Elevated expression of ageing and immunity genes in queens of the black garden ant.

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Serval ID
serval:BIB_6E333238072E
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Elevated expression of ageing and immunity genes in queens of the black garden ant.
Journal
Experimental gerontology
Author(s)
Lucas E.R., Keller L.
ISSN
1873-6815 (Electronic)
ISSN-L
0531-5565
Publication state
Published
Issued date
15/07/2018
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
108
Pages
92-98
Language
english
Notes
Publication types: Journal Article ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Publication Status: ppublish
Abstract
Studies in model organisms have identified a variety of genes whose expression can be experimentally modulated to produce changes in longevity, but whether these genes are the same as those involved in natural variation in lifespan remains unclear. Social insects boast some of the largest lifespan differences known between plastic phenotypes, with queen and worker lifespans differing by an order of magnitude despite no systematic nucleotide sequence differences between them. The contrasting lifespans of queens and workers are thus the result of differences in gene expression. We used RNA sequencing of brains and legs in 1-day-old and 2-month-old individuals of the ant Lasius niger to determine whether genes with queen-biased expression are enriched for genes linked to ageing in model organisms. Because the great longevity of queens may require investment into immune processes, we also investigated whether queen-biased genes are enriched for genes with known roles in immunity. Queen-biased genes in legs were enriched for ageing genes and for genes associated with increasing rather than decreasing lifespan. Queen-biased genes in legs were also enriched for immune genes, but only in 1-day-old individuals, perhaps linked to the changing roles of workers with age. Intriguingly, the single most differentially expressed gene between 1-day-old queen and worker brains was an extra-cellular form of CuZn Superoxide Dismutase (SOD3), raising the possibility of an important role of anti-oxidant genes in modulating lifespan.
Keywords
Animal Communication, Animals, Ants/genetics, Ants/immunology, Behavior, Animal, Female, Gene Expression Regulation, Gene Regulatory Networks, Genes, Insect, Hierarchy, Social, Longevity/genetics, Sequence Analysis, RNA, Social Behavior, Ageing genes, Gene expression, Immunity, RNA sequencing, Social insects, Superoxide dismutase
Pubmed
Web of science
Create date
26/03/2018 15:00
Last modification date
12/06/2020 5:20
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