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PLoS One

Title:		"GP-9s are ubiquitous proteins unlikely involved in olfactory mediation of social organization in the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta"
Author(s):		Leal WS; Ishida Y;
Address:		"Honorary Maeda-Duffey Laboratory, Department of Entomology, University of California Davis, Davis, California, USA. wsleal@ucdavis.edu"
Journal Title:		PLoS One
Year:		2008
Volume:		20081119
Issue:		11
Page Number:		e3762 -
DOI:		10.1371/journal.pone.0003762
ISSN/ISBN:		1932-6203 (Electronic) 1932-6203 (Linking)
Abstract:		"The red imported fire ant (RIFA), Solenopsis invicta, is an invasive species, accidentally introduced in the United States that can cause painful (sometimes life-threatening) stings to human, pets, and livestock. Their colonies have two social forms: monogyne and polygyne that have a single and multiple functional queens, respectively. A major gene (Gp-9), identified as a putative pheromone-binding protein on the basis of a modest amino acid sequence identity, has been suggested to influence the expression of colony social organization. Monogyne queens are reported to possess only the GP-9B alleles, whereas polygyne queens possess both GP-9B and GP-9b. Thus, both social forms are reported to express GP-9B, with GP-9b being a marker expressed in polygynes but it is absent in monogynes. Here, we report two types of polygyne colonies, one that does not express GP-9b (monogyne-like) and the other expressing both proteins, GP-9B and GP-9b. Given their expression pattern, GP-9s are hemolymph proteins, which are more likely to be involved in the transport of lipids and small ligands within the homocoel. GP-9B existed in two forms, one of them is phosphorylated. The helical-rich content of the protein resembles the secondary structures of a beetle hemolymph protein and moth pheromone-binding proteins. An olfactory role is unlikely given the lack of specific expression in the sensillar lymph. In marked contrast to GP-9s, a chemosensory protein, SinvCSP, is demonstrated to be specifically expressed in the antennae. Within the antennae, expression of SinvCSP is restricted to the last two segments, which are known to house olfactory sensilla"
Keywords:		"Alleles Animals Ants/*genetics *Behavior, Animal Biological Transport Carrier Proteins/*genetics/*physiology Circular Dichroism Hemolymph/metabolism Insect Proteins/*genetics/*physiology Ligands Lipids/chemistry Mass Spectrometry/methods *Olfactory Percep;"
Notes:		"MedlineLeal, Walter S Ishida, Yuko eng 1U01AI05826-01/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. 2008/11/20 PLoS One. 2008; 3(11):e3762. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0003762. Epub 2008 Nov 19"