of Sydney, Macleay Building A12, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Isobel Ronai
- Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution (BEE) laboratory, University of Sydney, Macleay Building A12, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Klaus Hartfelder
- Departamento de Biologia Celular e Bioagentes Patogênicos, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - Benjamin P Oldroyd
- Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution (BEE) laboratory, University of Sydney, Macleay Building A12, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia
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5
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Garcia Bulle Bueno F, Gloag R, Latty T, Ronai I. Irreversible sterility of workers and high-volume egg production by queens in the stingless bee Tetragonula carbonaria. J Exp Biol 2020; 223:jeb230599. [PMID: 32737215 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.230599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2020] [Accepted: 07/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Social insects are characterised by a reproductive division of labour between queens and workers. However, in the majority of social insect species, the workers are only facultatively sterile. The Australian stingless bee Tetragonula carbonaria is noteworthy as workers never lay eggs. Here, we describe the reproductive anatomy of Tcarbonaria workers, virgin queens and mated queens. We then conduct the first experimental test of absolute worker sterility in the social insects. Using a controlled microcolony environment, we investigate whether the reproductive capacity of adult workers can be rescued by manipulating the workers' social environment and diet. The ovaries of T. carbonaria workers that are queenless and fed unrestricted, highly nutritious royal jelly remain non-functional, indicating they are irreversibly sterile and that ovary degeneration is fixed prior to adulthood. We suggest that Tcarbonaria might have evolved absolute worker sterility because colonies are unlikely to ever be queenless.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco Garcia Bulle Bueno
- Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution Laboratory, School of Life and Environmental Sciences A12, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Rosalyn Gloag
- Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution Laboratory, School of Life and Environmental Sciences A12, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Tanya Latty
- Insect Behaviour and Ecology Laboratory, School of Life and Environmental Sciences A12, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Isobel Ronai
- Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution Laboratory, School of Life and Environmental Sciences A12, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
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6
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Canciani M, Arnellos A, Moreno A. Revising the Superorganism: An Organizational Approach to Complex Eusociality. Front Psychol 2019; 10:2653. [PMID: 31849768 PMCID: PMC6901679 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2019] [Accepted: 11/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Eusociality is broadly defined as: colonies consisting of overlapping generations, cooperative brood care, and a reproductive division of labor where sterile (or non-reproductive) workers help the reproductive members. Colonies of many complex eusocial insect species (e.g., ants, bees, termites) exhibit traits, at the collective level, that are more analogous to biological individuals rather than to groups. Indeed, due to this, colonies of the most complex species are typically a unit of selection, which has led many authors to once again apply the concept of the superorganism to eusocial insects. However, unlike Wheeler, who originally employed the concept from a physiological and evolutionary perspective, today the superorganism is typically understood only from an evolutionary perspective, using group selection. This is because of the widely held view that eusocial colonies are self-organized systems. According to this view, even the most complex eusocial systems can be explained by appealing to a set of local interactions between parts of an initially disordered system (i.e., self-organization), without the need of any hierarchical control. In this paper, we challenge the mainstream view that hierarchical control and regulation does not occur, or is not necessary, in complex eusocial colonies. Using a case study of honey bees (Apis mellifera), we develop an alternative to the self-organization approach that focuses on the hierarchical nature of the organization of complex eusocial systems—that we refer to as the hierarchical-organizational approach. In addition, we analyze how colonies of eusocial insects show a complex set of interactions between the different organisms that bring forth a new cohesive collective organization, and how in turn the constitutive entities of this collective organization are transformed in this process. This paper argues that an inter-identity (namely the superorganism) emerges at the collective level in complex eusocial colonies, such as honey bees, due to the hierarchically organized network of interactions within the colony.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Canciani
- Department of Logic and Philosophy of Science, IAS-Research Centre for Life, Mind and Society, University of the Basque Country, Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
| | - Argyris Arnellos
- Department of Logic and Philosophy of Science, IAS-Research Centre for Life, Mind and Society, University of the Basque Country, Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain.,Complex Systems and Service Design Laboratory, Department of Product and Systems Design Engineering, University of the Aegean, Mytilene, Greece
| | - Alvaro Moreno
- Department of Logic and Philosophy of Science, IAS-Research Centre for Life, Mind and Society, University of the Basque Country, Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
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7
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Sarikaya DP, Church SH, Lagomarsino LP, Magnacca KN, Montgomery SL, Price DK, Kaneshiro KY, Extavour CG. Reproductive Capacity Evolves in Response to Ecology through Common Changes in Cell Number in Hawaiian Drosophila. Curr Biol 2019; 29:1877-1884.e6. [PMID: 31130459 PMCID: PMC6673671 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.04.063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2019] [Revised: 02/01/2019] [Accepted: 04/24/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Lifetime reproductive capacity is a critical fitness component. In insects, female reproductive capacity is largely determined by the number of ovarioles, the egg-producing subunits of the ovary [e.g., 1]. Recent work has provided insights into ovariole number regulation in Drosophila melanogaster. However, whether mechanisms discovered under laboratory conditions explain evolutionary variation in natural populations is an outstanding question. We investigated potential effects of ecology on the developmental processes underlying ovariole number evolution among Hawaiian Drosophila, a large adaptive radiation wherein the highest and lowest ovariole numbers of the family have evolved within 25 million years. Previous studies proposed that ovariole number correlated with oviposition substrate [2-4] but sampled largely one clade of these flies and were limited by a provisional phylogeny and the available comparative methods. We test this hypothesis by applying phylogenetic modeling to an expanded sampling of ovariole numbers and substrate types and show support for these predictions across all major groups of Hawaiian Drosophila, wherein ovariole number variation is best explained by adaptation to specific substrates. Furthermore, we show that oviposition substrate evolution is linked to changes in the allometric relationship between body size and ovariole number. Finally, we provide evidence that the major changes in ovarian cell number that regulate D. melanogaster ovariole number also regulate ovariole number in Hawaiian drosophilids. Thus, we provide evidence that this remarkable adaptive radiation is linked to evolutionary changes in a key reproductive trait regulated at least partly by variation in the same developmental parameters that operate in the model species D. melanogaster.
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Affiliation(s)
- Didem P Sarikaya
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
| | - Samuel H Church
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Laura P Lagomarsino
- Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, 202 Life Sciences Building, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
| | | | | | - Donald K Price
- Biology Department, University of Hawai'i at Hilo, 200 W. Kawili St., Hilo, HI 96720, USA
| | - Kenneth Y Kaneshiro
- Pacific Biosciences Research Center, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, 1993 East-West Rd., Manoa, HI 96822, USA
| | - Cassandra G Extavour
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, 52 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
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8
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Luna-Lucena D, Rabico F, Simoes ZL. Reproductive capacity and castes in eusocial stingless bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae). CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2019; 31:20-28. [PMID: 31109669 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2018.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2018] [Accepted: 06/25/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Eusocial lifestyle is one of the most important transitions in the evolutionary history of some groups of organisms. In bees, there are only two eusocial groups: the honey bees (Apini) and the stingless bees (Meliponini). Despite similarities on the eusocial lifestyles of these taxa, they present profound differences related to caste determination, development, behavior, and reproductive capacity of their members. In most of them the queen has a monopoly on reproduction. However, even though workers are tipically sterile, they can contribute to producing haploid eggs that generate males, or trophic eggs, used as an additional nutrition by the queen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danielle Luna-Lucena
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.
| | - Franciene Rabico
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - Zilá Lp Simoes
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil; Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.
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9
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Ronai I, Allsopp MH, Tan K, Dong S, Liu X, Vergoz V, Oldroyd BP. The dynamic association between ovariole loss and sterility in adult honeybee workers. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2016.2693. [PMID: 28356452 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.2693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2016] [Accepted: 02/27/2017] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
In the social insects, ovary state (the presence or absence of mature oocytes) and ovary size (the number of ovarioles) are often used as proxies for the reproductive capacity of an individual worker. Ovary size is assumed to be fixed post-eclosion whereas ovary state is demonstrably plastic post-eclosion. Here, we show that in fact ovary size declines as honeybee workers age. This finding is robust across two honeybee species: Apis mellifera and A. cerana The ovariole loss is likely to be due to the regression of particular ovarioles via programmed cell death. We also provide further support for the observation that honeybee workers with activated ovaries (mature oocytes present) most commonly have five ovarioles rather than a greater or smaller number. This result suggests that workers with more than five ovarioles are unable to physiologically support more than five activated ovarioles and that workers with fewer than five ovarioles are below a threshold necessary for ovary activation. As a worker's ovariole number declines with age, studies on worker ovariole number need to take this plasticity into account.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isobel Ronai
- Behaviour and Genetics of Social Insects Laboratory, School of Biological Sciences A12, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
| | - Michael H Allsopp
- Honeybee Research Section, ARC-Plant Protection Research Institute, Private Bag X5017, Stellenbosch 7599, Western Cape, South Africa
| | - Ken Tan
- Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Science, Kunming, Yunnan Province 650223, People's Republic of China.,Eastern Bee Research Institute of Yunnan Agricultural University, Heilongtan, Kunming, Yunnan Province 650201, People's Republic of China
| | - Shihao Dong
- Eastern Bee Research Institute of Yunnan Agricultural University, Heilongtan, Kunming, Yunnan Province 650201, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiwen Liu
- Eastern Bee Research Institute of Yunnan Agricultural University, Heilongtan, Kunming, Yunnan Province 650201, People's Republic of China
| | - Vanina Vergoz
- Behaviour and Genetics of Social Insects Laboratory, School of Biological Sciences A12, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
| | - Benjamin P Oldroyd
- Behaviour and Genetics of Social Insects Laboratory, School of Biological Sciences A12, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
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10
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Su X, Yang X, Li J, Xing L, Liu H, Chen J. The transition path from female workers to neotenic reproductives in the termite Reticulitermes labralis. Evol Dev 2017; 19:218-226. [PMID: 28869353 DOI: 10.1111/ede.12229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Termite workers are characterized by unique flexibility in that a worker can develop in one of three ways: remain a worker, become a soldier within two successive moults, or become a neotenic reproductive (NR) within a single moult. However, is it true that workers can transform into NRs within a single moult? Actually, the developmental pathways of workers turning into NRs remains unclear. In this study, we show for the first time that the female workers of Reticulitermes labralis develop into NRs after a pre-NRs stage. We found that a female worker became a NR after two successive moults, whereas the male workers copulated directly with queens without undergoing any moults. After the first moult led the female workers into the pre-NR stage, the length of their abdomens, seventh sternites and ovaries significantly increased. After the second moult from the pre-NRs stage into NRs, the follicle cells returned to normal, and a few oocytes and follicle cells underwent apoptosis. These results demonstrated that the female pre-NR type was a transitional type during the development of female workers to the NR caste, and the starting point for oogenesis resumption was the NR stage. We confirmed there were fundamental differences in the reproductive pathway of the male and female workers. Therefore, we determined that the transformation process of the female NRs from workers may be a very complex process, and the reproductive biology of the workers has great potential to provide important and spectacular insights into the evolution strategy of termites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaohong Su
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, Northwest University, Xi'an, China.,Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China, Ministry of Education, Northwest University, Xi'an, China.,College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
| | - Xiaojuan Yang
- College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
| | - Jing Li
- College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
| | - Lianxi Xing
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, Northwest University, Xi'an, China.,Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China, Ministry of Education, Northwest University, Xi'an, China.,College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
| | - He Liu
- College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
| | - Jiaoling Chen
- College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
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11
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Cardoso-Júnior CAM, Silva RP, Borges NA, de Carvalho WJ, Walter SL, Simões ZLP, Bitondi MMG, Ueira Vieira C, Bonetti AM, Hartfelder K. Methyl farnesoate epoxidase (mfe) gene expression and juvenile hormone titers in the life cycle of a highly eusocial stingless bee, Melipona scutellaris. JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2017; 101:185-194. [PMID: 28800885 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2017.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2017] [Revised: 08/02/2017] [Accepted: 08/03/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
In social insects, juvenile hormone (JH) has acquired novel functions related to caste determination and division of labor among workers, and this is best evidenced in the honey bee. In contrast to honey bees, stingless bees are a much more diverse group of highly eusocial bees, and the genus Melipona has long called special attention due to a proposed genetic mechanism of caste determination. Here, we examined methyl farnesoate epoxidase (mfe) gene expression, encoding an enzyme relevant for the final step in JH biosynthesis, and measured the hemolymph JH titers for all life cycle stages of Melipona scutellaris queens and workers. We confirmed that mfe is exclusively expressed in the corpora allata. The JH titer is high in the second larval instar, drops in the third, and rises again as the larvae enter metamorphosis. During the pupal stage, mfe expression is initialy elevated, but then gradually drops to low levels before adult emergence. No variation was, however, seen in the JH titer. In adult virgin queens, mfe expression and the JH titer are significantly elevated, possibly associated with their reproductive potential. For workers we found that JH titers are lower in foragers than in nurse bees, while mfe expression did not differ. Stingless bees are, thus, distinct from honey bee workers, suggesting that they have maintained the ancestral gonadotropic function for JH. Hence, the physiological circuitries underlying a highly eusocial life style may be variable, even within a monophyletic clade such as the corbiculate bees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Antônio Mendes Cardoso-Júnior
- Departamento de Biologia Celular, Molecular e Bioagentes Patogênicos, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes 3900, 14049-900 Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
| | - Renato Pereira Silva
- Departmento de Genética e Bioquímica, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Av. Pará 1720, 38400-902 Uberlândia, MG, Brazil.
| | - Naiara Araújo Borges
- Departmento de Genética e Bioquímica, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Av. Pará 1720, 38400-902 Uberlândia, MG, Brazil.
| | - Washington João de Carvalho
- Departmento de Genética e Bioquímica, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Av. Pará 1720, 38400-902 Uberlândia, MG, Brazil.
| | - S Leal Walter
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, College of Biological Sciences University of California at Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, USA.
| | - Zilá Luz Paulino Simões
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirãp Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes 3900, 14040-901 Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
| | - Marcia Maria Gentile Bitondi
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirãp Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes 3900, 14040-901 Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
| | - Carlos Ueira Vieira
- Departmento de Genética e Bioquímica, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Av. Pará 1720, 38400-902 Uberlândia, MG, Brazil.
| | - Ana Maria Bonetti
- Departmento de Genética e Bioquímica, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Av. Pará 1720, 38400-902 Uberlândia, MG, Brazil.
| | - Klaus Hartfelder
- Departamento de Biologia Celular, Molecular e Bioagentes Patogênicos, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes 3900, 14049-900 Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
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12
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Ronai I, Oldroyd BP, Vergoz V. Queen pheromone regulates programmed cell death in the honey bee worker ovary. INSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2016; 25:646-652. [PMID: 27321063 DOI: 10.1111/imb.12250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
In social insect colonies the presence of a queen, secreting her pheromones, is a key environmental cue for regulating the reproductive state of workers. However, until recently the proximate molecular mechanisms underlying facultative worker sterility were unidentified. Studies into worker oogenesis in the honey bee (Apis mellifera) have indicated that programmed cell death is central to the regulation of oogenesis. Here we investigate how queen pheromone, age of the worker and ovary state affect both programmed cell death and cell number in worker ovaries. We describe a novel method to simultaneously measure programmed cell death (caspase activity) and live cell number (estimated from the amount of adenosine triphosphate) in an insect tissue. Workers exposed to queen pheromone have higher levels of caspase activity in the ovary than those not exposed. Our results suggest that queen pheromone triggers programmed cell death at the mid-oogenesis checkpoint causing the abortion of worker oocytes and reproductive inhibition of the worker caste. Nonetheless, high caspase activity is present in activated ovaries from workers not exposed to queen pheromone. This caspase activity is most likely to be from the nurse cells undergoing programmed cell death, in late oogenesis, for normal oocyte development. Our study shows that the social environment of an organism can influence programmed cell death within a tissue.
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Affiliation(s)
- I Ronai
- Behaviour and Genetics of Social Insects Laboratory, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - B P Oldroyd
- Behaviour and Genetics of Social Insects Laboratory, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - V Vergoz
- Behaviour and Genetics of Social Insects Laboratory, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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Duncan EJ, Hyink O, Dearden PK. Notch signalling mediates reproductive constraint in the adult worker honeybee. Nat Commun 2016; 7:12427. [PMID: 27485026 PMCID: PMC4976197 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2016] [Accepted: 06/30/2016] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The hallmark of eusociality is the reproductive division of labour, in which one female caste reproduces, while reproduction is constrained in the subordinate caste. In adult worker honeybees (Apis mellifera) reproductive constraint is conditional: in the absence of the queen and brood, adult worker honeybees activate their ovaries and lay haploid male eggs. Here, we demonstrate that chemical inhibition of Notch signalling can overcome the repressive effect of queen pheromone and promote ovary activity in adult worker honeybees. We show that Notch signalling acts on the earliest stages of oogenesis and that the removal of the queen corresponds with a loss of Notch protein in the germarium. We conclude that the ancient and pleiotropic Notch signalling pathway has been co-opted into constraining reproduction in worker honeybees and we provide the first molecular mechanism directly linking ovary activity in adult worker bees with the presence of the queen. In honeybees, pheromones produced by the queen inhibit reproduction by workers and enforce a eusocial division of labour. Here, Duncan, Hyink and Dearden show that this inhibition is mediated by the Notch signalling pathway in the workers' ovaries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth J Duncan
- Department of Biochemistry, Laboratory for Evolution and Development, Genetics Otago and Gravida (The National Centre for Growth and Development), University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin 9054, Aotearoa-New Zealand
| | - Otto Hyink
- Department of Biochemistry, Laboratory for Evolution and Development, Genetics Otago and Gravida (The National Centre for Growth and Development), University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin 9054, Aotearoa-New Zealand
| | - Peter K Dearden
- Department of Biochemistry, Laboratory for Evolution and Development, Genetics Otago and Gravida (The National Centre for Growth and Development), University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin 9054, Aotearoa-New Zealand
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Martins JR, Bitondi MMG. The HEX 110 Hexamerin Is a Cytoplasmic and Nucleolar Protein in the Ovaries of Apis mellifera. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0151035. [PMID: 26954256 PMCID: PMC4783013 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0151035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2015] [Accepted: 02/10/2016] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Hexamerins are insect storage proteins abundantly secreted by the larval fat body into the haemolymph. The canonical role of hexamerins consists of serving as an amino acid reserve for development toward the adult stage. However, in Apis mellifera, immunofluorescence assays coupled to confocal laser-scanning microscopy, and high-throughput sequencing, have recently shown the presence of hexamerins in other organs than the fat body. These findings have led us to study these proteins with the expectation of uncovering additional functions in insect development. We show here that a honeybee hexamerin, HEX 110, localizes in the cytoplasm and nucleus of ovarian cells. In the nucleus of somatic and germline cells, HEX 110 colocalized with a nucleolar protein, fibrillarin, suggesting a structural or even regulatory function in the nucleolus. RNase A provoked the loss of HEX 110 signals in the ovarioles, indicating that the subcellular localization depends on RNA. This was reinforced by incubating ovaries with pyronin Y, a RNA-specific dye. Together, the colocalization with fibrillarin and pyronin Y, and the sensitivity to RNase, highlight unprecedented roles for HEX110 in the nucleolus, the nuclear structure harbouring the gene cluster involved in ribosomal RNA production. However, the similar patterns of HEX 110 foci distribution in the active and inactive ovaries of queens and workers preclude its association with the functional status of these organs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliana Ramos Martins
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Monte Alegre, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Márcia Maria Gentile Bitondi
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Monte Alegre, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
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Ronai I, Vergoz V, Oldroyd B. The Mechanistic, Genetic, and Evolutionary Basis of Worker Sterility in the Social Hymenoptera. ADVANCES IN THE STUDY OF BEHAVIOR 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.asb.2016.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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Ronai I, Oldroyd BP, Barton DA, Cabanes G, Lim J, Vergoz V. AnarchyIs a Molecular Signature of Worker Sterility in the Honey Bee. Mol Biol Evol 2015; 33:134-42. [DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msv202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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