Transcriptomic and Functional Analyses of Phenotypic Plasticity in a Higher Termite, Macrotermes barneyi Light

Pengdong Sun; Ganghua Li; Jianbo Jian; Long Liu; Junhui Chen; Shuxin Yu; Huan Xu; Chaoliang Lei; Xuguo Zhou; Qiuying Huang

doi:10.3389/fgene.2019.00964

Transcriptomic and Functional Analyses of Phenotypic Plasticity in a Higher Termite, Macrotermes barneyi Light

Front Genet. 2019 Oct 4:10:964. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2019.00964. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Pengdong Sun¹, Ganghua Li¹, Jianbo Jian², Long Liu¹, Junhui Chen³, Shuxin Yu¹, Huan Xu¹, Chaoliang Lei¹, Xuguo Zhou⁴, Qiuying Huang¹

Affiliations

¹ Hubei Insect Resources Utilization and Sustainable Pest Management Key Laboratory, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.
² Marine Biology Institute, Shantou University, Shantou, China.
³ School of Bioscience and Bioengineering, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Fermentation and Enzyme Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China.
⁴ Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States.

Abstract

Eusocial termites have a complex caste system, which leads to the division of labor. Previous studies offered some insight into the caste differentiation in lower termites; however, few studies were focusing on the molecular mechanisms of higher termites with sophisticated societies. Comparative transcriptomic analyses of five immature castes of a higher termite, Macrotermes barneyi Light, suggest that phenotypic plasticity is modulated by an array of transcriptional changes, including differentially expressed genes (e.g., caste-biased genes Vtg and TnC), co-expression networks (e.g., genes associated with nymph reproduction), and alternative splicing (e.g., events related to muscle development in presoldiers). Transcriptional (RT-PCR and RT-qPCR) and functional (in vivo RNAi) validation studies reveal multiple molecular mechanisms contributing to the phenotypic plasticity in eusocial termites. Molecular mechanisms governing the phenotypic plasticity in M. barneyi could be a rule rather than an exception in the evolution of sociality.

Keywords: eclosion; gene expression; higher termites; mobility; transcriptomic analyses.