Role of the foraging gene in worker behavioral transition in the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

文献类型： 外文期刊

第一作者： Chen, Jie

作者： Chen, Jie;Zhou, Yangyang;Lei, Yanyuan;Shi, Qingxing;Qi, Guojun;Lyu, Lihua;Zhou, Yangyang;He, Yurong

作者机构：

关键词： Solenopsis invicta; foraging; cGMP-dependent protein kinase; nurse; forager; pest management

期刊名称：PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE （ 影响因子：4.462； 五年影响因子：4.688 ）

ISSN： 1526-498X

年卷期： 2022 年 78 卷 7 期

页码：

收录情况： SCI

摘要： BACKGROUND Worker division of labor is predominant in social insects. The foraging (for) gene, which encodes cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG), has been implicated in the regulation of behavioral transitions in honeybees, but information regarding its function in other social insects is scarce. RESULTS We investigated the role of the for (Sifor) gene in the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, and found that Sifor and PKG exhibited different expression patterns in different castes, body sizes, ages and tissues of fire ants, especially in foragers and nurses. Foragers displayed greater locomotor activity but showed no preference for larval or adult odors, whereas nurses showed lesser locomotor activity but had a strong preference for larval odors. We found that the expression of Sifor was significantly higher in the heads of foragers (compared to nurses). RNA interference-mediated Sifor knockdown in foraging workers induced behavioral transition of foragers toward the nurse phenotype characterized by reduced locomotor activity and a stronger preference for larval odors. By contrast, treating nurses with 8-Br-cGMP, an activator of PKG, resulted in behavioral transition toward the forager phenotype characterized by higher locomotor activity but reduced preference for larval odors. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that Sifor plays a critical role in the behavioral transition between foragers and nurses of workers, which may be a promising target for RNAi-based management of worker caste organization in S. invicta. (c) 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

分类号：

  • 相关文献
作者其他论文 更多>>

微信小程序