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PLoS One

Title:		Caste-Specific and Sex-Specific Expression of Chemoreceptor Genes in a Termite
Author(s):		Mitaka Y; Kobayashi K; Mikheyev A; Tin MM; Watanabe Y; Matsuura K;
Address:		"Laboratory of Insect Ecology, Division of Applied Biosciences, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan. Ecology and Evolution Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Okinawa, 904-0495, Japan"
Journal Title:		PLoS One
Year:		2016
Volume:		20160113
Issue:		1
Page Number:		e0146125 -
DOI:		10.1371/journal.pone.0146125
ISSN/ISBN:		1932-6203 (Electronic) 1932-6203 (Linking)
Abstract:		"The sophisticated colony organization of eusocial insects is primarily maintained through the utilization of pheromones. The regulation of these complex social interactions requires intricate chemoreception systems. The recent publication of the genome of Zootermopsis nevadensis opened a new avenue to study molecular basis of termite caste systems. Although there has been a growing interest in the termite chemoreception system that regulates their sophisticated caste system, the relationship between division of labor and expression of chemoreceptor genes remains to be explored. Using high-throughput mRNA sequencing (RNA-seq), we found several chemoreceptors that are differentially expressed among castes and between sexes in a subterranean termite Reticulitermes speratus. In total, 53 chemoreception-related genes were annotated, including 22 odorant receptors, 7 gustatory receptors, 12 ionotropic receptors, 9 odorant-binding proteins, and 3 chemosensory proteins. Most of the chemoreception-related genes had caste-related and sex-related expression patterns; in particular, some chemoreception genes showed king-biased or queen-biased expression patterns. Moreover, more than half of the genes showed significant age-dependent differences in their expression in female and/or male reproductives. These results reveal a strong relationship between the evolution of the division of labor and the regulation of chemoreceptor gene expression, thereby demonstrating the chemical communication and underlining chemoreception mechanism in social insects"
Keywords:		"Animals Contig Mapping Drosophila melanogaster Female Gene Expression Gene Expression Profiling Gene Expression Regulation Genome, Insect Insect Proteins/metabolism Isoptera/*genetics/*metabolism Ligands Male Open Reading Frames Pheromones/metabolism Rece;"
Notes:		"MedlineMitaka, Yuki Kobayashi, Kazuya Mikheyev, Alexander Tin, Mandy M Y Watanabe, Yutaka Matsuura, Kenji eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't 2016/01/14 PLoS One. 2016 Jan 13; 11(1):e0146125. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0146125. eCollection 2016"