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Szczuka A, Sochacka-Marlowe A, Korczyńska J, Mazurkiewicz PJ, Symonowicz B, Kukina O, Godzińska EJ. Do They Know What They Are Doing? Cognitive Aspects of Rescue Behaviour Directed by Workers of the Red Wood Ant Formica polyctena to Nestmate Victims Entrapped in Artificial Snares. Life (Basel) 2024; 14:515. [PMID: 38672785 PMCID: PMC11051173 DOI: 10.3390/life14040515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2024] [Revised: 04/05/2024] [Accepted: 04/12/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Ant rescue behaviour belongs to the most interesting subcategories of prosocial and altruistic behaviour encountered in the animal world. Several studies suggested that ants are able to identify what exactly restrains the movements of another individual and to direct their rescue behaviour precisely to that object. To shed more light on the question of how precise the identification of the source of restraint of another ant is, we investigated rescue behaviour of red wood ant Formica polyctena workers, using a new version of an artificial snare bioassay in which a nestmate victim bore two wire loops on its body, one (acting as a snare) placed on its petiole and an additional one on its leg. The tested ants did not preferentially direct their rescue behaviour towards the snare. Moreover, the overall strategy adopted by the most active rescuers was not limited to precisely targeted rescue attempts directed towards the snare, but consisted of frequent switching between various subcategories of rescue behaviour. These findings highlight the importance of precise identification of cognitive processes and overall behavioural strategies for better understanding of causal factors underlying animal helping behaviour in light of new facts discovered by testing of various successive research hypotheses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Szczuka
- Laboratory of Ethology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Ludwika Pasteura St. 3, PL 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (A.S.); (A.S.-M.); (J.K.); (P.J.M.); (B.S.); (O.K.)
| | - Alicja Sochacka-Marlowe
- Laboratory of Ethology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Ludwika Pasteura St. 3, PL 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (A.S.); (A.S.-M.); (J.K.); (P.J.M.); (B.S.); (O.K.)
- Department of Biology and Integrated Bioscience Program, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA
| | - Julita Korczyńska
- Laboratory of Ethology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Ludwika Pasteura St. 3, PL 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (A.S.); (A.S.-M.); (J.K.); (P.J.M.); (B.S.); (O.K.)
| | - Paweł Jarosław Mazurkiewicz
- Laboratory of Ethology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Ludwika Pasteura St. 3, PL 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (A.S.); (A.S.-M.); (J.K.); (P.J.M.); (B.S.); (O.K.)
- College of Inter-Faculty Individual Studies in Mathematics and Natural Sciences (MISMaP), University of Warsaw, Stefana Banacha St. 2c, PL 02-097 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Beata Symonowicz
- Laboratory of Ethology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Ludwika Pasteura St. 3, PL 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (A.S.); (A.S.-M.); (J.K.); (P.J.M.); (B.S.); (O.K.)
| | - Olga Kukina
- Laboratory of Ethology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Ludwika Pasteura St. 3, PL 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (A.S.); (A.S.-M.); (J.K.); (P.J.M.); (B.S.); (O.K.)
- Department of Entomology, Phytopathology and Physiology, Ukrainian Research Institute of Forestry and Forest Melioration, Pushkinska St. 86, 61024 Kharkiv, Ukraine
| | - Ewa Joanna Godzińska
- Laboratory of Ethology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Ludwika Pasteura St. 3, PL 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (A.S.); (A.S.-M.); (J.K.); (P.J.M.); (B.S.); (O.K.)
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2
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Mehmood N, Hassan A, Zhong X, Zhu Y, Ouyang G, Huang Q. Entomopathogenic fungal infection following immune gene silencing decreased behavioral and physiological fitness in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. PESTICIDE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY 2023; 195:105535. [PMID: 37666588 DOI: 10.1016/j.pestbp.2023.105535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2023] [Revised: 07/10/2023] [Accepted: 07/13/2023] [Indexed: 09/06/2023]
Abstract
Entomopathogenic fungi are a promising category of biocontrol agents with mosquitocidal properties. Prior studies have proved their potential to reduce fecundity, human biting and vector competence, all of them together determine vectorial capacity of the mosquitoes. Unfortunately, conventional vector control strategies are inadequate with growing problem of insecticide resistance and environmental deterioration. Therefore, alternate vector control measures are immediately needed and to accomplish that, an improved understanding of behavioral and physiological defense mechanisms of the mosquitoes against fungal infection is essential. In this study, fitness was considered with respect to different behavioral (self-grooming and flight), physiological (antifungal activity and antimicrobial peptides) parameters and survival rates as compared to the control group. We found a significant upregulation in CLSP2, TEP22, Rel1 and Rel2 genes at multiple time periods of fungal infection, which indicates the successful fungal infection and activation of Toll and IMD pathways in mosquitoes. RNAi-mediated silencing of Rel1 and Rel2 genes (transcription factors of Toll and IMD pathways, respectively) significantly reduced the survival, self-grooming frequencies and durations, and flight locomotor activity among adult Ae. aegypti female mosquitoes. Moreover, Rel1 and Rel2 knockdown significantly decreased antifungal activity and antimicrobial peptides expression levels in target mosquitoes. These results indicate an overall decrease in fitness of the mosquitoes after fungal challenge following Rel1 and Rel2 silencing. These findings provide an improved understanding of behavioral and physiological responses in mosquitoes with altered immunity against entomopathogenic fungal infections which can guide us towards the development of novel biocontrol strategies against mosquitoes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nasir Mehmood
- Hubei Insect Resources Utilization and Sustainable Pest Management Key Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Ali Hassan
- Hubei Insect Resources Utilization and Sustainable Pest Management Key Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Xueshan Zhong
- Yuexiu Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou 510055, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Yongzhang Zhu
- Guangzhou Yongliang Environmental Protection Technology Service CO., LTD, Guangzhou 510405, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Guang Ouyang
- Guangzhou Yongliang Environmental Protection Technology Service CO., LTD, Guangzhou 510405, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Qiuying Huang
- Hubei Insect Resources Utilization and Sustainable Pest Management Key Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
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3
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Lin D, Sutherland D, Aninta SI, Louie N, Nip KM, Li C, Yanai A, Coombe L, Warren RL, Helbing CC, Hoang LMN, Birol I. Mining Amphibian and Insect Transcriptomes for Antimicrobial Peptide Sequences with rAMPage. Antibiotics (Basel) 2022; 11:antibiotics11070952. [PMID: 35884206 PMCID: PMC9312091 DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics11070952] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2022] [Revised: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 07/13/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Antibiotic resistance is a global health crisis increasing in prevalence every day. To combat this crisis, alternative antimicrobial therapeutics are urgently needed. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), a family of short defense proteins, are produced naturally by all organisms and hold great potential as effective alternatives to small molecule antibiotics. Here, we present rAMPage, a scalable bioinformatics discovery platform for identifying AMP sequences from RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) datasets. In our study, we demonstrate the utility and scalability of rAMPage, running it on 84 publicly available RNA-seq datasets from 75 amphibian and insect species—species known to have rich AMP repertoires. Across these datasets, we identified 1137 putative AMPs, 1024 of which were deemed novel by a homology search in cataloged AMPs in public databases. We selected 21 peptide sequences from this set for antimicrobial susceptibility testing against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus and observed that seven of them have high antimicrobial activity. Our study illustrates how in silico methods such as rAMPage can enable the fast and efficient discovery of novel antimicrobial peptides as an effective first step in the strenuous process of antimicrobial drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana Lin
- Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4S6, Canada; (D.L.); (D.S.); (S.I.A.); (N.L.); (K.M.N.); (C.L.); (A.Y.); (L.C.); (R.L.W.)
| | - Darcy Sutherland
- Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4S6, Canada; (D.L.); (D.S.); (S.I.A.); (N.L.); (K.M.N.); (C.L.); (A.Y.); (L.C.); (R.L.W.)
- British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, Public Health Laboratory, Vancouver, BC V6Z R4R, Canada;
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Sambina Islam Aninta
- Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4S6, Canada; (D.L.); (D.S.); (S.I.A.); (N.L.); (K.M.N.); (C.L.); (A.Y.); (L.C.); (R.L.W.)
| | - Nathan Louie
- Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4S6, Canada; (D.L.); (D.S.); (S.I.A.); (N.L.); (K.M.N.); (C.L.); (A.Y.); (L.C.); (R.L.W.)
| | - Ka Ming Nip
- Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4S6, Canada; (D.L.); (D.S.); (S.I.A.); (N.L.); (K.M.N.); (C.L.); (A.Y.); (L.C.); (R.L.W.)
- Bioinformatics Graduate Program, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Chenkai Li
- Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4S6, Canada; (D.L.); (D.S.); (S.I.A.); (N.L.); (K.M.N.); (C.L.); (A.Y.); (L.C.); (R.L.W.)
- Bioinformatics Graduate Program, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Anat Yanai
- Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4S6, Canada; (D.L.); (D.S.); (S.I.A.); (N.L.); (K.M.N.); (C.L.); (A.Y.); (L.C.); (R.L.W.)
| | - Lauren Coombe
- Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4S6, Canada; (D.L.); (D.S.); (S.I.A.); (N.L.); (K.M.N.); (C.L.); (A.Y.); (L.C.); (R.L.W.)
| | - René L. Warren
- Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4S6, Canada; (D.L.); (D.S.); (S.I.A.); (N.L.); (K.M.N.); (C.L.); (A.Y.); (L.C.); (R.L.W.)
| | - Caren C. Helbing
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8P 5C2, Canada;
| | - Linda M. N. Hoang
- British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, Public Health Laboratory, Vancouver, BC V6Z R4R, Canada;
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Inanc Birol
- Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4S6, Canada; (D.L.); (D.S.); (S.I.A.); (N.L.); (K.M.N.); (C.L.); (A.Y.); (L.C.); (R.L.W.)
- British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, Public Health Laboratory, Vancouver, BC V6Z R4R, Canada;
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
- Correspondence:
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Goes AC, Kooij PW, Culot L, Bueno OC, Rodrigues A. Distinct and enhanced hygienic responses of a leaf-cutting ant toward repeated fungi exposures. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9112. [PMID: 35866016 PMCID: PMC9288931 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Revised: 06/06/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Leaf‐cutting ants and their fungal crops are a textbook example of a long‐term obligatory mutualism. Many microbes continuously enter their nest containing the fungal cultivars, destabilizing the symbiosis and, in some cases, outcompeting the mutualistic partners. Preferably, the ant workers should distinguish between different microorganisms to respond according to their threat level and recurrence in the colony. To address these assumptions, we investigated how workers of Atta sexdens sanitize their fungal crop toward five different fungi commonly isolated from the fungus gardens: Escovopsis sp., Fusarium oxysporum, Metarhizium anisopliae, Trichoderma spirale, and Syncephalastrum sp. Also, to investigate the plasticity of these responses toward recurrences of these fungi, we exposed the colonies with each fungus three times fourteen days apart. As expected, intensities in sanitization differed according to the fungal species. Ants significantly groom their fungal crop more toward F. oxysporum, M. anisopliae, and Syncephalastrum sp. than toward Escovopsis sp. and T. spirale. Weeding, self‐, and allogrooming were observed in less frequency than fungus grooming in all cases. Moreover, we detected a significant increase in the overall responses after repeated exposures for each fungus, except for Escovopsis sp. Our results indicate that A. sexdens workers are able to distinguish between different fungi and apply distinct responses to remove these from the fungus gardens. Our findings also suggest that successive exposures to the same antagonist increase hygiene, indicating plasticity of ant colonies' defenses to previously encountered pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aryel C Goes
- Department of General and Applied Biology São Paulo State University (UNESP) Rio Claro Brazil
| | - Pepijn W Kooij
- Department of General and Applied Biology São Paulo State University (UNESP) Rio Claro Brazil
| | - Laurence Culot
- Department of Biodiversity São Paulo State University (UNESP) Rio Claro Brazil
| | - Odair C Bueno
- Department of General and Applied Biology São Paulo State University (UNESP) Rio Claro Brazil
| | - Andre Rodrigues
- Department of General and Applied Biology São Paulo State University (UNESP) Rio Claro Brazil
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5
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Liu L, Zhao XY, Tang QB, Lei CL, Huang QY. The Mechanisms of Social Immunity Against Fungal Infections in Eusocial Insects. Toxins (Basel) 2019; 11:E244. [PMID: 31035652 PMCID: PMC6563085 DOI: 10.3390/toxins11050244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2019] [Revised: 04/21/2019] [Accepted: 04/27/2019] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Entomopathogenic fungus as well as their toxins is a natural threat surrounding social insect colonies. To defend against them, social insects have evolved a series of unique disease defenses at the colony level, which consists of behavioral and physiological adaptations. These colony-level defenses can reduce the infection and poisoning risk and improve the survival of societal members, and is known as social immunity. In this review, we discuss how social immunity enables the insect colony to avoid, resist and tolerate fungal pathogens. To understand the molecular basis of social immunity, we highlight several genetic elements and biochemical factors that drive the colony-level defense, which needs further verification. We discuss the chemosensory genes in regulating social behaviors, the antifungal secretions such as some insect venoms in external defense and the immune priming in internal defense. To conclude, we show the possible driving force of the fungal toxins for the evolution of social immunity. Throughout the review, we propose several questions involved in social immunity extended from some phenomena that have been reported. We hope our review about social 'host-fungal pathogen' interactions will help us further understand the mechanism of social immunity in eusocial insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Long Liu
- Hubei Insect Resources Utilization and Sustainable Pest Management Key Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
- Plant Protection College, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China.
| | - Xing-Ying Zhao
- Hubei Insect Resources Utilization and Sustainable Pest Management Key Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
| | - Qing-Bo Tang
- Plant Protection College, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China.
| | - Chao-Liang Lei
- Hubei Insect Resources Utilization and Sustainable Pest Management Key Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
| | - Qiu-Ying Huang
- Hubei Insect Resources Utilization and Sustainable Pest Management Key Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
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6
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Sackton TB. Comparative genomics and transcriptomics of host-pathogen interactions in insects: evolutionary insights and future directions. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2019; 31:106-113. [PMID: 31109663 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2018.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2018] [Revised: 12/21/2018] [Accepted: 12/22/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Classical evolutionary studies of protein-coding genes have established that genes in the canonical immune system are often among the most rapidly evolving within and between species. As more genomes and transcriptomes across insects are sequenced, it is becoming clear that duplications and losses of immune genes are also a likely consequence of host-pathogen interactions. Furthermore, particular species respond to diverse pathogenic challenges with a wide range of challenge-specific responses that are still poorly understood. Transcriptional studies, using RNA-seq to characterize the infection-regulated transcriptome of diverse insects, are crucial for additional progress in understanding the ecology and evolution of the full complexity of the host response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy B Sackton
- Informatics Group, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, United States.
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7
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Chérasse S, Baer B, Schiøtt M, Boomsma JJ. Differential immune gene expression in sperm storage organs of leaf-cutting ants. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018; 221:jeb.173435. [PMID: 29444846 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.173435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2017] [Accepted: 02/01/2018] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Leaf-cutting ant queens mate with multiple males during a single nuptial flight and store sperm for up to two decades. During mating, males transfer sperm from their accessory testes to the queen bursa copulatrix from where it enters the spermatheca, an insect sperm storage organ that has become highly specialized in long-lived ant queens who never re-mate later in life. Long-term storage without the possibility to obtain new sperm creates an immune defence dilemma, because recognition of non-self cells eliminates infections but may also target irreplaceable sperm and reduce lifetime reproductive success. We therefore hypothesized that non-specific immune responses, like pathogen melanization, should be silenced in the spermatheca, because they rely on general non-self recognition, and that specific responses such as antimicrobial peptides are activated instead as they specifically target pathogenic bacteria and/or fungi. The maintenance of uninfected sperm cells by males before mating is not constrained by non-self recognition, meaning immune regulation might be more liberal in male reproductive organs. To test this hypothesis, we measured gene expression of two antimicrobial peptides, abaecin and defensin, and prophenoloxidase, an important enzyme of the melanization pathway, in male accessory glands and testes and in queen bursae copulatrix and spermathecae of Acromyrmex echinatior and Atta colombica leaf-cutting ants. As expected, prophenoloxidase expression was low in reproductive organs that sustain prolonged contact with sperm, whereas antimicrobial peptides showed average to high expression, indicating that leaf-cutting ants invest in specific rather than generalist immune defences for pathogen protection in organs that store sperm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Chérasse
- Centre for Social Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark .,Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Department of Organism Biology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Av. F.D. Roosevelt 50, CP 160/12, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Boris Baer
- Centre for Integrative Bee Research (CIBER), Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
| | - Morten Schiøtt
- Centre for Social Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jacobus J Boomsma
- Centre for Social Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
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8
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Tate AT, Graham AL. Dissecting the contributions of time and microbe density to variation in immune gene expression. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2017.0727. [PMID: 28747473 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.0727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2017] [Accepted: 06/20/2017] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Widespread differential expression of immunological genes is a hallmark of the response to infection in almost all surveyed taxa. However, several challenges remain in the attempt to connect differences in gene expression with functional outcomes like parasite killing and host survival. For example, temporal gene expression patterns are not always monotonic (unidirectional slope), yielding results that qualitatively depend on the time point selected for analysis. They may also be correlated to microbe density, confounding the strength of an immune response and resistance to parasites. In this study, we analyse these relationships in an mRNA-seq time series of Tribolium castaneum infected with Bacillus thuringiensis Our results suggest that many extracellular immunological components with known roles in immunity, like antimicrobial peptides and recognition proteins, are highly correlated to microbe load. On the other hand, intracellular components of immunological signalling pathways overwhelmingly show non-monotonic temporal patterns of gene expression, despite the underlying assumption of monotonicity in most ecological and comparative transcriptomics studies that rely on cross-sectional analyses. Our results raise a host of new questions, including to what extent variation in host resistance, infection tolerance and immunopathology can be explained by variation in the slope or sensitivity of these newly characterized patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ann T Tate
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Andrea L Graham
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
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9
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Malmierca MG, González-Montes L, Pérez-Victoria I, Sialer C, Braña AF, García Salcedo R, Martín J, Reyes F, Méndez C, Olano C, Salas JA. Searching for Glycosylated Natural Products in Actinomycetes and Identification of Novel Macrolactams and Angucyclines. Front Microbiol 2018; 9:39. [PMID: 29441046 PMCID: PMC5797532 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.00039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2017] [Accepted: 01/09/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Many bioactive natural products are glycosylated compounds in which the sugar components usually participate in interaction and molecular recognition of the cellular target. Therefore, the presence of sugar moieties is important, in some cases essential, for bioactivity. Searching for novel glycosylated bioactive compounds is an important aim in the field of the research for natural products from actinomycetes. A great majority of these sugar moieties belong to the 6-deoxyhexoses and share two common biosynthetic steps catalyzed by a NDP-D-glucose synthase (GS) and a NDP-D-glucose 4,6-dehydratase (DH). Based on this fact, seventy one Streptomyces strains isolated from the integument of ants of the Tribe Attini were screened for the presence of biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) for glycosylated compounds. Total DNAs were analyzed by PCR amplification using oligo primers for GSs and DHs and also for a NDP-D-glucose-2,3-dehydratases. Amplicons were used in gene disruption experiments to generate non-producing mutants in the corresponding clusters. Eleven mutants were obtained and comparative dereplication analyses between the wild type strains and the corresponding mutants allowed in some cases the identification of the compound coded by the corresponding cluster (lobophorins, vicenistatin, chromomycins and benzanthrins) and that of two novel macrolactams (sipanmycin A and B). Several strains did not show UPLC differential peaks between the wild type strain and mutant profiles. However, after genome sequencing of these strains, the activation of the expression of two clusters was achieved by using nutritional and genetic approaches leading to the identification of compounds of the cervimycins family and two novel members of the warkmycins family. Our work defines a useful strategy for the identification new glycosylated compounds by a combination of genome mining, gene inactivation experiments and the activation of silent biosynthetic clusters in Streptomyces strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mónica G Malmierca
- Departamento de Biología Funcional e Instituto Universitario de Oncología del Principado de Asturias, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain.,Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Principado de Asturias, Oviedo, Spain
| | - Lorena González-Montes
- Departamento de Biología Funcional e Instituto Universitario de Oncología del Principado de Asturias, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain
| | | | - Carlos Sialer
- Departamento de Biología Funcional e Instituto Universitario de Oncología del Principado de Asturias, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain
| | - Alfredo F Braña
- Departamento de Biología Funcional e Instituto Universitario de Oncología del Principado de Asturias, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain.,Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Principado de Asturias, Oviedo, Spain
| | - Raúl García Salcedo
- Departamento de Biología Funcional e Instituto Universitario de Oncología del Principado de Asturias, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain
| | - Jesús Martín
- Fundación MEDINA, Parque Tecnológico de Ciencias de la Salud, Granada, Spain
| | - Fernando Reyes
- Fundación MEDINA, Parque Tecnológico de Ciencias de la Salud, Granada, Spain
| | - Carmen Méndez
- Departamento de Biología Funcional e Instituto Universitario de Oncología del Principado de Asturias, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain.,Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Principado de Asturias, Oviedo, Spain
| | - Carlos Olano
- Departamento de Biología Funcional e Instituto Universitario de Oncología del Principado de Asturias, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain.,Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Principado de Asturias, Oviedo, Spain
| | - José A Salas
- Departamento de Biología Funcional e Instituto Universitario de Oncología del Principado de Asturias, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain.,Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Principado de Asturias, Oviedo, Spain
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10
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11
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Dosselli R, Grassl J, Carson A, Simmons LW, Baer B. Flight behaviour of honey bee (Apis mellifera) workers is altered by initial infections of the fungal parasite Nosema apis. Sci Rep 2016; 6:36649. [PMID: 27827404 PMCID: PMC5101476 DOI: 10.1038/srep36649] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2016] [Accepted: 10/19/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Honey bees (Apis mellifera) host a wide range of parasites, some being known contributors towards dramatic colony losses as reported over recent years. To counter parasitic threats, honey bees possess effective immune systems. Because immune responses are predicted to cause substantial physiological costs for infected individuals, they are expected to trade off with other life history traits that ultimately affect the performance and fitness of the entire colony. Here, we tested whether the initial onset of an infection negatively impacts the flight behaviour of honey bee workers, which is an energetically demanding behaviour and a key component of foraging activities. To do this, we infected workers with the widespread fungal pathogen Nosema apis, which is recognised and killed by the honey bee immune system. We compared their survival and flight behaviour with non-infected individuals from the same cohort and colony using radio frequency identification tags (RFID). We found that over a time frame of four days post infection, Nosema did not increase mortality but workers quickly altered their flight behaviour and performed more flights of shorter duration. We conclude that parasitic infections influence foraging activities, which could reduce foraging ranges of colonies and impact their ability to provide pollination services.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan Dosselli
- Centre for Integrative Bee Research (CIBER), ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, Bayliss Building (M316), The University of Western Australia, Crawley WA 6009, Australia
| | - Julia Grassl
- Centre for Integrative Bee Research (CIBER), ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, Bayliss Building (M316), The University of Western Australia, Crawley WA 6009, Australia
| | - Andrew Carson
- Centre for Integrative Bee Research (CIBER), ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, Bayliss Building (M316), The University of Western Australia, Crawley WA 6009, Australia
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Animal Biology (M092), The University of Western Australia, Crawley WA 6009, Australia
| | - Leigh W. Simmons
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Animal Biology (M092), The University of Western Australia, Crawley WA 6009, Australia
| | - Boris Baer
- Centre for Integrative Bee Research (CIBER), ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, Bayliss Building (M316), The University of Western Australia, Crawley WA 6009, Australia
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From So Simple a Beginning. GENETICS AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF ENTOMOPATHOGENIC FUNGI 2016; 94:437-69. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.adgen.2016.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
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Lu HL, St. Leger R. Insect Immunity to Entomopathogenic Fungi. GENETICS AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF ENTOMOPATHOGENIC FUNGI 2016; 94:251-85. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.adgen.2015.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 103] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
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Konrad M, Grasse AV, Tragust S, Cremer S. Anti-pathogen protection versus survival costs mediated by an ectosymbiont in an ant host. Proc Biol Sci 2015; 282:20141976. [PMID: 25473011 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2014.1976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
The fitness effects of symbionts on their hosts can be context-dependent, with usually benign symbionts causing detrimental effects when their hosts are stressed, or typically parasitic symbionts providing protection towards their hosts (e.g. against pathogen infection). Here, we studied the novel association between the invasive garden ant Lasius neglectus and its fungal ectosymbiont Laboulbenia formicarum for potential costs and benefits. We tested ants with different Laboulbenia levels for their survival and immunity under resource limitation and exposure to the obligate killing entomopathogen Metarhizium brunneum. While survival of L. neglectus workers under starvation was significantly decreased with increasing Laboulbenia levels, host survival under Metarhizium exposure increased with higher levels of the ectosymbiont, suggesting a symbiont-mediated anti-pathogen protection, which seems to be driven mechanistically by both improved sanitary behaviours and an upregulated immune system. Ants with high Laboulbenia levels showed significantly longer self-grooming and elevated expression of immune genes relevant for wound repair and antifungal responses (β-1,3-glucan binding protein, Prophenoloxidase), compared with ants carrying low Laboulbenia levels. This suggests that the ectosymbiont Laboulbenia formicarum weakens its ant host by either direct resource exploitation or the costs of an upregulated behavioural and immunological response, which, however, provides a prophylactic protection upon later exposure to pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Konrad
- Evolutionary Biology, IST Austria (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Am Campus 1, Klosterneuburg 3400, Austria
| | - Anna V Grasse
- Evolutionary Biology, IST Austria (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Am Campus 1, Klosterneuburg 3400, Austria
| | - Simon Tragust
- Evolutionary Biology, IST Austria (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Am Campus 1, Klosterneuburg 3400, Austria Evolution, Genetics and Behaviour, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstrasse 31, Regensburg 93040, Germany
| | - Sylvia Cremer
- Evolutionary Biology, IST Austria (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Am Campus 1, Klosterneuburg 3400, Austria
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de Bekker C, Ohm RA, Loreto RG, Sebastian A, Albert I, Merrow M, Brachmann A, Hughes DP. Gene expression during zombie ant biting behavior reflects the complexity underlying fungal parasitic behavioral manipulation. BMC Genomics 2015; 16:620. [PMID: 26285697 PMCID: PMC4545319 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-015-1812-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2015] [Accepted: 08/03/2015] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Adaptive manipulation of animal behavior by parasites functions to increase parasite transmission through changes in host behavior. These changes can range from slight alterations in existing behaviors of the host to the establishment of wholly novel behaviors. The biting behavior observed in Carpenter ants infected by the specialized fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis s.l. is an example of the latter. Though parasitic manipulation of host behavior is generally assumed to be due to the parasite's gene expression, few studies have set out to test this. RESULTS We experimentally infected Carpenter ants to collect tissue from both parasite and host during the time period when manipulated biting behavior is experienced. Upon observation of synchronized biting, samples were collected and subjected to mixed RNA-Seq analysis. We also sequenced and annotated the O. unilateralis s.l. genome as a reference for the fungal sequencing reads. CONCLUSIONS Our mixed transcriptomics approach, together with a comparative genomics study, shows that the majority of the fungal genes that are up-regulated during manipulated biting behavior are unique to the O. unilateralis s.l. genome. This study furthermore reveals that the fungal parasite might be regulating immune- and neuronal stress responses in the host during manipulated biting, as well as impairing its chemosensory communication and causing apoptosis. Moreover, we found genes up-regulated during manipulation that putatively encode for proteins with reported effects on behavioral outputs, proteins involved in various neuropathologies and proteins involved in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites such as alkaloids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charissa de Bekker
- Institute of Medical Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Goethestrasse 31, 80336, Munich, Germany.
- Department of Entomology and Department of Biology, Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, State College, Pennsylvania, 16802, PA, USA.
| | - Robin A Ohm
- Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584, CH, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Raquel G Loreto
- Department of Entomology and Department of Biology, Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, State College, Pennsylvania, 16802, PA, USA
- CAPES Foundation, Ministry of Education of Brazil, Brasília, 70040-020, DF, Brazil
| | - Aswathy Sebastian
- Bioinformatics Consulting Center, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, State College, Pennsylvania, 16802, PA, USA
| | - Istvan Albert
- Bioinformatics Consulting Center, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, State College, Pennsylvania, 16802, PA, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, State College, Pennsylvania, 16802, PA, USA
| | - Martha Merrow
- Institute of Medical Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Goethestrasse 31, 80336, Munich, Germany
| | - Andreas Brachmann
- Faculty of Biology, Section Genetics, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Grosshaderner Strasse 2-4, 82152, Martinsried, Germany
| | - David P Hughes
- Department of Entomology and Department of Biology, Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, State College, Pennsylvania, 16802, PA, USA.
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Theis FJ, Ugelvig LV, Marr C, Cremer S. Opposing effects of allogrooming on disease transmission in ant societies. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2015; 370:20140108. [PMID: 25870394 PMCID: PMC4410374 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2014.0108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/02/2015] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
To prevent epidemics, insect societies have evolved collective disease defences that are highly effective at curing exposed individuals and limiting disease transmission to healthy group members. Grooming is an important sanitary behaviour--either performed towards oneself (self-grooming) or towards others (allogrooming)--to remove infectious agents from the body surface of exposed individuals, but at the risk of disease contraction by the groomer. We use garden ants (Lasius neglectus) and the fungal pathogen Metarhizium as a model system to study how pathogen presence affects self-grooming and allogrooming between exposed and healthy individuals. We develop an epidemiological SIS model to explore how experimentally observed grooming patterns affect disease spread within the colony, thereby providing a direct link between the expression and direction of sanitary behaviours, and their effects on colony-level epidemiology. We find that fungus-exposed ants increase self-grooming, while simultaneously decreasing allogrooming. This behavioural modulation seems universally adaptive and is predicted to contain disease spread in a great variety of host-pathogen systems. In contrast, allogrooming directed towards pathogen-exposed individuals might both increase and decrease disease risk. Our model reveals that the effect of allogrooming depends on the balance between pathogen infectiousness and efficiency of social host defences, which are likely to vary across host-pathogen systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabian J Theis
- Helmholtz Zentrum München-German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Computational Biology, Ingolstädter Landstrasse 1, Neuherberg 85764, Germany Technische Universität München, Center for Mathematics, Chair of Mathematical Modeling of Biological Systems, Boltzmannstraße 3, Garching 85748, Germany
| | - Line V Ugelvig
- IST Austria (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Am Campus 1, Klosterneuburg 3400, Austria
| | - Carsten Marr
- Helmholtz Zentrum München-German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Computational Biology, Ingolstädter Landstrasse 1, Neuherberg 85764, Germany
| | - Sylvia Cremer
- IST Austria (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Am Campus 1, Klosterneuburg 3400, Austria
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Korb J, Poulsen M, Hu H, Li C, Boomsma JJ, Zhang G, Liebig J. A genomic comparison of two termites with different social complexity. Front Genet 2015; 6:9. [PMID: 25788900 PMCID: PMC4348803 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2015.00009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2014] [Accepted: 01/09/2015] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The termites evolved eusociality and complex societies before the ants, but have been studied much less. The recent publication of the first two termite genomes provides a unique comparative opportunity, particularly because the sequenced termites represent opposite ends of the social complexity spectrum. Zootermopsis nevadensis has simple colonies with totipotent workers that can develop into all castes (dispersing reproductives, nest-inheriting replacement reproductives, and soldiers). In contrast, the fungus-growing termite Macrotermes natalensis belongs to the higher termites and has very large and complex societies with morphologically distinct castes that are life-time sterile. Here we compare key characteristics of genomic architecture, focusing on genes involved in communication, immune defenses, mating biology and symbiosis that were likely important in termite social evolution. We discuss these in relation to what is known about these genes in the ants and outline hypothesis for further testing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith Korb
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Institute of Biology I, University of FreiburgFreiburg, Germany
| | - Michael Poulsen
- Section for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, Centre for Social Evolution, University of CopenhagenCopenhagen, Denmark
| | - Haofu Hu
- China National Genebank, BGI-ShenzhenShenzhen, China
| | - Cai Li
- China National Genebank, BGI-ShenzhenShenzhen, China
- Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of CopenhagenCopenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jacobus J. Boomsma
- Section for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, Centre for Social Evolution, University of CopenhagenCopenhagen, Denmark
| | - Guojie Zhang
- Section for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, Centre for Social Evolution, University of CopenhagenCopenhagen, Denmark
- China National Genebank, BGI-ShenzhenShenzhen, China
| | - Jürgen Liebig
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State UniversityTempe, AZ, USA
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Li Q, Wang Z, Lian J, Schiøtt M, Jin L, Zhang P, Zhang Y, Nygaard S, Peng Z, Zhou Y, Deng Y, Zhang W, Boomsma JJ, Zhang G. Caste-specific RNA editomes in the leaf-cutting ant Acromyrmex echinatior. Nat Commun 2014; 5:4943. [PMID: 25266559 PMCID: PMC4200514 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms5943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2013] [Accepted: 08/08/2014] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Eusocial insects have evolved the capacity to generate adults with distinct morphological, reproductive and behavioural phenotypes from the same genome. Recent studies suggest that RNA editing might enhance the diversity of gene products at the post-transcriptional level, particularly to induce functional changes in the nervous system. Using head samples from the leaf-cutting ant Acromyrmex echinatior, we compare RNA editomes across eusocial castes, identifying ca. 11,000 RNA editing sites in gynes, large workers and small workers. Those editing sites map to 800 genes functionally enriched for neurotransmission, circadian rhythm, temperature response, RNA splicing and carboxylic acid biosynthesis. Most A. echinatior editing sites are species specific, but 8–23% are conserved across ant subfamilies and likely to have been important for the evolution of eusociality in ants. The level of editing varies for the same site between castes, suggesting that RNA editing might be a general mechanism that shapes caste behaviour in ants. Post-translational mRNA editing has the potential to enhance the diversity of gene products and alter the functional properties of proteins. Here, Li et al. provide evidence that RNA editing is involved in generating caste-specific contrasting phenotypes in the leaf-cutting ant Acromyrmex echinatior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiye Li
- 1] School of Bioscience and Bioengineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China [2] China National GeneBank, BGI-Shenzhen, Building No. 11, Beishan Industrial Zone, Yantian District, Shenzhen 518083, China
| | - Zongji Wang
- 1] School of Bioscience and Bioengineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China [2] China National GeneBank, BGI-Shenzhen, Building No. 11, Beishan Industrial Zone, Yantian District, Shenzhen 518083, China
| | - Jinmin Lian
- China National GeneBank, BGI-Shenzhen, Building No. 11, Beishan Industrial Zone, Yantian District, Shenzhen 518083, China
| | - Morten Schiøtt
- Centre for Social Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Lijun Jin
- China National GeneBank, BGI-Shenzhen, Building No. 11, Beishan Industrial Zone, Yantian District, Shenzhen 518083, China
| | - Pei Zhang
- China National GeneBank, BGI-Shenzhen, Building No. 11, Beishan Industrial Zone, Yantian District, Shenzhen 518083, China
| | | | - Sanne Nygaard
- Centre for Social Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - Yang Zhou
- 1] School of Bioscience and Bioengineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China [2] China National GeneBank, BGI-Shenzhen, Building No. 11, Beishan Industrial Zone, Yantian District, Shenzhen 518083, China
| | - Yuan Deng
- China National GeneBank, BGI-Shenzhen, Building No. 11, Beishan Industrial Zone, Yantian District, Shenzhen 518083, China
| | | | - Jacobus J Boomsma
- Centre for Social Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Guojie Zhang
- 1] China National GeneBank, BGI-Shenzhen, Building No. 11, Beishan Industrial Zone, Yantian District, Shenzhen 518083, China [2] Centre for Social Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
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Short independent lives and selection for maximal sperm survival make investment in immune defences unprofitable for leaf-cutting ant males. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-014-1707-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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Sackton TB, Werren JH, Clark AG. Characterizing the infection-induced transcriptome of Nasonia vitripennis reveals a preponderance of taxonomically-restricted immune genes. PLoS One 2013; 8:e83984. [PMID: 24386321 PMCID: PMC3873987 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0083984] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2013] [Accepted: 11/10/2013] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The innate immune system in insects consists of a conserved core signaling network and rapidly diversifying effector and recognition components, often containing a high proportion of taxonomically-restricted genes. In the absence of functional annotation, genes encoding immune system proteins can thus be difficult to identify, as homology-based approaches generally cannot detect lineage-specific genes. Here, we use RNA-seq to compare the uninfected and infection-induced transcriptome in the parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis to identify genes regulated by infection. We identify 183 genes significantly up-regulated by infection and 61 genes significantly down-regulated by infection. We also produce a new homology-based immune catalog in N. vitripennis, and show that most infection-induced genes cannot be assigned an immune function from homology alone, suggesting the potential for substantial novel immune components in less well-studied systems. Finally, we show that a high proportion of these novel induced genes are taxonomically restricted, highlighting the rapid evolution of immune gene content. The combination of functional annotation using RNA-seq and homology-based annotation provides a robust method to characterize the innate immune response across a wide variety of insects, and reveals significant novel features of the Nasonia immune response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy B. Sackton
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - John H. Werren
- Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, United States of America
| | - Andrew G. Clark
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
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Grooming Behavior as a Mechanism of Insect Disease Defense. INSECTS 2013; 4:609-30. [PMID: 26462526 PMCID: PMC4553506 DOI: 10.3390/insects4040609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2013] [Revised: 10/20/2013] [Accepted: 10/22/2013] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Grooming is a well-recognized, multipurpose, behavior in arthropods and vertebrates. In this paper, we review the literature to highlight the physical function, neurophysiological mechanisms, and role that grooming plays in insect defense against pathogenic infection. The intricate relationships between the physical, neurological and immunological mechanisms of grooming are discussed to illustrate the importance of this behavior when examining the ecology of insect-pathogen interactions.
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Libbrecht R, Oxley PR, Kronauer DJC, Keller L. Ant genomics sheds light on the molecular regulation of social organization. Genome Biol 2013; 14:212. [PMID: 23895728 PMCID: PMC4053786 DOI: 10.1186/gb-2013-14-7-212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Ants are powerful model systems for the study of cooperation and sociality. In this review, we discuss how recent advances in ant genomics have contributed to our understanding of the evolution and organization of insect societies at the molecular level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Romain Libbrecht
- Laboratory of Insect Social Evolution, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Biophore Building, University of Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Peter R Oxley
- Laboratory of Insect Social Evolution, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Daniel JC Kronauer
- Laboratory of Insect Social Evolution, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Laurent Keller
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Biophore Building, University of Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
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