1
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Dittmann MA, Buczkowski G, Scharf M, Harpur BA. Comparative transcriptomics and phylostratigraphy of Argentine ant odorant receptors. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0307604. [PMID: 39226298 PMCID: PMC11371221 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0307604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2024] [Accepted: 07/09/2024] [Indexed: 09/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Nestmate recognition in ants is regulated through the detection of cuticular hydrocarbons by odorant receptors (ORs) in the antennae. These ORs are crucial for maintaining colony cohesion that allows invasive ant species to dominate colonized environments. In the invasive Argentine ant, Linepithema humile, ORs regulating nestmate recognition are thought to be present in a clade of nine-exon odorant receptors, but the identity of the specific genes remains unknown. We sought to narrow down the list of candidate genes using transcriptomics and phylostratigraphy. Comparative transcriptomic analyses were conducted on the antennae, head, thorax, and legs of Argentine ant workers. We have identified a set of twenty-one nine-exon odorant receptors enriched in the antennae compared to the other tissues, allowing for downstream verification of whether they can detect Argentine ant cuticular hydrocarbons. Further investigation of these ORs could allow us to further understand the mechanisms underlying nestmate recognition and colony cohesion in ants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathew A. Dittmann
- Department of Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States of America
| | - Grzegorz Buczkowski
- Department of Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States of America
| | - Michael Scharf
- University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States of America
| | - Brock A. Harpur
- Department of Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States of America
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2
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Krishnan S, Karpe SD, Kumar H, Nongbri LB, Venkateswaran V, Sowdhamini R, Grosse-Wilde E, Hansson BS, Borges RM. Sensing volatiles throughout the body: geographic- and tissue-specific olfactory receptor expression in the fig wasp. INSECT SCIENCE 2024. [PMID: 39183553 DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.13441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2024] [Revised: 07/02/2024] [Accepted: 07/22/2024] [Indexed: 08/27/2024]
Abstract
An essential adaptive strategy in insects is the evolution of olfactory receptors (ORs) to recognize important volatile environmental chemical cues. Our model species, Ceratosolen fusciceps, a specialist wasp pollinator of Ficus racemosa, likely possesses an OR repertoire that allows it to distinguish fig-specific volatiles in highly variable environments. Using a newly assembled genome-guided transcriptome, we annotated 63 ORs in the species and reconstructed the phylogeny of Ceratosolen ORs in conjunction with other hymenopteran species. Expression analysis showed that though ORs were mainly expressed in the female antennae, 20% were also expressed in nonantennal tissues such as the head, thorax, abdomen, legs, wings, and ovipositor. Specific upregulated expression was observed in OR30C in the head and OR60C in the wings. We identified OR expression from all major body parts of female C. fusciceps, suggesting novel roles of ORs throughout the body. Further examination of the OR expression of C. fusciceps in widely separated geographical locations, that is, South (urban) and Northeast (rural) India, revealed distinct OR expression levels in different locations. This discrepancy likely parallels the observed variation in fig volatiles between these regions and provides new insights into the evolution of insect ORs and their expression across geographical locations and tissues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sushma Krishnan
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
| | - Snehal Dilip Karpe
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute for Fundamental Research, GKVK Campus, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
| | - Hithesh Kumar
- Genotypic Technology Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore, Karnataka, India
| | - Lucy B Nongbri
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
| | - Vignesh Venkateswaran
- Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany
| | - Ramanathan Sowdhamini
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute for Fundamental Research, GKVK Campus, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
| | - Ewald Grosse-Wilde
- Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany
- Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Praha, Suchdol, Czech Republic
| | - Bill S Hansson
- Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany
| | - Renee M Borges
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
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3
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Sieriebriennikov B, Sieber KR, Kolumba O, Mlejnek J, Jafari S, Yan H. Orco-dependent survival of odorant receptor neurons in ants. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadk9000. [PMID: 38848359 PMCID: PMC11160473 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adk9000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 05/03/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024]
Abstract
Olfaction is essential for complex social behavior in insects. To discriminate complex social cues, ants evolved an expanded number of odorant receptor (Or) genes. Mutations in the obligate odorant co-receptor gene orco lead to the loss of ~80% of the antennal lobe glomeruli in the jumping ant Harpegnathos saltator. However, the cellular mechanism remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate massive apoptosis of odorant receptor neurons (ORNs) in the mid to late stages of pupal development, possibly due to ER stress in the absence of Orco. Further bulk and single-nucleus transcriptome analysis shows that, although most orco-expressing ORNs die in orco mutants, a small proportion of them survive: They express ionotropic receptor (Ir) genes that form IR complexes. In addition, we found that some Or genes are expressed in mechanosensory neurons and nonneuronal cells, possibly due to leaky regulation from nearby non-Or genes. Our findings provide a comprehensive overview of ORN development and Or expression in H. saltator.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bogdan Sieriebriennikov
- Department of Biology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Kayli R. Sieber
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
- Center for Smell and Taste, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
| | - Olena Kolumba
- Department of Biology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
- New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - Jakub Mlejnek
- Department of Biology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Shadi Jafari
- Department of Biology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Hua Yan
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
- Center for Smell and Taste, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
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4
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Tang R, Guo H, Chen JQ, Huang C, Kong XX, Cao L, Wan FH, Han RC. Tandemly expanded OR17b in Himalaya ghost moth facilitates larval food allocation via olfactory reception of plant-derived tricosane. Int J Biol Macromol 2024; 268:131503. [PMID: 38663697 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.131503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2024] [Revised: 04/07/2024] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/30/2024]
Abstract
Herbivorous insects utilize intricate olfactory mechanisms to locate food plants. The chemical communication of insect-plant in primitive lineage offers insights into evolutionary milestones of divergent olfactory modalities. Here, we focus on a system endemic to the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau to unravel the chemical and molecular basis of food preference in ancestral Lepidoptera. We conducted volatile profiling, neural electrophysiology, and chemotaxis assays with a panel of host plant organs to identify attractants for Himalaya ghost moth Thitarodes xiaojinensis larvae, the primitive host of medicinal Ophiocordyceps sinensis fungus. Using a DREAM approach based on odorant induced transcriptomes and subsequent deorphanization tests, we elucidated the odorant receptors responsible for coding bioactive volatiles. Contrary to allocation signals in most plant-feeding insects, T. xiaojinensis larvae utilize tricosane from the bulbil as the main attractant for locating native host plant. We deorphanized a TxiaOR17b, an indispensable odorant receptor resulting from tandem duplication of OR17, for transducing olfactory signals in response to tricosane. The discovery of this ligand-receptor pair suggests a survival strategy based on food location via olfaction in ancestral Lepidoptera, which synchronizes both plant asexual reproduction and peak hatch periods of insect larvae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Tang
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Animal Conservation and Resource Utilization, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Wild Animal Conservation and Utilization, Institute of Zoology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510260, China
| | - Hao Guo
- College of Life Science, Institute of life Science and Green Development, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China
| | - Jia-Qi Chen
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Animal Conservation and Resource Utilization, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Wild Animal Conservation and Utilization, Institute of Zoology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510260, China
| | - Cong Huang
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Xiang-Xin Kong
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Animal Conservation and Resource Utilization, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Wild Animal Conservation and Utilization, Institute of Zoology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510260, China
| | - Li Cao
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Animal Conservation and Resource Utilization, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Wild Animal Conservation and Utilization, Institute of Zoology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510260, China
| | - Fang-Hao Wan
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China; Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518120, China; College of Plant Health and Medicine, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao 266109, China
| | - Ri-Chou Han
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Animal Conservation and Resource Utilization, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Wild Animal Conservation and Utilization, Institute of Zoology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510260, China.
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Tanudji J, Kasai H, Okada M, Ogawa T, Aspera SM, Nakanishi H. 211At on gold nanoparticles for targeted radionuclide therapy application. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2024; 26:12915-12927. [PMID: 38629229 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp05326a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/02/2024]
Abstract
Targeted alpha therapy (TAT) is a methodology that is being developed as a promising cancer treatment using the α-particle decay of radionuclides. This technique involves the use of heavy radioactive elements being placed near the cancer target area to cause maximum damage to the cancer cells while minimizing the damage to healthy cells. Using gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as carriers, a more effective therapy methodology may be realized. AuNPs can be good candidates for transporting these radionuclides to the vicinity of the cancer cells since they can be labeled not just with the radionuclides, but also a host of other proteins and ligands to target these cells and serve as additional treatment options. Research has shown that astatine and iodine are capable of adsorbing onto the surface of gold, creating a covalent bond that is quite stable for use in experiments. However, there are still many challenges that lie ahead in this area, whether they be theoretical, experimental, and even in real-life applications. This review will cover some of the major developments, as well as the current state of technology, and the problems that need to be tackled as this research topic moves along to maturity. The hope is that with more workers joining the field, we can make a positive impact on society, in addition to bringing improvement and more knowledge to science.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey Tanudji
- Department of Applied Physics, The University of Osaka, 2-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Hideaki Kasai
- Institute of Radiation Sciences, The University of Osaka, 1-1 Machikaneyama-cho, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-0043, Japan.
| | - Michio Okada
- Institute of Radiation Sciences, The University of Osaka, 1-1 Machikaneyama-cho, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-0043, Japan.
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Osaka, 1-1 Machikaneyama-cho, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-0043, Japan
| | - Tetsuo Ogawa
- Institute of Radiation Sciences, The University of Osaka, 1-1 Machikaneyama-cho, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-0043, Japan.
- Department of Physics, The University of Osaka, 1-1 Machikaneyama-cho, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-0043, Japan
| | - Susan M Aspera
- Research Initiative for Supra-Materials, Shinshu University, 4-17-1 Wakasato, Nagano, Nagano 380-8553, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Nakanishi
- National Institute of Technology, Akashi College, 679-3 Nishioka, Uozumi-cho, Akashi, Hyogo 674-8501, Japan
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6
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Mikhailova AA, Rinke S, Harrison MC. Genomic signatures of eusocial evolution in insects. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2024; 61:101136. [PMID: 37922983 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2023.101136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 10/27/2023] [Accepted: 10/28/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023]
Abstract
The genomes of eusocial insects allow the production and regulation of highly distinct phenotypes, largely independent of genotype. Although rare, eusociality has evolved convergently in at least three insect orders (Hymenoptera, Blattodea and Coleoptera). Despite such disparate origins, eusocial phenotypes show remarkable similarity, exhibiting long-lived reproductives and short-lived sterile workers and soldiers. In this article, we review current knowledge on genomic signatures of eusocial evolution. We confirm that especially an increased regulatory complexity and the adaptive evolution of chemical communication are common to several origins of eusociality. Furthermore, colony life itself can shape genomes of divergent taxa in a similar manner. Future research should be geared towards generating more high-quality genomic resources, especially in hitherto understudied clades, such as ambrosia beetles and termites. The application of more sophisticated tools such as machine learning techniques may allow the detection of more subtle convergent genomic footprints of eusociality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alina A Mikhailova
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster, Hüfferstrasße 1, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Sarah Rinke
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster, Hüfferstrasße 1, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Mark C Harrison
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster, Hüfferstrasße 1, 48149 Münster, Germany.
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7
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Derby CD, Caprio J. What are olfaction and gustation, and do all animals have them? Chem Senses 2024; 49:bjae009. [PMID: 38422390 DOI: 10.1093/chemse/bjae009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2023] [Indexed: 03/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Different animals have distinctive anatomical and physiological properties to their chemical senses that enhance detection and discrimination of relevant chemical cues. Humans and other vertebrates are recognized as having 2 main chemical senses, olfaction and gustation, distinguished from each other by their evolutionarily conserved neuroanatomical organization. This distinction between olfaction and gustation in vertebrates is not based on the medium in which they live because the most ancestral and numerous vertebrates, the fishes, live in an aquatic habitat and thus both olfaction and gustation occur in water and both can be of high sensitivity. The terms olfaction and gustation have also often been applied to the invertebrates, though not based on homology. Consequently, any similarities between olfaction and gustation in the vertebrates and invertebrates have resulted from convergent adaptations or shared constraints during evolution. The untidiness of assigning olfaction and gustation to invertebrates has led some to recommend abandoning the use of these terms and instead unifying them and others into a single category-chemical sense. In our essay, we compare the nature of the chemical senses of diverse animal types and consider their designation as olfaction, oral gustation, extra-oral gustation, or simply chemoreception. Properties that we have found useful in categorizing chemical senses of vertebrates and invertebrates include the nature of peripheral sensory cells, organization of the neuropil in the processing centers, molecular receptor specificity, and function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles D Derby
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - John Caprio
- Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, United States
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8
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Chang H, Unni AP, Tom MT, Cao Q, Liu Y, Wang G, Llorca LC, Brase S, Bucks S, Weniger K, Bisch-Knaden S, Hansson BS, Knaden M. Odorant detection in a locust exhibits unusually low redundancy. Curr Biol 2023; 33:5427-5438.e5. [PMID: 38070506 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.11.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2023] [Revised: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 11/08/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
Olfactory coding, from insects to humans, is canonically considered to involve considerable across-fiber coding already at the peripheral level, thereby allowing recognition of vast numbers of odor compounds. We show that the migratory locust has evolved an alternative strategy built on highly specific odorant receptors feeding into a complex primary processing center in the brain. By collecting odors from food and different life stages of the locust, we identified 205 ecologically relevant odorants, which we used to deorphanize 48 locust olfactory receptors via ectopic expression in Drosophila. Contrary to the often broadly tuned olfactory receptors of other insects, almost all locust receptors were found to be narrowly tuned to one or very few ligands. Knocking out a single receptor using CRISPR abolished physiological and behavioral responses to the corresponding ligand. We conclude that the locust olfactory system, with most olfactory receptors being narrowly tuned, differs from the so-far described olfactory systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hetan Chang
- Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans Knoell Strasse 8, 07745 Jena, Germany; Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Afairs, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518120, China
| | - Anjana P Unni
- Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans Knoell Strasse 8, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Megha Treesa Tom
- Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans Knoell Strasse 8, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Qian Cao
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Yang Liu
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Guirong Wang
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Afairs, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518120, China
| | - Lucas Cortés Llorca
- Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans Knoell Strasse 8, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Sabine Brase
- Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans Knoell Strasse 8, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Sascha Bucks
- Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans Knoell Strasse 8, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Kerstin Weniger
- Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans Knoell Strasse 8, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Sonja Bisch-Knaden
- Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans Knoell Strasse 8, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Bill S Hansson
- Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans Knoell Strasse 8, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Markus Knaden
- Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans Knoell Strasse 8, 07745 Jena, Germany.
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9
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Brahma A, Frank DD, Pastor PDH, Piekarski PK, Wang W, Luo JD, Carroll TS, Kronauer DJC. Transcriptional and post-transcriptional control of odorant receptor choice in ants. Curr Biol 2023; 33:5456-5466.e5. [PMID: 38070504 PMCID: PMC11025690 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.11.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Revised: 10/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/10/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
Insects and mammals have independently evolved odorant receptor genes that are arranged in large genomic tandem arrays. In mammals, each olfactory sensory neuron chooses to express a single receptor in a stochastic process that includes substantial chromatin rearrangements. Here, we show that ants, which have the largest odorant receptor repertoires among insects, employ a different mechanism to regulate gene expression from tandem arrays. Using single-nucleus RNA sequencing, we found that ant olfactory sensory neurons choose different transcription start sites along an array but then produce mRNA from many downstream genes. This can result in transcripts from dozens of receptors being present in a single nucleus. Such rampant receptor co-expression at first seems difficult to reconcile with the narrow tuning of the ant olfactory system. However, RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization showed that only mRNA from the most upstream transcribed odorant receptor seems to reach the cytoplasm where it can be translated into protein, whereas mRNA from downstream receptors gets sequestered in the nucleus. This implies that, despite the extensive co-expression of odorant receptor genes, each olfactory sensory neuron ultimately only produces one or very few functional receptors. Evolution has thus found different molecular solutions in insects and mammals to the convergent challenge of selecting small subsets of receptors from large odorant receptor repertoires.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anindita Brahma
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA.
| | - Dominic D Frank
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - P Daniel H Pastor
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Patrick K Piekarski
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Wei Wang
- Bioinformatics Resource Center, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Ji-Dung Luo
- Bioinformatics Resource Center, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Thomas S Carroll
- Bioinformatics Resource Center, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Daniel J C Kronauer
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, New York, NY 10065, USA.
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10
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Couto A, Marty S, Dawson EH, d'Ettorre P, Sandoz JC, Montgomery SH. Evolution of the neuronal substrate for kin recognition in social Hymenoptera. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2023; 98:2226-2242. [PMID: 37528574 DOI: 10.1111/brv.13003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2022] [Revised: 07/18/2023] [Accepted: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 08/03/2023]
Abstract
In evolutionary terms, life is about reproduction. Yet, in some species, individuals forgo their own reproduction to support the reproductive efforts of others. Social insect colonies for example, can contain up to a million workers that actively cooperate in tasks such as foraging, brood care and nest defence, but do not produce offspring. In such societies the division of labour is pronounced, and reproduction is restricted to just one or a few individuals, most notably the queen(s). This extreme eusocial organisation exists in only a few mammals, crustaceans and insects, but strikingly, it evolved independently up to nine times in the order Hymenoptera (including ants, bees and wasps). Transitions from a solitary lifestyle to an organised society can occur through natural selection when helpers obtain a fitness benefit from cooperating with kin, owing to the indirect transmission of genes through siblings. However, this process, called kin selection, is vulnerable to parasitism and opportunistic behaviours from unrelated individuals. An ability to distinguish kin from non-kin, and to respond accordingly, could therefore critically facilitate the evolution of eusociality and the maintenance of non-reproductive workers. The question of how the hymenopteran brain has adapted to support this function is therefore a fundamental issue in evolutionary neuroethology. Early neuroanatomical investigations proposed that social Hymenoptera have expanded integrative brain areas due to selection for increased cognitive capabilities in the context of processing social information. Later studies challenged this assumption and instead pointed to an intimate link between higher social organisation and the existence of developed sensory structures involved in recognition and communication. In particular, chemical signalling of social identity, known to be mediated through cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs), may have evolved hand in hand with a specialised chemosensory system in Hymenoptera. Here, we compile the current knowledge on this recognition system, from emitted identity signals, to the molecular and neuronal basis of chemical detection, with particular emphasis on its evolutionary history. Finally, we ask whether the evolution of social behaviour in Hymenoptera could have driven the expansion of their complex olfactory system, or whether the early origin and conservation of an olfactory subsystem dedicated to social recognition could explain the abundance of eusocial species in this insect order. Answering this question will require further comparative studies to provide a comprehensive view on lineage-specific adaptations in the olfactory pathway of Hymenoptera.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antoine Couto
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK
- Evolution, Genomes, Behaviour and Ecology (UMR 9191), IDEEV, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, IRD, 12 route 128, Gif-sur-Yvette, 91190, France
| | - Simon Marty
- Evolution, Genomes, Behaviour and Ecology (UMR 9191), IDEEV, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, IRD, 12 route 128, Gif-sur-Yvette, 91190, France
| | - Erika H Dawson
- Laboratory of Experimental and Comparative Ethology, UR 4443 (LEEC), Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, 99 avenue J.-B. Clément, Villetaneuse, 93430, France
| | - Patrizia d'Ettorre
- Laboratory of Experimental and Comparative Ethology, UR 4443 (LEEC), Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, 99 avenue J.-B. Clément, Villetaneuse, 93430, France
- Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), 103 Boulevard Saint-Michel, Paris, 75005, France
| | - Jean-Christophe Sandoz
- Evolution, Genomes, Behaviour and Ecology (UMR 9191), IDEEV, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, IRD, 12 route 128, Gif-sur-Yvette, 91190, France
| | - Stephen H Montgomery
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK
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11
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Caminer MA, Libbrecht R, Majoe M, Ho DV, Baumann P, Foitzik S. Task-specific odorant receptor expression in worker antennae indicates that sensory filters regulate division of labor in ants. Commun Biol 2023; 6:1004. [PMID: 37783732 PMCID: PMC10545721 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-05273-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Division of labor (DOL) is a characteristic trait of insect societies, where tasks are generally performed by specialized individuals. Inside workers focus on brood or nest care, while others take risks by foraging outside. Theory proposes that workers have different thresholds to perform certain tasks when confronted with task-related stimuli, leading to specialization and consequently DOL. Workers are presumed to vary in their response to task-related cues rather than in how they perceive such information. Here, we test the hypothesis that DOL instead stems from workers varying in their efficiency to detect stimuli of specific tasks. We use transcriptomics to measure mRNA expression levels in the antennae and brain of nurses and foragers of the ant Temnothorax longispinosus. We find seven times as many genes to be differentially expressed between behavioral phenotypes in the antennae compared to the brain. Moreover, half of all odorant receptors are differentially expressed, with an overrepresentation of the 9-exon gene family upregulated in the antennae of nurses. Nurses and foragers thus apparently differ in the perception of their olfactory environment and task-related signals. Our study supports the hypothesis that antennal sensory filters predispose workers to specialize in specific tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcel A Caminer
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
| | - Romain Libbrecht
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte, UMR 7261, CNRS, University of Tours, Tours, France
| | - Megha Majoe
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - David V Ho
- Institute of Developmental and Neurobiology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Peter Baumann
- Institute of Developmental and Neurobiology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
- Institute of Molecular Biology, Mainz, Germany
| | - Susanne Foitzik
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
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12
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Ferguson ST, Bakis I, Edwards ND, Zwiebel LJ. Age and Task Modulate Olfactory Sensitivity in the Florida Carpenter Ant Camponotus floridanus. INSECTS 2023; 14:724. [PMID: 37754692 PMCID: PMC10532128 DOI: 10.3390/insects14090724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2023] [Revised: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023]
Abstract
Age-related changes in behavior and sensory perception have been observed in a wide variety of animal species. In ants and other eusocial insects, workers often progress through an ordered sequence of olfactory-driven behavioral tasks. Notably, these behaviors are plastic, and workers adapt and rapidly switch tasks in response to changing environmental conditions. In the Florida carpenter ant, smaller minors typically perform most of the work needed to maintain the colony, while the larger majors are specialized for nest defense and rarely engage in these routine tasks. Here, we investigate the effects of age and task group on olfactory responses to a series of odorant blends in minor and major worker castes. Consistent with their respective roles within the colony, we observed significant age-associated shifts in the olfactory responses of minors as they transitioned between behavioral states, whereas the responses of majors remained consistently low regardless of age. Furthermore, we have identified a unitary compound, 3-methylindole, which elicited significantly higher responses and behavioral aversion in minor nurses than in similarly aged foragers suggesting that this compound may play an important role in brood care. Taken together, our results suggest that age- and task-associated shifts in olfactory physiology may play a critical role in the social organization of ant colonies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Laurence J. Zwiebel
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA; (S.T.F.); (I.B.); (N.D.E.)
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13
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Ferguson ST, Bakis I, Edwards ND, Zwiebel LJ. Age and Task Modulate Olfactory Sensitivity in the Florida Carpenter Ant Camponotus floridanus. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.07.18.549561. [PMID: 37503123 PMCID: PMC10370051 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.18.549561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
Age-related changes in behavior and sensory perception have been observed in a wide variety of animal species. In ants and other eusocial insects, workers often progress through an ordered sequence of olfactory-driven behavioral tasks. Notably, these behaviors are plastic, and workers adapt and rapidly switch tasks in response to changing environmental conditions. In the Florida carpenter ant, smaller minors typically perform most of the work needed to maintain the colony while the larger majors are specialized for nest defense and rarely engage in these routine tasks. Here, we investigate the effects of age and task group on olfactory responses to a series of odorant blends in minor and major worker castes. Consistent with their respective roles within the colony, we observed significant age-associated shifts in the olfactory responses of minors as they transitioned between behavioral states, whereas the responses of majors remained consistently low regardless of age. Furthermore, we identified a unitary compound, 3-methylindole, which elicited significantly higher responses and behavioral aversion in minor nurses than in similarly aged foragers suggesting that this compound may play an important role in brood care. Taken together, our results suggest that age- and task-associated shifts in olfactory physiology may play a critical role in the social organization of ant colonies. Simple Summary Florida carpenter ants ( Camponotus floridanus ) live in colonies comprised of thousands of workers. The smallest workers, known as minors, engage in routine tasks such as nursing and foraging while the largest workers, known as majors, are thought to be soldiers specialized for defending the nest. How ant colonies allocate their workforce to address the dynamic and ever-changing needs of the colonies remains an open question in the field, but current evidence suggests that ant social behavior likely results from a combination of genetic/epigenetic, physiological, and systems-level processes. Here, we extend these studies by investigating the role of olfactory sensitivity in regulating ant behavior. Minor workers exhibited significant shifts in olfactory sensitivity and odor coding as they aged and switched tasks. The olfactory sensitivity of majors, however, remained relatively stable as they aged. From these studies, we also identified a single compound, 3-methylindole, which elicited significantly higher olfactory responses and aversive behavior in nurses compared to foragers, suggesting that this chemical may have a role in brood care. Overall, these studies support the hypothesis that changes in olfactory sensitivity play an important role in regulating social behavior in ants.
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14
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Hart T, Frank DD, Lopes LE, Olivos-Cisneros L, Lacy KD, Trible W, Ritger A, Valdés-Rodríguez S, Kronauer DJC. Sparse and stereotyped encoding implicates a core glomerulus for ant alarm behavior. Cell 2023; 186:3079-3094.e17. [PMID: 37321218 PMCID: PMC10334690 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.05.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2022] [Revised: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Ants communicate via large arrays of pheromones and possess expanded, highly complex olfactory systems, with antennal lobes in the brain comprising up to ∼500 glomeruli. This expansion implies that odors could activate hundreds of glomeruli, which would pose challenges for higher-order processing. To study this problem, we generated transgenic ants expressing the genetically encoded calcium indicator GCaMP in olfactory sensory neurons. Using two-photon imaging, we mapped complete glomerular responses to four ant alarm pheromones. Alarm pheromones robustly activated ≤6 glomeruli, and activity maps for the three pheromones inducing panic alarm in our study species converged on a single glomerulus. These results demonstrate that, rather than using broadly tuned combinatorial encoding, ants employ precise, narrowly tuned, and stereotyped representations of alarm pheromones. The identification of a central sensory hub glomerulus for alarm behavior suggests that a simple neural architecture is sufficient to translate pheromone perception into behavioral outputs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taylor Hart
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA.
| | - Dominic D Frank
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Lindsey E Lopes
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Leonora Olivos-Cisneros
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Kip D Lacy
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Waring Trible
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA; John Harvard Distinguished Science Fellowship Program, Harvard University, 52 Oxford Street, NW Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Amelia Ritger
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA; Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Marine Science Research Building, Bldg. 520, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Stephany Valdés-Rodríguez
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Daniel J C Kronauer
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, New York, NY 10065, USA.
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15
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Eckel S, Egelhaaf M, Doussot C. Nest-associated scent marks help bumblebees localizing their nest in visually ambiguous situations. Front Behav Neurosci 2023; 17:1155223. [PMID: 37389203 PMCID: PMC10300278 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1155223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 07/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Social insects such as ants and bees are excellent navigators. To manage their daily routines bumblebees, as an example, must learn multiple locations in their environment, like flower patches and their nest. While navigating from one location to another, they mainly rely on vision. Although the environment in which bumblebees live, be it a meadow or a garden, is visually stable overall, it may be prone to changes such as moving shadows or the displacement of an object in the scenery. Therefore, bees might not solely rely on visual cues, but use additional sources of information, forming a multimodal guidance system to ensure their return home to their nest. Here we show that the home-finding behavior of bumblebees, when confronted with a visually ambiguous scenario, is strongly influenced by natural scent marks they deposit at the inconspicuous nest hole when leaving their nest. Bumblebees search for a longer time and target their search with precision at potential nest locations that are visually familiar, if also marked with their natural scent. This finding sheds light on the crucial role of odor in helping bees find their way back to their inconspicuous nest.
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16
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Zhang B, Yang RR, Jiang XC, Xu XX, Wang B, Wang GR. Genome-Wide Analysis of the Odorant Receptor Gene Family in Solenopsis invicta, Ooceraea biroi, and Monomorium pharaonis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24076624. [PMID: 37047591 PMCID: PMC10095046 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24076624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2023] [Revised: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 04/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Olfactory systems in eusocial insects play a vital role in the discrimination of various chemical cues. Odorant receptors (ORs) are critical for odorant detection, and this family has undergone extensive expansion in ants. In this study, we re-annotated the OR genes from the most destructive invasive ant species Solenopsis invicta and 2 other Formicidae species, Ooceraea biroi and Monomorium pharaonis, with the aim of systematically comparing and analyzing the evolution and the functions of the ORs in ant species, identifying 356, 298, and 306 potential functional ORs, respectively. The evolutionary analysis of these ORs showed that ants had undergone chromosomal rearrangements and that tandem duplication may be the main contributor to the expansion of the OR gene family in S. invicta. Our further analysis revealed that 9-exon ORs had biased chromosome localization patterns in all three ant species and that a 9-exon OR cluster (SinvOR4–8) in S. invicta was under strong positive selection (Ka/Ks = 1.32). Moreover, we identified 5 S. invicta OR genes, namely SinvOR89, SinvOR102, SinvOR352, SinvOR327, and SinvOR135, with high sequence similarity (>70%) to the orthologs in O. biroi and M. pharaonis. An RT-PCR analysis was used to verify the antennal expression levels of these ORs, which showed caste-specific expression. The subsequent analysis of the antennal expression profiles of the ORs of the S. invicta workers from the polygyne and monogyne social forms indicated that SinvOR35 and SinvOR252 were expressed at much higher levels in the monogyne workers than in the polygyne workers and that SinvOR21 was expressed at higher levels in polygyne workers. Our study has contributed to the identification and analysis of the OR gene family in ants and expanded the understanding of the evolution and functions of the ORs in Formicidae species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bo Zhang
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518120, China
- College of Plant Protection, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China
| | - Rong-Rong Yang
- Laboratory of Bio-Pesticide Creation and Application of Guangdong Province, College of Plant Protection, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Xing-Chuan Jiang
- College of Plant Protection, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China
| | - Xiao-Xia Xu
- Laboratory of Bio-Pesticide Creation and Application of Guangdong Province, College of Plant Protection, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Bing Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Gui-Rong Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518120, China
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17
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Gomez Ramirez WC, Thomas NK, Muktar IJ, Riabinina O. The neuroecology of olfaction in bees. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2023; 56:101018. [PMID: 36842606 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2023.101018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2022] [Revised: 11/30/2022] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
The focus of bee neuroscience has for a long time been on only a handful of social honeybee and bumblebee species, out of thousands of bees species that have been described. On the other hand, information about the chemical ecology of bees is much more abundant. Here we attempted to compile the scarce information about olfactory systems of bees across species. We also review the major categories of intra- and inter-specific olfactory behaviors of bees, with specific focus on recent literature. We finish by discussing the most promising avenues for bee olfactory research in the near future.
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18
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One genome, multiple phenotypes: decoding the evolution and mechanisms of environmentally induced developmental plasticity in insects. Biochem Soc Trans 2023; 51:675-689. [PMID: 36929376 DOI: 10.1042/bst20210995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2022] [Revised: 02/16/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023]
Abstract
Plasticity in developmental processes gives rise to remarkable environmentally induced phenotypes. Some of the most striking and well-studied examples of developmental plasticity are seen in insects. For example, beetle horn size responds to nutritional state, butterfly eyespots are enlarged in response to temperature and humidity, and environmental cues also give rise to the queen and worker castes of eusocial insects. These phenotypes arise from essentially identical genomes in response to an environmental cue during development. Developmental plasticity is taxonomically widespread, affects individual fitness, and may act as a rapid-response mechanism allowing individuals to adapt to changing environments. Despite the importance and prevalence of developmental plasticity, there remains scant mechanistic understanding of how it works or evolves. In this review, we use key examples to discuss what is known about developmental plasticity in insects and identify fundamental gaps in the current knowledge. We highlight the importance of working towards a fully integrated understanding of developmental plasticity in a diverse range of species. Furthermore, we advocate for the use of comparative studies in an evo-devo framework to address how developmental plasticity works and how it evolves.
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19
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Watanabe H, Ogata S, Nodomi N, Tateishi K, Nishino H, Matsubara R, Ozaki M, Yokohari F. Cuticular hydrocarbon reception by sensory neurons in basiconic sensilla of the Japanese carpenter ant. Front Cell Neurosci 2023; 17:1084803. [PMID: 36814868 PMCID: PMC9940637 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2023.1084803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 01/17/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2023] Open
Abstract
To maintain the eusociality of a colony, ants recognize subtle differences in colony-specific sets of cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs). The CHCs are received by female-specific antennal basiconic sensilla and processed in specific brain regions. However, it is controversial whether a peripheral or central neural mechanism is mainly responsible for discrimination of CHC blends. In the Japanese carpenter ant, Camponotus japonicus, about 140 sensory neurons (SNs) are co-housed in a single basiconic sensillum and receive colony-specific blends of 18 CHCs. The complexity of this CHC sensory process makes the neural basis of peripheral nestmate recognition difficult to understand. Here, we electrophysiologically recorded responses of single basiconic sensilla to each of 18 synthesized CHCs, and identified CHC responses of each SN co-housed in a single sensillum. Each CHC activated different sets of SNs and each SN was broadly tuned to CHCs. Multiple SNs in a given sensillum fired in synchrony, and the synchronicity of spikes was impaired by treatment with a gap junction inhibitor. These results indicated that SNs in single basiconic sensilla were electrically coupled. Quantitative analysis indicated that the Japanese carpenter ants have the potential to discriminate chemical structures of CHCs based on the combinational patterns of activated SNs. SNs of ants from different colonies exhibited different CHC response spectra. In addition, ants collected from the same colony but bred in separate groups also exhibited different CHC response spectra. These results support the hypothesis that the peripheral sensory mechanism is important for discrimination between nestmate and non-nestmate ants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hidehiro Watanabe
- Department of Earth System Science, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan,*Correspondence: Hidehiro Watanabe,
| | - Shoji Ogata
- Department of Earth System Science, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Nonoka Nodomi
- Department of Earth System Science, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Kosuke Tateishi
- Department of Earth System Science, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Nishino
- Research Institute for Electronic Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Ryosuke Matsubara
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan
| | - Mamiko Ozaki
- Department of Biology, Graduate School of Science, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan,KYOUSEI Science Center for Life and Nature, Nara Women’s University, Nara, Japan
| | - Fumio Yokohari
- Department of Earth System Science, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan
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20
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Johny J, Diallo S, Lukšan O, Shewale M, Kalinová B, Hanus R, Große-Wilde E. Conserved orthology in termite chemosensory gene families. Front Ecol Evol 2023. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.1065947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Termites are eusocial insects known to use a variety of pheromones in tasks necessary for maintenance of their societies. As such, olfaction and pheromone communication in termites has been an object of intense study; trail-following pheromones (TFPs) and sex-pairing pheromones (SPPs), for example, have been identified in many termite species. In contrast, the molecular basis of olfactory detection is understudied in the group. Here, we present chemosensory genes of three species of termites belonging to three distinct lineages, Neotermes cubanus (Kalotermitidae), Prorhinotermes simplex (Rhinotermitidae), and Inquilinitermes inquilinus (Termitidae). Using antennal transcriptome screening of termite workers, we identified the chemosensory genes, which allowed us to perform phylogenetic analysis. We found a comparatively large repertoires of odorant receptors (ORs), gustatory receptors (GRs), ionotropic receptors (IRs), odorant binding proteins (OBPs), chemosensory proteins (CSPs), and sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs). The evolutionary analysis of termite chemosensory genes revealed Isoptera-specific expansions with a 1:1 orthologous pattern, indicating the existence of conserved olfactory functions. Our findings on basal eusocial insects will further enhance our understanding of the molecular underpinnings of eusociality and the evolution of olfactory communication in termites.
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21
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Ferguson ST, Bakis I, Edwards ND, Zwiebel LJ. Olfactory sensitivity differentiates morphologically distinct worker castes in Camponotus floridanus. BMC Biol 2023; 21:3. [PMID: 36617574 PMCID: PMC9827628 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-022-01505-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2022] [Accepted: 12/08/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Camponotus floridanus ant colonies are comprised of a single reproductive queen and thousands of sterile female offspring that consist of two morphologically distinct castes: smaller minors and larger majors. Minors perform most of the tasks within the colony, including brood care and food collection, whereas majors have fewer clear roles and have been hypothesized to act as a specialized solider caste associated with colony defense. The allocation of workers to these different tasks depends, in part, on the detection and processing of local information including pheromones and other chemical blends such as cuticular hydrocarbons. However, the role peripheral olfactory sensitivity plays in establishing and maintaining morphologically distinct worker castes and their associated behaviors remains largely unexplored. RESULTS We examined the electrophysiological responses to general odorants, cuticular extracts, and a trail pheromone in adult minor and major C. floridanus workers, revealing that the repertoire of social behaviors is positively correlated with olfactory sensitivity. Minors in particular display primarily excitatory responses to olfactory stimuli, whereas major workers primarily manifest suppressed, sub-solvent responses. The notable exception to this paradigm is that both minors and majors display robust, dose-dependent excitatory responses to conspecific, non-nestmate cuticular extracts. Moreover, while both minors and majors actively aggress non-nestmate foes, the larger and physiologically distinct majors display significantly enhanced capabilities to rapidly subdue and kill their adversaries. CONCLUSIONS Our studies reveal the behavioral repertoire of minors and majors aligns with profound shifts in peripheral olfactory sensitivity and odor coding. The data reported here support the hypothesis that minors are multipotential workers with broad excitatory sensitivity, and majors are dedicated soldiers with a highly specialized olfactory system for distinguishing non-nestmate foes. Overall, we conclude that C. floridanus majors do indeed represent a physiologically and behaviorally specialized soldier caste in which caste-specific olfactory sensitivity plays an important role in task allocation and the regulation of social behavior in ant colonies.
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Affiliation(s)
- S. T. Ferguson
- grid.152326.10000 0001 2264 7217Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235 USA
| | - I. Bakis
- grid.152326.10000 0001 2264 7217Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235 USA
| | - N. D. Edwards
- grid.152326.10000 0001 2264 7217Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235 USA
| | - L. J. Zwiebel
- grid.152326.10000 0001 2264 7217Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235 USA
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22
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Abstract
Sex pheromones are pivotal for insect reproduction. However, the mechanism of sex pheromone communication remains enigmatic in hymenopteran parasitoids. Here we have identified the sex pheromone and elucidated the olfactory basis of sex pheromone communication in Campoletis chlorideae (Ichneumonidae), a solitary larval endoparasitoid of over 30 lepidopteran pests. Using coupled gas chromatography-electroantennogram detection, we identified two female-derived pheromone components, tetradecanal (14:Ald) and 2-heptadecanone (2-Hep) (1:4.6), eliciting strong antennal responses from males but weak responses from females. We observed that males but not females were attracted to both single components and the blend. The hexane-washed female cadavers failed to arouse males, and replenishing 14:Ald and 2-Hep could partially restore the sexual attraction of males. We further expressed six C. chlorideae male-biased odorant receptors in Drosophila T1 neurons and found that CchlOR18 and CchlOR47 were selectively tuned to 14:Ald and 2-Hep, respectively. To verify the biological significance of this data, we knocked down CchlOR18 and CchlOR47 individually or together in vivo and show that the attraction of C. chlorideae to their respective ligands was abolished. Moreover, the parasitoids defective in either of the receptors were less likely to court and copulate. Finally, we show that the sex pheromone and (Z)-jasmone, a potent female attractant, can synergistically affect behaviors of virgin males and virgin females and ultimately increase the parasitic efficiency of C. chlorideae. Our study provides new insights into the molecular mechanism of sex pheromone communication in C. chlorideae that may permit manipulation of parasitoid behavior for pest control.
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23
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Gellert HR, Halley DC, Sieb ZJ, Smith JC, Pask GM. Microstructures at the distal tip of ant chemosensory sensilla. Sci Rep 2022; 12:19328. [PMID: 36369461 PMCID: PMC9652420 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-21507-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Ants and other eusocial insects emit and receive chemical signals to communicate important information within the colony. In ants, nestmate recognition, task allocation, and reproductive distribution of labor are largely mediated through the detection of cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) that cover the exoskeleton. With their large size and limited volatility, these CHCs are believed to be primarily detected through direct contact with the antennae during behavioral interactions. Here we first use scanning electron microscopy to investigate the unique morphological features of CHC-sensitive basiconic sensilla of two ant species, the black carpenter ant Camponotus pennsylvanicus and the Indian jumping ant Harpegnathos saltator. These basiconic sensilla possess an abundance of small pores typical of most insect olfactory sensilla, but also have a large concave depression at the terminal end. Basiconic sensilla are enriched at the distal segments of the antennae in both species, which aligns with their proposed role in contact chemosensation of CHCs. A survey of these sensilla across additional ant species shows varied microstructures at their tips, but each possess surface textures that would also increase sensory surface area. These unique ant chemosensory sensilla represent yet another example of how specialized structures have evolved to serve the functional requirements of eusocial communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah R Gellert
- Department of Biology, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT, 05753, USA
| | - Daphné C Halley
- Program in Environmental Studies, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT, 05753, USA
| | - Zackary J Sieb
- Program in Neuroscience, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT, 05753, USA
| | - Jody C Smith
- Sciences Technical Support Services, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT, 05753, USA
| | - Gregory M Pask
- Department of Biology, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT, 05753, USA.
- Program in Neuroscience, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT, 05753, USA.
- Program in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT, 05753, USA.
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Bles O, Deneubourg JL, Sueur C, Nicolis SC. A Data-Driven Simulation of the Trophallactic Network and Intranidal Food Flow Dissemination in Ants. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:2963. [PMID: 36359087 PMCID: PMC9655576 DOI: 10.3390/ani12212963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2022] [Revised: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Food sharing can occur in both social and non-social species, but it is crucial in eusocial species, in which only some group members collect food. This food collection and the intranidal (i.e., inside the nest) food distribution through trophallactic (i.e., mouth-to-mouth) exchanges are fundamental in eusocial insects. However, the behavioural rules underlying the regulation and the dynamics of food intake and the resulting networks of exchange are poorly understood. In this study, we provide new insights into the behavioural rules underlying the structure of trophallactic networks and food dissemination dynamics within the colony. We build a simple data-driven model that implements interindividual variability and the division of labour to investigate the processes of food accumulation/dissemination inside the nest, both at the individual and collective levels. We also test the alternative hypotheses (no variability and no division of labour). The division of labour, combined with inter-individual variability, leads to predictions of the food dynamics and exchange networks that run, contrary to the other models. Our results suggest a link between the interindividual heterogeneity of the trophallactic behaviours, the food flow dynamics and the network of trophallactic events. Our results show that a slight level of heterogeneity in the number of trophallactic events is enough to generate the properties of the experimental networks and seems to be crucial for the creation of efficient trophallactic networks. Despite the relative simplicity of the model rules, efficient trophallactic networks may emerge as the networks observed in ants, leading to a better understanding of the evolution of self-organisation in such societies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivier Bles
- Center for Nonlinear Phenomena and Complex Systems (Cenoli)—CP 231, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), B-1050 Bruxelles, Belgium
| | - Jean-Louis Deneubourg
- Center for Nonlinear Phenomena and Complex Systems (Cenoli)—CP 231, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), B-1050 Bruxelles, Belgium
| | - Cédric Sueur
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), IPHC (Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien), UMR 7178, 67000 Strasbourg, France
- Institut Universitaire de France, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Stamatios C. Nicolis
- Center for Nonlinear Phenomena and Complex Systems (Cenoli)—CP 231, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), B-1050 Bruxelles, Belgium
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25
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Boulton RA, Field J. Sensory plasticity in a socially plastic bee. J Evol Biol 2022; 35:1218-1228. [PMID: 35849730 PMCID: PMC9543577 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.14065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The social Hymenoptera have contributed much to our understanding of the evolution of sensory systems. Attention has focussed chiefly on how sociality and sensory systems have evolved together. In the Hymenoptera, the antennal sensilla are important for optimizing the perception of olfactory social information. Social species have denser antennal sensilla than solitary species, which is thought to enhance social cohesion through nestmate recognition. In the current study, we test whether sensilla numbers vary between populations of the socially plastic sweat bee Halictus rubicundus from regions that vary in climate and the degree to which sociality is expressed. We found population differences in both olfactory and hygro/thermoreceptive sensilla numbers. We also found evidence that olfactory sensilla density is developmentally plastic: when we transplanted bees from Scotland to the south-east of England, their offspring (which developed in the south) had more olfactory hairs than the transplanted individuals themselves (which developed in Scotland). The transplanted bees displayed a mix of social (a queen plus workers) and solitary nesting, but neither individual nor nest phenotype was related to sensilla density. We suggest that this general, rather than caste-specific sensory plasticity provides a flexible means to optimize sensory perception according to the most pressing demands of the environment. Sensory plasticity may support social plasticity in H. rubicundus but does not appear to be causally related to it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca A Boulton
- Laboratory of Genetics, Plant Sciences Group, University of Stirling, Wageningen, The Netherlands.,Biological and Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University & Research, Stirling, UK
| | - Jeremy Field
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
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26
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Mier P, Fontaine JF, Stoldt M, Libbrecht R, Martelli C, Foitzik S, Andrade-Navarro MA. Annotation and Analysis of 3902 Odorant Receptor Protein Sequences from 21 Insect Species Provide Insights into the Evolution of Odorant Receptor Gene Families in Solitary and Social Insects. Genes (Basel) 2022; 13:genes13050919. [PMID: 35627304 PMCID: PMC9141868 DOI: 10.3390/genes13050919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Revised: 05/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The gene family of insect olfactory receptors (ORs) has expanded greatly over the course of evolution. ORs enable insects to detect volatile chemicals and therefore play an important role in social interactions, enemy and prey recognition, and foraging. The sequences of several thousand ORs are known, but their specific function or their ligands have only been identified for very few of them. To advance the functional characterization of ORs, we have assembled, curated, and aligned the sequences of 3902 ORs from 21 insect species, which we provide as an annotated online resource. Using functionally characterized proteins from the fly Drosophila melanogaster, the mosquito Anopheles gambiae and the ant Harpegnathos saltator, we identified amino acid positions that best predict response to ligands. We examined the conservation of these predicted relevant residues in all OR subfamilies; the results showed that the subfamilies that expanded strongly in social insects had a high degree of conservation in their binding sites. This suggests that the ORs of social insect families are typically finely tuned and exhibit sensitivity to very similar odorants. Our novel approach provides a powerful tool to exploit functional information from a limited number of genes to study the functional evolution of large gene families.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Mier
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution (iomE), Faculty of Biology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Hanns-Dieter-Hüsch-Weg 15, 55128 Mainz, Germany; (J.-F.F.); (M.S.); (R.L.); (S.F.); (M.A.A.-N.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Jean-Fred Fontaine
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution (iomE), Faculty of Biology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Hanns-Dieter-Hüsch-Weg 15, 55128 Mainz, Germany; (J.-F.F.); (M.S.); (R.L.); (S.F.); (M.A.A.-N.)
| | - Marah Stoldt
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution (iomE), Faculty of Biology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Hanns-Dieter-Hüsch-Weg 15, 55128 Mainz, Germany; (J.-F.F.); (M.S.); (R.L.); (S.F.); (M.A.A.-N.)
| | - Romain Libbrecht
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution (iomE), Faculty of Biology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Hanns-Dieter-Hüsch-Weg 15, 55128 Mainz, Germany; (J.-F.F.); (M.S.); (R.L.); (S.F.); (M.A.A.-N.)
| | - Carlotta Martelli
- Institute of Developmental Biology and Neurobiology (iDN), Faculty of Biology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Hanns-Dieter-Hüsch-Weg 15, 55128 Mainz, Germany;
| | - Susanne Foitzik
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution (iomE), Faculty of Biology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Hanns-Dieter-Hüsch-Weg 15, 55128 Mainz, Germany; (J.-F.F.); (M.S.); (R.L.); (S.F.); (M.A.A.-N.)
| | - Miguel A. Andrade-Navarro
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution (iomE), Faculty of Biology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Hanns-Dieter-Hüsch-Weg 15, 55128 Mainz, Germany; (J.-F.F.); (M.S.); (R.L.); (S.F.); (M.A.A.-N.)
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27
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Guo H, Gong XL, Li GC, Mo BT, Jiang NJ, Huang LQ, Wang CZ. Functional analysis of pheromone receptor repertoire in the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda. PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 2022; 78:2052-2064. [PMID: 35124874 DOI: 10.1002/ps.6831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2021] [Revised: 11/26/2021] [Accepted: 02/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith), is a polyphagous moth species that is spreading all around the globe. It uses (Z)-9-tetradecenyl acetate (Z9-14:Ac) and (Z)-7-dodecenyl acetate (Z7-12:Ac) (100:3.9) as essential sex pheromone components. However, our understanding of the molecular basis of pheromone detection of S. frugiperda is still incomplete. RESULTS Herein, we identified six PRs, i.e. SfruOR6, 11, 13, 16, 56, and 62, by transcriptome sequencing. Subsequently, we heterologously expressed them in Drosophila OR67d neurons and determined their response spectra with a large panel of sex pheromones and analogs. Among them, SfruOR13-expressing neurons strongly respond to the major sex pheromone component Z9-14:Ac, but also comparably to (Z,E)-9,12-tetradecadienyl acetate (Z9,E12-14:Ac) and weakly to (Z)-9-dodecenyl acetate (Z9-12:Ac). Both SfruOR56 and SfruOR62 are specifically tuned to the minor sex pheromone component Z7-12:Ac with varying intensities and sensitivities. In addition, SfruOR6 is activated only by Z9,E12-14:Ac, and SfruOR16 by both (Z)-9-tetradecenol (Z9-14:OH) and (Z)-9-tetradecenal (Z9-14:Ald). However, the OR67d neurons expressing SfruOR11 remain silent to all compounds tested, a phenomenon commonly found in the OR11 clade of Noctuidae species. Next, using single sensillum recording, we characterized four sensilla types on the antennae of males, namely A, B, C and D types that are tuned to the ligands of PRs, thereby confirming that S. frugiperda uses both SfruOR56 and SfruOR62 to detect Z7-12:Ac. Finally, using wind tunnel assay, we demonstrate that both Z9,E12-14:Ac and Z9-14:OH act as antagonists to the sex pheromone. CONCLUSION We have deorphanized five PRs and characterized four types of sensilla responsible for the detection of pheromone compounds, providing insights into the peripheral encoding of sex pheromones in S. frugiperda.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xin-Lin Gong
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Guo-Cheng Li
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Bao-Tong Mo
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Nan-Ji Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Ling-Qiao Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Chen-Zhu Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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28
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Sims C, Birkett MA, Withall DM. Enantiomeric Discrimination in Insects: The Role of OBPs and ORs. INSECTS 2022; 13:368. [PMID: 35447810 PMCID: PMC9030700 DOI: 10.3390/insects13040368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2022] [Revised: 03/25/2022] [Accepted: 03/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Olfaction is a complex recognition process that is critical for chemical communication in insects. Though some insect species are capable of discrimination between compounds that are structurally similar, little is understood about how this high level of discrimination arises. Some insects rely on discriminating between enantiomers of a compound, demonstrating an ability for highly selective recognition. The role of two major peripheral olfactory proteins in insect olfaction, i.e., odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) and odorant receptors (ORs) has been extensively studied. OBPs and ORs have variable discrimination capabilities, with some found to display highly specialized binding capability, whilst others exhibit promiscuous binding activity. A deeper understanding of how odorant-protein interactions induce a response in an insect relies on further analysis such as structural studies. In this review, we explore the potential role of OBPs and ORs in highly specific recognition, specifically enantiomeric discrimination. We summarize the state of research into OBP and OR function and focus on reported examples in the literature of clear enantiomeric discrimination by these proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cassie Sims
- Biointeractions and Crop Protection Department, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire AL5 2JQ, UK; (C.S.); (M.A.B.)
- School of Chemistry, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Michael A. Birkett
- Biointeractions and Crop Protection Department, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire AL5 2JQ, UK; (C.S.); (M.A.B.)
| | - David M. Withall
- Biointeractions and Crop Protection Department, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire AL5 2JQ, UK; (C.S.); (M.A.B.)
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29
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Kanwal JK, Parker J. The neural basis of interspecies interactions in insects. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2022; 50:100891. [PMID: 35218937 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2022.100891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2022] [Revised: 02/16/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
As insects move through the world, they continuously engage in behavioral interactions with other species. These interactions take on a spectrum of forms, from inconsequential encounters to predation, defense, and specialized symbiotic partnerships. All such interactions rely on sensorimotor pathways that carry out efficient categorization of different organisms and enact behaviors that cross species boundaries. Despite the universality of interspecies interactions, how insect brains perceive and process salient features of other species remains unexplored. Here, we present an overview of major questions concerning the neurobiology and evolution of behavioral interactions between species, providing a framework for future research on this critical role of the insect nervous system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessleen K Kanwal
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA, USA.
| | - Joseph Parker
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA, USA.
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30
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Pulliainen U, Morandin C, Bos N, Sundström L, Schultner E. Social environment affects sensory gene expression in ant larvae. INSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2022; 31:1-9. [PMID: 34418191 DOI: 10.1111/imb.12732] [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: 05/04/2021] [Revised: 07/08/2021] [Accepted: 08/16/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Social insects depend on communication to regulate social behaviour. This also applies to their larvae, which are commonly exposed to social interactions and can react to social stimulation. However, how social insect larvae sense their environment is not known. Using RNAseq, we characterized expression of sensory-related genes in larvae of the ant Formica fusca, upon exposure to two social environments: isolation without contact to other individuals, and stimulation via the presence of other developing individuals. Expression of key sensory-related genes was higher following social stimulation, and larvae expressed many of the same sensory-related genes as adult ants and larvae of other insects, including genes belonging to the major insect chemosensory gene families. Our study provides first insights into the molecular changes associated with social information perception in social insect larvae.
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Affiliation(s)
- U Pulliainen
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Tvärminne Zoological Station, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - C Morandin
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Biophore, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - N Bos
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - L Sundström
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Tvärminne Zoological Station, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - E Schultner
- Zoology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
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31
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Jongepier E, Séguret A, Labutin A, Feldmeyer B, Gstöttl C, Foitzik S, Heinze J, Bornberg-Bauer E. Convergent Loss of Chemoreceptors across Independent Origins of Slave-Making in Ants. Mol Biol Evol 2022; 39:msab305. [PMID: 34668533 PMCID: PMC8760941 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msab305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The evolution of an obligate parasitic lifestyle often leads to the reduction of morphological and physiological traits, which may be accompanied by loss of genes and functions. Slave-making ants are social parasites that exploit the work force of closely related ant species for social behaviors such as brood care and foraging. Recent divergence between these social parasites and their hosts enables comparative studies of gene family evolution. We sequenced the genomes of eight ant species, representing three independent origins of ant slavery. During the evolution of eusociality, chemoreceptor genes multiplied due to the importance of chemical communication in insect societies. We investigated the evolutionary fate of these chemoreceptors and found that slave-making ant genomes harbored only half as many gustatory receptors as their hosts', potentially mirroring the outsourcing of foraging tasks to host workers. In addition, parasites had fewer odorant receptors and their loss shows striking patterns of convergence across independent origins of parasitism, in particular in orthologs often implicated in sociality like the 9-exon odorant receptors. These convergent losses represent a rare case of convergent molecular evolution at the level of individual genes. Thus, evolution can operate in a way that is both repeatable and reversible when independent ant lineages lose important social traits during the transition to a parasitic lifestyle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evelien Jongepier
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, Westfälische Wilhelms University, Münster, Germany
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Alice Séguret
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, Westfälische Wilhelms University, Münster, Germany
| | - Anton Labutin
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, Westfälische Wilhelms University, Münster, Germany
| | - Barbara Feldmeyer
- Molecular Ecology Group, Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Claudia Gstöttl
- Institute for Zoology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Susanne Foitzik
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
| | - Jürgen Heinze
- Institute for Zoology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Erich Bornberg-Bauer
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, Westfälische Wilhelms University, Münster, Germany
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32
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Parisot N, Vargas-Chávez C, Goubert C, Baa-Puyoulet P, Balmand S, Beranger L, Blanc C, Bonnamour A, Boulesteix M, Burlet N, Calevro F, Callaerts P, Chancy T, Charles H, Colella S, Da Silva Barbosa A, Dell'Aglio E, Di Genova A, Febvay G, Gabaldón T, Galvão Ferrarini M, Gerber A, Gillet B, Hubley R, Hughes S, Jacquin-Joly E, Maire J, Marcet-Houben M, Masson F, Meslin C, Montagné N, Moya A, Ribeiro de Vasconcelos AT, Richard G, Rosen J, Sagot MF, Smit AFA, Storer JM, Vincent-Monegat C, Vallier A, Vigneron A, Zaidman-Rémy A, Zamoum W, Vieira C, Rebollo R, Latorre A, Heddi A. The transposable element-rich genome of the cereal pest Sitophilus oryzae. BMC Biol 2021; 19:241. [PMID: 34749730 PMCID: PMC8576890 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-021-01158-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2021] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The rice weevil Sitophilus oryzae is one of the most important agricultural pests, causing extensive damage to cereal in fields and to stored grains. S. oryzae has an intracellular symbiotic relationship (endosymbiosis) with the Gram-negative bacterium Sodalis pierantonius and is a valuable model to decipher host-symbiont molecular interactions. RESULTS We sequenced the Sitophilus oryzae genome using a combination of short and long reads to produce the best assembly for a Curculionidae species to date. We show that S. oryzae has undergone successive bursts of transposable element (TE) amplification, representing 72% of the genome. In addition, we show that many TE families are transcriptionally active, and changes in their expression are associated with insect endosymbiotic state. S. oryzae has undergone a high gene expansion rate, when compared to other beetles. Reconstruction of host-symbiont metabolic networks revealed that, despite its recent association with cereal weevils (30 kyear), S. pierantonius relies on the host for several amino acids and nucleotides to survive and to produce vitamins and essential amino acids required for insect development and cuticle biosynthesis. CONCLUSIONS Here we present the genome of an agricultural pest beetle, which may act as a foundation for pest control. In addition, S. oryzae may be a useful model for endosymbiosis, and studying TE evolution and regulation, along with the impact of TEs on eukaryotic genomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Parisot
- Univ Lyon, INSA Lyon, INRAE, BF2I, UMR 203, 69621 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Carlos Vargas-Chávez
- Univ Lyon, INSA Lyon, INRAE, BF2I, UMR 203, 69621 Villeurbanne, France
- Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SySBio), Universitat de València and Spanish Research Council (CSIC), València, Spain
- Present Address: Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE), CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Clément Goubert
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, UMR5558, Université Lyon 1, Université Lyon, Villeurbanne, France
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, 526 Campus Rd, Ithaca, New York, 14853, USA
- Present Address: Human Genetics, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | | | - Séverine Balmand
- Univ Lyon, INSA Lyon, INRAE, BF2I, UMR 203, 69621 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Louis Beranger
- Univ Lyon, INSA Lyon, INRAE, BF2I, UMR 203, 69621 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Caroline Blanc
- Univ Lyon, INSA Lyon, INRAE, BF2I, UMR 203, 69621 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Aymeric Bonnamour
- Univ Lyon, INSA Lyon, INRAE, BF2I, UMR 203, 69621 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Matthieu Boulesteix
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, UMR5558, Université Lyon 1, Université Lyon, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Nelly Burlet
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, UMR5558, Université Lyon 1, Université Lyon, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Federica Calevro
- Univ Lyon, INSA Lyon, INRAE, BF2I, UMR 203, 69621 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Patrick Callaerts
- Department of Human Genetics, Laboratory of Behavioral and Developmental Genetics, KU Leuven, University of Leuven, B-3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Théo Chancy
- Univ Lyon, INSA Lyon, INRAE, BF2I, UMR 203, 69621 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Hubert Charles
- Univ Lyon, INSA Lyon, INRAE, BF2I, UMR 203, 69621 Villeurbanne, France
- ERABLE European Team, INRIA, Rhône-Alpes, France
| | - Stefano Colella
- Univ Lyon, INSA Lyon, INRAE, BF2I, UMR 203, 69621 Villeurbanne, France
- Present Address: LSTM, Laboratoire des Symbioses Tropicales et Méditerranéennes, IRD, CIRAD, INRAE, SupAgro, Univ Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - André Da Silva Barbosa
- INRAE, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, IRD, UPEC, Université de Paris, Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of Paris, Versailles, France
| | - Elisa Dell'Aglio
- Univ Lyon, INSA Lyon, INRAE, BF2I, UMR 203, 69621 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Alex Di Genova
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, UMR5558, Université Lyon 1, Université Lyon, Villeurbanne, France
- ERABLE European Team, INRIA, Rhône-Alpes, France
- Instituto de Ciencias de la Ingeniería, Universidad de O'Higgins, Rancagua, Chile
| | - Gérard Febvay
- Univ Lyon, INSA Lyon, INRAE, BF2I, UMR 203, 69621 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Toni Gabaldón
- Life Sciences, Barcelona Supercomputing Centre (BSC-CNS), Barcelona, Spain
- Mechanisms of Disease, Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB), Barcelona, Spain
- Institut Catalan de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Alexandra Gerber
- Laboratório de Bioinformática, Laboratório Nacional de Computação Científica, Petrópolis, Brazil
| | - Benjamin Gillet
- Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon (IGFL), Université de Lyon, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, CNRS UMR 5242, Lyon, France
| | | | - Sandrine Hughes
- Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon (IGFL), Université de Lyon, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, CNRS UMR 5242, Lyon, France
| | - Emmanuelle Jacquin-Joly
- INRAE, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, IRD, UPEC, Université de Paris, Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of Paris, Versailles, France
| | - Justin Maire
- Univ Lyon, INSA Lyon, INRAE, BF2I, UMR 203, 69621 Villeurbanne, France
- Present Address: School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | | | - Florent Masson
- Univ Lyon, INSA Lyon, INRAE, BF2I, UMR 203, 69621 Villeurbanne, France
- Present Address: Global Health Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Camille Meslin
- INRAE, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, IRD, UPEC, Université de Paris, Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of Paris, Versailles, France
| | - Nicolas Montagné
- INRAE, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, IRD, UPEC, Université de Paris, Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of Paris, Versailles, France
| | - Andrés Moya
- Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SySBio), Universitat de València and Spanish Research Council (CSIC), València, Spain
- Foundation for the Promotion of Sanitary and Biomedical Research of Valencian Community (FISABIO), València, Spain
| | | | - Gautier Richard
- IGEPP, INRAE, Institut Agro, Université de Rennes, Domaine de la Motte, 35653, Le Rheu, France
| | - Jeb Rosen
- Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Marie-France Sagot
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, UMR5558, Université Lyon 1, Université Lyon, Villeurbanne, France
- ERABLE European Team, INRIA, Rhône-Alpes, France
| | | | | | | | - Agnès Vallier
- Univ Lyon, INSA Lyon, INRAE, BF2I, UMR 203, 69621 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Aurélien Vigneron
- Univ Lyon, INSA Lyon, INRAE, BF2I, UMR 203, 69621 Villeurbanne, France
- Present Address: Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Institute for Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55128, Mainz, Germany
| | - Anna Zaidman-Rémy
- Univ Lyon, INSA Lyon, INRAE, BF2I, UMR 203, 69621 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Waël Zamoum
- Univ Lyon, INSA Lyon, INRAE, BF2I, UMR 203, 69621 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Cristina Vieira
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, UMR5558, Université Lyon 1, Université Lyon, Villeurbanne, France.
- ERABLE European Team, INRIA, Rhône-Alpes, France.
| | - Rita Rebollo
- Univ Lyon, INSA Lyon, INRAE, BF2I, UMR 203, 69621 Villeurbanne, France.
| | - Amparo Latorre
- Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SySBio), Universitat de València and Spanish Research Council (CSIC), València, Spain.
- Foundation for the Promotion of Sanitary and Biomedical Research of Valencian Community (FISABIO), València, Spain.
| | - Abdelaziz Heddi
- Univ Lyon, INSA Lyon, INRAE, BF2I, UMR 203, 69621 Villeurbanne, France.
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Hou XQ, Yuvaraj JK, Roberts RE, Zhang DD, Unelius CR, Löfstedt C, Andersson MN. Functional Evolution of a Bark Beetle Odorant Receptor Clade Detecting Monoterpenoids of Different Ecological Origins. Mol Biol Evol 2021; 38:4934-4947. [PMID: 34293158 PMCID: PMC8557457 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msab218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Insects detect odors using an array of odorant receptors (ORs), which may expand through gene duplication. How and which new functions may evolve among related ORs within a species remain poorly investigated. We addressed this question by functionally characterizing ORs from the Eurasian spruce bark beetle Ips typographus, in which physiological and behavioral responses to pheromones, volatiles from host and nonhost trees, and fungal symbionts are well described. In contrast, knowledge of OR function is restricted to two receptors detecting the pheromone compounds (S)-(-)-ipsenol (ItypOR46) and (R)-(-)-ipsdienol (ItypOR49). These receptors belong to an Ips-specific OR-lineage comprising seven ItypORs. To gain insight into the functional evolution of related ORs, we characterized the five remaining ORs in this clade using Xenopus oocytes. Two receptors responded primarily to the host tree monoterpenes (+)-3-carene (ItypOR25) and p-cymene (ItypOR27). Two receptors responded to oxygenated monoterpenoids produced in larger relative amounts by the beetle-associated fungi, with ItypOR23 specific for (+)-trans-(1R, 4S)-4-thujanol, and ItypOR29 responding to (+)-isopinocamphone and similar ketones. ItypOR28 responded to the pheromone E-myrcenol from the competitor Ips duplicatus. Overall, the OR responses match well with those of previously characterized olfactory sensory neuron classes except that neurons detecting E-myrcenol have not been identified. The characterized ORs are under strong purifying selection and demonstrate a shared functional property in that they all primarily respond to monoterpenoids. The variation in functional groups among OR ligands and their diverse ecological origins suggest that neofunctionalization has occurred early in the evolution of this OR-lineage following gene duplication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Qing Hou
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | | | | | - Dan-Dan Zhang
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - C Rikard Unelius
- Department of Chemistry and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden
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34
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Couto A, Arnold G, Ai H, Sandoz JC. Interspecific variation of antennal lobe composition among four hornet species. Sci Rep 2021; 11:20883. [PMID: 34686710 PMCID: PMC8536693 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-00280-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2021] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Olfaction is a crucial sensory modality underlying foraging, social and mating behaviors in many insects. Since the olfactory system is at the interface between the animal and its environment, it receives strong evolutionary pressures that promote neuronal adaptations and phenotypic variations across species. Hornets are large eusocial predatory wasps with a highly developed olfactory system, critical for foraging and intra-specific communication. In their natural range, hornet species display contrasting ecologies and olfactory-based behaviors, which might match to adaptive shifts in their olfactory system. The first olfactory processing center of the insect brain, the antennal lobe, is made of morphological and functional units called glomeruli. Using fluorescent staining, confocal microscopy and 3D reconstructions, we compared antennal lobe structure, glomerular numbers and volumes in four hornet species (Vespa crabro, Vespa velutina, Vespa mandarinia and Vespa orientalis) with marked differences in nesting site preferences and predatory behaviors. Despite a conserved organization of their antennal lobe compartments, glomeruli numbers varied strongly between species, including in a subsystem thought to process intraspecific cuticular signals. Moreover, specific adaptations involving enlarged glomeruli appeared in two species, V. crabro and V. mandarinia, but not in the others. We discuss the possible function of these adaptations based on species-specific behavioral differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antoine Couto
- Laboratory Evolution Genomes Behavior and Ecology, CNRS, University Paris-Sud, IRD, Université Paris Saclay, 1 avenue de la Terrasse, 91198, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.,School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Gérard Arnold
- Laboratory Evolution Genomes Behavior and Ecology, CNRS, University Paris-Sud, IRD, Université Paris Saclay, 1 avenue de la Terrasse, 91198, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Hiroyuki Ai
- Department of Earth System Science, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, 814-0180, Japan
| | - Jean-Christophe Sandoz
- Laboratory Evolution Genomes Behavior and Ecology, CNRS, University Paris-Sud, IRD, Université Paris Saclay, 1 avenue de la Terrasse, 91198, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
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35
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McKenzie SK, Winston ME, Grewe F, Vargas Asensio G, Rodríguez-Hernández N, Rubin BER, Murillo-Cruz C, von Beeren C, Moreau CS, Suen G, Pinto-Tomás AA, Kronauer DJC. The genomic basis of army ant chemosensory adaptations. Mol Ecol 2021; 30:6627-6641. [PMID: 34582590 PMCID: PMC9292994 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2020] [Revised: 09/06/2021] [Accepted: 09/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
The evolution of mass raiding has allowed army ants to become dominant arthropod predators in the tropics. Although a century of research has led to many discoveries about behavioural, morphological and physiological adaptations in army ants, almost nothing is known about the molecular basis of army ant biology. Here we report the genome of the iconic New World army ant Eciton burchellii, and show that it is unusually compact, with a reduced gene complement relative to other ants. In contrast to this overall reduction, a particular gene subfamily (9‐exon ORs) expressed predominantly in female antennae is expanded. This subfamily has previously been linked to the recognition of hydrocarbons, key olfactory cues used in insect communication and prey discrimination. Confocal microscopy of the brain showed a corresponding expansion in a putative hydrocarbon response centre within the antennal lobe, while scanning electron microscopy of the antenna revealed a particularly high density of hydrocarbon‐sensitive sensory hairs. E. burchellii shares these features with its predatory and more cryptic relative, the clonal raider ant. By integrating genomic, transcriptomic and anatomical analyses in a comparative context, our work thus provides evidence that army ants and their relatives possess a suite of modifications in the chemosensory system that may be involved in behavioural coordination and prey selection during social predation. It also lays the groundwork for future studies of army ant biology at the molecular level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sean K McKenzie
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York, USA.,Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | | | - Felix Grewe
- Grainger Bioinformatics Center, Science and Education, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Gabriel Vargas Asensio
- Centro de Investigación en Biología Molecular y Celular (CIBCM), Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.,Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Natalia Rodríguez-Hernández
- Centro de Investigación en Estructuras Microscópicas (CIEMIC), Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
| | - Benjamin E R Rubin
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
| | - Catalina Murillo-Cruz
- Centro de Investigación en Estructuras Microscópicas (CIEMIC), Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
| | - Christoph von Beeren
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York, USA.,Ecological Networks, Department of Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Corrie S Moreau
- Departments of Entomology and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Garret Suen
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Adrian A Pinto-Tomás
- Centro de Investigación en Biología Molecular y Celular (CIBCM), Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.,Centro de Investigación en Estructuras Microscópicas (CIEMIC), Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.,Escuela de Medicina, Departamento de Bioquímica, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
| | - Daniel J C Kronauer
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York, USA
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36
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Legan AW, Jernigan CM, Miller SE, Fuchs MF, Sheehan MJ. Expansion and Accelerated Evolution of 9-Exon Odorant Receptors in Polistes Paper Wasps. Mol Biol Evol 2021; 38:3832-3846. [PMID: 34151983 PMCID: PMC8383895 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msab023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Independent origins of sociality in bees and ants are associated with independent expansions of particular odorant receptor (OR) gene subfamilies. In ants, one clade within the OR gene family, the 9-exon subfamily, has dramatically expanded. These receptors detect cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs), key social signaling molecules in insects. It is unclear to what extent 9-exon OR subfamily expansion is associated with the independent evolution of sociality across Hymenoptera, warranting studies of taxa with independently derived social behavior. Here, we describe OR gene family evolution in the northern paper wasp, Polistes fuscatus, and compare it to four additional paper wasp species spanning ∼40 million years of evolutionary divergence. We find 200 putatively functional OR genes in P. fuscatus, matching predictions from neuroanatomy, and more than half of these are in the 9-exon subfamily. Most OR gene expansions are tandemly arrayed at orthologous loci in Polistes genomes, and microsynteny analysis shows species-specific gain and loss of 9-exon ORs within tandem arrays. There is evidence of episodic positive diversifying selection shaping ORs in expanded subfamilies. Values of omega (dN/dS) are higher among 9-exon ORs compared to other OR subfamilies. Within the Polistes OR gene tree, branches in the 9-exon OR clade experience relaxed negative (relaxed purifying) selection relative to other branches in the tree. Patterns of OR evolution within Polistes are consistent with 9-exon OR function in CHC perception by combinatorial coding, with both natural selection and neutral drift contributing to interspecies differences in gene copy number and sequence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew W Legan
- Laboratory for Animal Social Evolution and Recognition, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Christopher M Jernigan
- Laboratory for Animal Social Evolution and Recognition, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Sara E Miller
- Laboratory for Animal Social Evolution and Recognition, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Matthieu F Fuchs
- Laboratory for Animal Social Evolution and Recognition, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Michael J Sheehan
- Laboratory for Animal Social Evolution and Recognition, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
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37
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Neuronal odor coding in the larval sensory cone of Anopheles coluzzii: Complex responses from a simple system. Cell Rep 2021; 36:109555. [PMID: 34407405 PMCID: PMC8420959 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2020] [Revised: 05/18/2021] [Accepted: 07/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Anopheles mosquitoes are the sole vectors of malaria. Although adult females are directly responsible for disease transmission and accordingly have been extensively studied, the survival of pre-adult larval stages is vital. Mosquito larvae utilize a spectrum of chemosensory and other cues to navigate their aquatic habitats to avoid predators and search for food. Here we examine larval olfactory responses, in which the peripheral components are associated with the antennal sensory cone. Larval behavior and sensory cone responses to volatile stimuli in Anopheles coluzzii demonstrate the sensory cone is particularly tuned to alcohols, thiazoles, and heterocyclics, and these responses can be assigned to discrete groups of sensory cone neurons with distinctive profiles. These studies reveal that the anopheline larvae actively sample volatile odors above their aquatic habitats via a highly sophisticated olfactory system that is sensitive to a broad range of compounds with significant behavioral relevance. Sun et al. investigate larval sensory cone and behavioral responses to volatile stimuli in Anopheles coluzzii. They find that malaria mosquito larvae actively sample volatile odors above their aquatic habitats via a highly sophisticated olfactory system that is sensitive to a broad range of compounds with significant behavioral relevance.
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38
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Oeyen JP, Baa-Puyoulet P, Benoit JB, Beukeboom LW, Bornberg-Bauer E, Buttstedt A, Calevro F, Cash EI, Chao H, Charles H, Chen MJM, Childers C, Cridge AG, Dearden P, Dinh H, Doddapaneni HV, Dolan A, Donath A, Dowling D, Dugan S, Duncan E, Elpidina EN, Friedrich M, Geuverink E, Gibson JD, Grath S, Grimmelikhuijzen CJP, Große-Wilde E, Gudobba C, Han Y, Hansson BS, Hauser F, Hughes DST, Ioannidis P, Jacquin-Joly E, Jennings EC, Jones JW, Klasberg S, Lee SL, Lesný P, Lovegrove M, Martin S, Martynov AG, Mayer C, Montagné N, Moris VC, Munoz-Torres M, Murali SC, Muzny DM, Oppert B, Parisot N, Pauli T, Peters RS, Petersen M, Pick C, Persyn E, Podsiadlowski L, Poelchau MF, Provataris P, Qu J, Reijnders MJMF, von Reumont BM, Rosendale AJ, Simao FA, Skelly J, Sotiropoulos AG, Stahl AL, Sumitani M, Szuter EM, Tidswell O, Tsitlakidis E, Vedder L, Waterhouse RM, Werren JH, Wilbrandt J, Worley KC, Yamamoto DS, van de Zande L, Zdobnov EM, Ziesmann T, Gibbs RA, Richards S, Hatakeyama M, Misof B, Niehuis O. Sawfly Genomes Reveal Evolutionary Acquisitions That Fostered the Mega-Radiation of Parasitoid and Eusocial Hymenoptera. Genome Biol Evol 2021; 12:1099-1188. [PMID: 32442304 PMCID: PMC7455281 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evaa106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The tremendous diversity of Hymenoptera is commonly attributed to the evolution of parasitoidism in the last common ancestor of parasitoid sawflies (Orussidae) and wasp-waisted Hymenoptera (Apocrita). However, Apocrita and Orussidae differ dramatically in their species richness, indicating that the diversification of Apocrita was promoted by additional traits. These traits have remained elusive due to a paucity of sawfly genome sequences, in particular those of parasitoid sawflies. Here, we present comparative analyses of draft genomes of the primarily phytophagous sawfly Athalia rosae and the parasitoid sawfly Orussus abietinus. Our analyses revealed that the ancestral hymenopteran genome exhibited traits that were previously considered unique to eusocial Apocrita (e.g., low transposable element content and activity) and a wider gene repertoire than previously thought (e.g., genes for CO2 detection). Moreover, we discovered that Apocrita evolved a significantly larger array of odorant receptors than sawflies, which could be relevant to the remarkable diversification of Apocrita by enabling efficient detection and reliable identification of hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Philip Oeyen
- Center for Molecular Biodiversity Research, Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, Bonn, Germany.,Lead Contact
| | | | | | - Leo W Beukeboom
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
| | | | - Anja Buttstedt
- B CUBE-Center for Molecular Bioengineering, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany
| | - Federica Calevro
- INSA-Lyon, INRAE, BF2I, UMR0203, Université de Lyon, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Elizabeth I Cash
- School of Life Sciences, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Arizona State University.,Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, College of Natural Resources, University of California, Berkeley
| | - Hsu Chao
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
| | - Hubert Charles
- INSA-Lyon, INRAE, BF2I, UMR0203, Université de Lyon, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Mei-Ju May Chen
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Electronics and Bioinformatics, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | | | - Andrew G Cridge
- Genomics Aotearoa and Biochemistry Department, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Peter Dearden
- Genomics Aotearoa and Biochemistry Department, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Huyen Dinh
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
| | - Harsha Vardhan Doddapaneni
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
| | | | - Alexander Donath
- Center for Molecular Biodiversity Research, Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, Bonn, Germany
| | - Daniel Dowling
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster, Germany
| | - Shannon Dugan
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
| | - Elizabeth Duncan
- School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, United Kingdom
| | - Elena N Elpidina
- A.N. Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Moscow State University, Russia
| | - Markus Friedrich
- Department of Biological Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit
| | - Elzemiek Geuverink
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Joshua D Gibson
- Department of Biology, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro.,Department of Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette
| | - Sonja Grath
- Division of Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | | | - Ewald Große-Wilde
- Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max-Planck-Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany.,Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CULS), Praha 6-Suchdol, Czech Republic
| | - Cameron Gudobba
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago
| | - Yi Han
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
| | - Bill S Hansson
- Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max-Planck-Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany
| | - Frank Hauser
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Daniel S T Hughes
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
| | - Panagiotis Ioannidis
- Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, University of Geneva Medical School, Switzerland.,Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Geneva, Switzerland.,Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | - Emmanuelle Jacquin-Joly
- INRAE, CNRS, IRD, UPEC, Univ. P7, Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of Paris, Sorbonne Université, Versailles, France
| | | | - Jeffery W Jones
- Department of Biological Sciences, Oakland University, Rochester
| | - Steffen Klasberg
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster, Germany
| | - Sandra L Lee
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
| | - Peter Lesný
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Zoology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Bonn, Germany
| | - Mackenzie Lovegrove
- Genomics Aotearoa and Biochemistry Department, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Sebastian Martin
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Zoology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Bonn, Germany
| | | | - Christoph Mayer
- Center for Molecular Biodiversity Research, Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, Bonn, Germany
| | - Nicolas Montagné
- INRAE, CNRS, IRD, UPEC, Univ. P7, Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of Paris, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
| | - Victoria C Moris
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Institute of Biology I (Zoology), Albert Ludwig University Freiburg, Germany
| | - Monica Munoz-Torres
- Berkeley Bioinformatics Open-source Projects (BBOP), Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California
| | - Shwetha Canchi Murali
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
| | - Donna M Muzny
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
| | - Brenda Oppert
- USDA Agricultural Research Service, Center for Grain and Animal Health Research, Manhattan, Kansas
| | - Nicolas Parisot
- INSA-Lyon, INRAE, BF2I, UMR0203, Université de Lyon, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Thomas Pauli
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Institute of Biology I (Zoology), Albert Ludwig University Freiburg, Germany
| | - Ralph S Peters
- Arthropoda Department, Center for Taxonomy and Evolutionary Research, Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, Bonn, Germany
| | - Malte Petersen
- Center for Molecular Biodiversity Research, Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, Bonn, Germany.,Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Freiburg, Germany
| | | | - Emma Persyn
- INRAE, CNRS, IRD, UPEC, Univ. P7, Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of Paris, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
| | - Lars Podsiadlowski
- Center for Molecular Biodiversity Research, Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, Bonn, Germany
| | | | - Panagiotis Provataris
- Center for Molecular Biodiversity Research, Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, Bonn, Germany
| | - Jiaxin Qu
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
| | - Maarten J M F Reijnders
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Switzerland.,Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Björn Marcus von Reumont
- Institute for Insect Biotechnology, University of Gießen, Germany.,Center for Translational Biodiversity Genomics (LOEWE-TBG), Frankfurt, Germany
| | | | - Felipe A Simao
- Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, University of Geneva Medical School, Switzerland.,Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - John Skelly
- Genomics Aotearoa and Biochemistry Department, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | | | - Aaron L Stahl
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati.,Department of Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, Jupiter, Florida
| | - Megumi Sumitani
- Transgenic Silkworm Research Unit, Division of Biotechnology, Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), Owashi, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Elise M Szuter
- School of Life Sciences, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Arizona State University
| | - Olivia Tidswell
- Biochemistry Department, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.,Zoology Department, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | | | - Lucia Vedder
- Center for Bioinformatics Tübingen (ZBIT), University of Tübingen, Germany
| | - Robert M Waterhouse
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Switzerland.,Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | | | - Jeanne Wilbrandt
- Center for Molecular Biodiversity Research, Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, Bonn, Germany.,Computational Biology Group, Leibniz Institute on Aging-Fritz Lipmann Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Kim C Worley
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
| | - Daisuke S Yamamoto
- Division of Medical Zoology, Department of Infection and Immunity, Jichi Medical University, Yakushiji, Shimotsuke, Japan
| | - Louis van de Zande
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Evgeny M Zdobnov
- Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, University of Geneva Medical School, Switzerland.,Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Tanja Ziesmann
- Center for Molecular Biodiversity Research, Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, Bonn, Germany
| | - Richard A Gibbs
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
| | - Stephen Richards
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
| | - Masatsugu Hatakeyama
- Insect Genome Research and Engineering Unit, Division of Applied Genetics, Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, NARO, Owashi, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Bernhard Misof
- Center for Molecular Biodiversity Research, Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, Bonn, Germany
| | - Oliver Niehuis
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Institute of Biology I (Zoology), Albert Ludwig University Freiburg, Germany
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39
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Fouks B, Brand P, Nguyen HN, Herman J, Camara F, Ence D, Hagen DE, Hoff KJ, Nachweide S, Romoth L, Walden KKO, Guigo R, Stanke M, Narzisi G, Yandell M, Robertson HM, Koeniger N, Chantawannakul P, Schatz MC, Worley KC, Robinson GE, Elsik CG, Rueppell O. The genomic basis of evolutionary differentiation among honey bees. Genome Res 2021; 31:1203-1215. [PMID: 33947700 PMCID: PMC8256857 DOI: 10.1101/gr.272310.120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2020] [Accepted: 04/22/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
In contrast to the western honey bee, Apis mellifera, other honey bee species have been largely neglected despite their importance and diversity. The genetic basis of the evolutionary diversification of honey bees remains largely unknown. Here, we provide a genome-wide comparison of three honey bee species, each representing one of the three subgenera of honey bees, namely the dwarf (Apis florea), giant (A. dorsata), and cavity-nesting (A. mellifera) honey bees with bumblebees as an outgroup. Our analyses resolve the phylogeny of honey bees with the dwarf honey bees diverging first. We find that evolution of increased eusocial complexity in Apis proceeds via increases in the complexity of gene regulation, which is in agreement with previous studies. However, this process seems to be related to pathways other than transcriptional control. Positive selection patterns across Apis reveal a trade-off between maintaining genome stability and generating genetic diversity, with a rapidly evolving piRNA pathway leading to genomes depleted of transposable elements, and a rapidly evolving DNA repair pathway associated with high recombination rates in all Apis species. Diversification within Apis is accompanied by positive selection in several genes whose putative functions present candidate mechanisms for lineage-specific adaptations, such as migration, immunity, and nesting behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bertrand Fouks
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina 27403, USA
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, Molecular Evolution and Bioinformatics, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Philipp Brand
- Department of Evolution and Ecology, Center for Population Biology, University of California, Davis, Davis, California 95161, USA
- Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10065, USA
| | - Hung N Nguyen
- MU Institute for Data Science and Informatics, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, USA
| | - Jacob Herman
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina 27403, USA
| | - Francisco Camara
- Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Daniel Ence
- School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA
| | - Darren E Hagen
- Department of Animal and Food Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078, USA
| | - Katharina J Hoff
- University of Greifswald, Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science, Bioinformatics Group, 17489 Greifswald, Germany
- University of Greifswald, Center for Functional Genomics of Microbes, 17489 Greifswald, Germany
| | - Stefanie Nachweide
- University of Greifswald, Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science, Bioinformatics Group, 17489 Greifswald, Germany
| | - Lars Romoth
- University of Greifswald, Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science, Bioinformatics Group, 17489 Greifswald, Germany
| | - Kimberly K O Walden
- Department of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
| | - Roderic Guigo
- Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), 08002 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Mario Stanke
- University of Greifswald, Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science, Bioinformatics Group, 17489 Greifswald, Germany
- University of Greifswald, Center for Functional Genomics of Microbes, 17489 Greifswald, Germany
| | | | - Mark Yandell
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA
- Utah Center for Genetic Discovery, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA
| | - Hugh M Robertson
- Department of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
| | - Nikolaus Koeniger
- Department of Behavioral Physiology and Sociobiology (Zoology II), University of Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Panuwan Chantawannakul
- Environmental Science Research Center (ESRC) and Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
| | - Michael C Schatz
- Departments of Computer Science and Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA
| | - Kim C Worley
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Gene E Robinson
- Department of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
- Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
| | - Christine G Elsik
- MU Institute for Data Science and Informatics, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, USA
- Division of Animal Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, USA
- Division of Plant Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, USA
| | - Olav Rueppell
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina 27403, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E9, Canada
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40
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Abstract
Social behavior is one of the most fascinating and complex behaviors in humans and animals. A fundamental process of social behavior is communication among individuals. It relies on the capability of the nervous system to sense, process, and interpret various signals (e.g., pheromones) and respond with appropriate decisions and actions. Eusocial insects, including ants, some bees, some wasps, and termites, display intriguing cooperative social behavior. Recent advances in genetic and genomic studies have revealed key genes that are involved in pheromone synthesis, chemosensory perception, and physiological and behavioral responses to varied pheromones. In this review, we highlight the genes and pathways that regulate queen pheromone-mediated social communication, discuss the evolutionary changes in genetic systems, and outline prospects of functional studies in sociobiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hua Yan
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA
- Center for Smell and Taste, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32610, USA
| | - Jürgen Liebig
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, USA
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41
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Wang Y, Zong L, Zhang XY, Ge SQ, Segraves KA, Xue HJ. 3D-printed insect models offer a feasible method for mating studies of chrysomelid beetles. CHEMOECOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s00049-021-00345-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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42
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Ferguson ST, Bakis I, Zwiebel LJ. Advances in the Study of Olfaction in Eusocial Ants. INSECTS 2021; 12:252. [PMID: 33802783 PMCID: PMC8002415 DOI: 10.3390/insects12030252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2021] [Revised: 03/09/2021] [Accepted: 03/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Over the past decade, spurred in part by the sequencing of the first ant genomes, there have been major advances in the field of olfactory myrmecology. With the discovery of a significant expansion of the odorant receptor gene family, considerable efforts have been directed toward understanding the olfactory basis of complex social behaviors in ant colonies. Here, we review recent pivotal studies that have begun to reveal insights into the development of the olfactory system as well as how olfactory stimuli are peripherally and centrally encoded. Despite significant biological and technical impediments, substantial progress has been achieved in the application of gene editing and other molecular techniques that notably distinguish the complex olfactory system of ants from other well-studied insect model systems, such as the fruit fly. In doing so, we hope to draw attention not only to these studies but also to critical knowledge gaps that will serve as a compass for future research endeavors.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Laurence J. Zwiebel
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA; (S.T.F.); (I.B.)
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43
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Hartke J, Waldvogel A, Sprenger PP, Schmitt T, Menzel F, Pfenninger M, Feldmeyer B. Little parallelism in genomic signatures of local adaptation in two sympatric, cryptic sister species. J Evol Biol 2021; 34:937-952. [DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2020] [Revised: 11/03/2020] [Accepted: 11/03/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Juliane Hartke
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre Frankfurt am Main Germany
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution Johannes‐Gutenberg‐University Mainz Mainz Germany
| | - Ann‐Marie Waldvogel
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre Frankfurt am Main Germany
- Institute for Zoology University of Cologne Cologne Germany
| | - Philipp P. Sprenger
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution Johannes‐Gutenberg‐University Mainz Mainz Germany
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocentre, Am Hubland University of Würzburg Würzburg Germany
| | - Thomas Schmitt
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocentre, Am Hubland University of Würzburg Würzburg Germany
| | - Florian Menzel
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution Johannes‐Gutenberg‐University Mainz Mainz Germany
| | - Markus Pfenninger
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre Frankfurt am Main Germany
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution Johannes‐Gutenberg‐University Mainz Mainz Germany
- LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics (LOEWE‐TBG) Frankfurt am Main Germany
| | - Barbara Feldmeyer
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre Frankfurt am Main Germany
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44
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Obiero GF, Pauli T, Geuverink E, Veenendaal R, Niehuis O, Große-Wilde E. Chemoreceptor Diversity in Apoid Wasps and Its Reduction during the Evolution of the Pollen-Collecting Lifestyle of Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea). Genome Biol Evol 2021; 13:6117318. [PMID: 33484563 PMCID: PMC8011036 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evaa269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Chemoreceptors help insects to interact with their environment, to detect and assess food sources and oviposition sites, and to aid in intra- and interspecific communication. In Hymenoptera, species of eusocial lineages possess large chemoreceptor gene repertoires compared with solitary species, possibly because of their additional need to recognize nest-mates and caste. However, a critical piece of information missing so far has been the size of chemoreceptor gene repertoires of solitary apoid wasps. Apoid wasps are a paraphyletic group of almost exclusively solitary Hymenoptera phylogenetically positioned between ant and bee, both of which include eusocial species. We report the chemosensory-related gene repertoire sizes of three apoid wasps: Ampulex compressa, Cerceris arenaria, and Psenulus fuscipennis. We annotated genes encoding odorant (ORs), gustatory, and ionotropic receptors and chemosensory soluble proteins and odorant-binding proteins in transcriptomes of chemosensory tissues of the above three species and in early draft genomes of two species, A. compressa and C. arenaria. Our analyses revealed that apoid wasps possess larger OR repertoires than any bee lineage, that the last common ancestor of Apoidea possessed a considerably larger OR repertoire (∼160) than previously estimated (73), and that the expansion of OR genes in eusocial bees was less extensive than previously assumed. Intriguingly, the evolution of pollen-collecting behavior in the stem lineage of bees was associated with a notable loss of OR gene diversity. Thus, our results support the view that herbivorous Hymenoptera tend to possess smaller OR repertoires than carnivorous, parasitoid, or kleptoparasitic species.
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Affiliation(s)
- George F Obiero
- Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany.,School of Biological and Life Sciences, The Technical University of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Thomas Pauli
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Institute of Biology I (Zoology), Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, Germany
| | - Elzemiek Geuverink
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
| | | | - Oliver Niehuis
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Institute of Biology I (Zoology), Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, Germany
| | - Ewald Große-Wilde
- Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany.,EXTEMIT-K, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Praha-Suchdol, Czech Republic
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45
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Basu S, Clark RE, Fu Z, Lee BW, Crowder DW. Insect alarm pheromones in response to predators: Ecological trade-offs and molecular mechanisms. INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2021; 128:103514. [PMID: 33359575 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2020.103514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2020] [Revised: 12/11/2020] [Accepted: 12/17/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Insect alarm pheromones are chemical substances that are synthesized and released in response to predators to reduce predation risk. Alarm pheromones can also be perceived by predators, who take advantage of alarm cues to locate prey. While selection favors evolution of alarm pheromone signals that are not easily detectable by predators, predator evolution selects for better prey detection ability. Here, we review the diversity of alarm signals, and consider the behavioral and ecological conditions under which they have evolved. We show that components of alarm pheromones are similar across many insects, although aphids exhibit different behavioral responses to alarm cues compared to social insects. The effects of alarm pheromones on prey behavior depend on factors such as the concentration of pheromones and the density of conspecifics. We also discuss the molecular mechanisms of alarm pheromone perception underlying the evolutionary arms race between predators and prey, and the function of olfactory proteins and receptors in particular. Our review provides a novel synthesis of the diversity and function of insect alarm pheromones, while suggesting avenues that might better allow researchers to exploit population-level responses to alarm signaling for the sustainable management of pests and vector-borne pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saumik Basu
- Department of Entomology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA.
| | - Robert E Clark
- Department of Entomology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
| | - Zhen Fu
- Department of Entomology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA; Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Benjamin W Lee
- Department of Entomology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
| | - David W Crowder
- Department of Entomology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
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46
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Liebig J. Chemical Ecology: A New Royal Scent in a Small Insect Society. Curr Biol 2020; 30:R280-R282. [PMID: 32208156 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.02.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the diversity of insect societies is tied to explaining the mechanisms of reproductive division of labor. Small societies were not expected to use chemical signals or queen pheromones for this purpose. A new study shows that one of them does while using unexpected compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juergen Liebig
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, 427 East Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.
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47
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Lovegrove MR, Knapp RA, Duncan EJ, Dearden PK. Drosophila melanogaster and worker honeybees (Apis mellifera) do not require olfaction to be susceptible to honeybee queen mandibular pheromone. JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2020; 127:104154. [PMID: 33039409 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2020.104154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2020] [Revised: 08/23/2020] [Accepted: 10/03/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Eusociality is characterised by the reproductive division of labour; a dominant female (queen) or females are responsible for the majority of reproduction, and subordinate females are reproductively constrained. Reproductive constraint can be due to behavioural aggression and/or chemical cues, so-called queen pheromones, produced by the dominant females. In the honeybee, Apis mellifera, this repressive queen pheromone is queen mandibular pheromone (QMP). The mechanism by which honeybee workers are susceptible to QMP is not yet completely understood, however it is thought to be through olfaction via the antennae and/or gustation via trophallaxis. We have investigated whether olfaction is key to sensing of QMP, using both Drosophila melanogaster- a tractable non-eusocial insect which is also reproductively repressed by QMP- and the target species, A. mellifera worker honeybees. D. melanogaster are still capable of sensing and responding to QMP without their antenna and maxillary palps, and therefore without olfactory receptors. When worker honeybees were exposed to QMP but unable to physically interact with it, therefore required to use olfaction, they were similarly not reproductively repressed. Combined, these findings support either a non-olfactory based mechanism for the repression of reproduction via QMP, or redundancy via non-olfactory mechanisms in both D. melanogaster and A. mellifera. This study furthers our understanding of how species are susceptible to QMP, and provides insight into the mechanisms governing QMP responsiveness in these diverse species.
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Affiliation(s)
- M R Lovegrove
- Genomics Aotearoa and Laboratory for Evolution and Development, Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand; School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT Leeds, United Kingdom
| | - R A Knapp
- School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT Leeds, United Kingdom
| | - E J Duncan
- School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT Leeds, United Kingdom
| | - P K Dearden
- Genomics Aotearoa and Laboratory for Evolution and Development, Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
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48
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Ge J, Ge Z, Zhu D, Wang X. Pheromonal Regulation of the Reproductive Division of Labor in Social Insects. Front Cell Dev Biol 2020; 8:837. [PMID: 32974354 PMCID: PMC7468439 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2020.00837] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 08/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The reproductive altruism in social insects is an evolutionary enigma that has been puzzling scientists starting from Darwin. Unraveling how reproductive skew emerges and maintains is crucial to understand the reproductive altruism involved in the consequent division of labor. The regulation of adult worker reproduction involves conspecific inhibitory signals, which are thought to be chemical signals by numerous studies. Despite the primary identification of few chemical ligands, the action modes of primer pheromones that regulate reproduction and their molecular causes and effects remain challenging. Here, these questions were elucidated by comprehensively reviewing recent advances. The coordination with other modalities of queen pheromones (QPs) and its context-dependent manner to suppress worker reproduction were discussed under the vast variation and plasticity of reproduction during colony development and across taxa. In addition to the effect of QPs, special attention was paid to recent studies revealing the regulatory effect of brood pheromones. Considering the correlation between pheromone and hormone, this study focused on the production and perception of pheromones under the endocrine control and highlighted the pivotal roles of nutrition-related pathways. The novel chemicals and gene pathways discovered by recent works provide new insights into the understanding of social regulation of reproductive division of labor in insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin Ge
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Zhuxi Ge
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Dan Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xianhui Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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49
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Miller SE, Sheehan MJ, Reeve HK. Coevolution of cognitive abilities and identity signals in individual recognition systems. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190467. [PMID: 32420843 PMCID: PMC7331018 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Social interactions are mediated by recognition systems, meaning that the cognitive abilities or phenotypic diversity that facilitate recognition may be common targets of social selection. Recognition occurs when a receiver compares the phenotypes produced by a sender with a template. Coevolution between sender and receiver traits has been empirically reported in multiple species and sensory modalities, though the dynamics and relative exaggeration of traits from senders versus receivers have received little attention. Here, we present a coevolutionary dynamic model that examines the conditions under which senders and receivers should invest effort in facilitating individual recognition. The model predicts coevolution of sender and receiver traits, with the equilibrium investment dependent on the relative costs of signal production versus cognition. In order for recognition to evolve, initial sender and receiver trait values must be above a threshold, suggesting that recognition requires some degree of pre-existing diversity and cognitive abilities. The analysis of selection gradients demonstrates that the strength of selection on sender signals and receiver cognition is strongest when the trait values are furthest from the optima. The model provides new insights into the expected strength and dynamics of selection during the origin and elaboration of individual recognition, an important feature of social cognition in many taxa. This article is part of the theme issue 'Signal detection theory in recognition systems: from evolving models to experimental tests'.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Michael J. Sheehan
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - H. Kern Reeve
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
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50
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Yan H, Jafari S, Pask G, Zhou X, Reinberg D, Desplan C. Evolution, developmental expression and function of odorant receptors in insects. J Exp Biol 2020; 223:jeb208215. [PMID: 32034042 PMCID: PMC7790194 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.208215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Animals rely on their chemosensory system to discriminate among a very large number of attractive or repulsive chemical cues in the environment, which is essential to respond with proper action. The olfactory sensory systems in insects share significant similarities with those of vertebrates, although they also exhibit dramatic differences, such as the molecular nature of the odorant receptors (ORs): insect ORs function as heteromeric ion channels with a common Orco subunit, unlike the G-protein-coupled olfactory receptors found in vertebrates. Remarkable progress has recently been made in understanding the evolution, development and function of insect odorant receptor neurons (ORNs). These studies have uncovered the diversity of olfactory sensory systems among insect species, including in eusocial insects that rely extensively on olfactory sensing of pheromones for social communication. However, further studies, notably functional analyses, are needed to improve our understanding of the origins of the Orco-OR system, the mechanisms of ORN fate determination, and the extraordinary diversity of behavioral responses to chemical cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hua Yan
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
- Center for Smell and Taste (UFCST), University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
| | - Shadi Jafari
- Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden
- Department of Biology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Gregory Pask
- Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA 17837, USA
| | - Xiaofan Zhou
- Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Microbial Signals and Disease Control, Integrative Microbiology Research Centre, South China Agricultural University, 510642 Guangzhou, China
| | - Danny Reinberg
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Claude Desplan
- Department of Biology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
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