ArticleGenome biology2016
Comparative transcriptomics reveals the conserved building blocks involved in parallel evolution of diverse phenotypic traits in ants.
Article in Genome biology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 47 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
47 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Co-expression Gene Networks and Machine-learning Algorithms Unveil a Core Genetic Toolkit for Reproductive Division of Labour in Rudimentary Insect Societies.Genome biology and evolution · 2023Pooled it
- Sequencing, annotation and analysis of the genome ofLife science alliance · 2026Article
- Gene Ontology-Based Comparative Transcriptomics Provides Evidence of Genetic Adaptations in theAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Unmated Queens Show Worker-Like Behaviour and Gene Expression in Polygynous Colonies of the Ant Stigmatomma pallipes.Molecular ecology · 2026Article
- Gene expression and immune cell heterogeneity in inbred Amur tiger.BMC genomics · 2026Article
- Spiroplasma Display an Intricate Continuum of Infection Heterogeneity and Persistence in Myrmica Ants.Molecular ecology · 2026Article
- Blast Resistance Gene Pish Derived Reprogramming of Noncoding RNAs in Rice.Rice (New York, N.Y.) · 2026Article
- Fire ant ovary gene expression analyses revealed immune and insulin pathways underlie the reproductive transition from virgin to mated queen.BMC genomics · 2025Article
- Mate choice in the brain: species differ in how male traits 'turn on' gene expression in female brains.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2024Article
- Insights from Melipona bicolor hybrid genome assembly: a stingless bee genome with chromosome-level scaffold.BMC genomics · 2024Article
- Brain Gene Expression of Foraging Behavior and Social Environment in Ceratina calcarata.Genome biology and evolution · 2023Article
- The dual role of microRNA (miR)-20b in cancers: Friend or foe?Cell communication and signaling : CCS · 2023Review
- A single-cell transcriptomic atlas tracking the neural basis of division of labour in an ant superorganism.Nature ecology & evolution · 2022Article
- Gene expression and epigenetics reveal species-specific mechanisms acting upon common molecular pathways in the evolution of task division in bees.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Ever-increasing viral diversity associated with the red imported fire ant Solenopsis invicta (Formicidae: Hymenoptera).Virology journal · 2021Article
- Marked Seasonal Variation in Structure and Function of Gut Microbiota in Forest and Alpine Musk Deer.Frontiers in microbiology · 2021Article
- In silico-driven analysis of thePeerJ · 2021Article
- Article
- Chromatin accessibility and transcriptome landscapes of Monomorium pharaonis brain.Scientific data · 2020Article
- Developmental plasticity shapes social traits and selection in a facultatively eusocial bee.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundReproductive division of labor in eusocial insects is a striking example of a shared genetic background giving rise to alternative phenotypes, namely queen and worker castes. Queen and worker phenotypes play major roles in the evolution of eusocial insects. Their behavior, morphology and physiology underpin many ecologically relevant colony-level traits, which evolved in parallel in multiple species.
resultsUsing queen and worker transcriptomic data from 16 ant species we tested the hypothesis that conserved sets of genes are involved in ant reproductive division of labor. We further hypothesized that such sets of genes should also be involved in the parallel evolution of other key traits. We applied weighted gene co-expression network analysis, which clusters co-expressed genes into modules, whose expression levels can be summarized by their 'eigengenes'. Eigengenes of most modules were correlated with phenotypic differentiation between queens and workers. Furthermore, eigengenes of some modules were correlated with repeated evolution of key phenotypes such as complete worker sterility, the number of queens per colony, and even invasiveness. Finally, connectivity and expression levels of genes within the co-expressed network were strongly associated with the strength of selection. Although caste-associated sets of genes evolve faster than non-caste-associated, we found no evidence for queen- or worker-associated co-expressed genes evolving faster than one another.
conclusionsThese results identify conserved functionally important genomic units that likely serve as building blocks of phenotypic innovation, and allow the remarkable breadth of parallel evolution seen in ants, and possibly other eusocial insects as well.
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