ArticlePloS one2017
Caste-, sex-, and age-dependent expression of immune-related genes in a Japanese subterranean termite, Reticulitermes speratus.
Article in PloS one, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 38 citations in OpenAlex.
- Meta-Analysis of Public RNA Sequencing Data Revealed Potential Key Genes Associated with Reproductive Division of Labor in Social Hymenoptera and Termites.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Pooled it
- dsRNA-mediated interference with RcβGRPs significantly reduced the resistance of Reticulitermes chinensis Snyder (Blattodea: Termitidae) to pathogens.Pest management science · 2026Article
- Insect immune systems: same same but different but still same.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Secretions of the Frontal Gland of a Nasute Termite Soldier: The Role in the Defense against an Entomopathogenic Fungi.Journal of chemical ecology · 2025Article
- Transcriptomic Analysis ofInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
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- Article
- A High Soldier Proportion Encouraged the Greater Antifungal Immunity in a Subterranean Termite.Frontiers in physiology · 2022Article
- Evolutionary transition of doublesex regulation from sex-specific splicing to male-specific transcription in termites.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Evidence for reduced immune gene diversity and activity during the evolution of termites.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2021Article
- Transcriptomic evidence that insulin signalling pathway regulates the ageing of subterranean termite castes.Scientific reports · 2020Article
- Complete mitochondrial genomes from transcriptomes: assessing pros and cons of data mining for assembling new mitogenomes.Scientific reports · 2019Article
- Transstadial immune activation in a mosquito: Adults that emerge from infected larvae have stronger antibacterial activity in their hemocoel yet increased susceptibility to malaria infection.Ecology and evolution · 2019Article
- Article
- The Influence of Allogrooming Behavior on Individual Innate Immunity in the Subterranean Termite Reticulitermes chinensis (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae).Journal of insect science (Online) · 2019Article
- Chemistry of the Secondary Metabolites of Termites.Progress in the chemistry of organic natural products · 2019Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Insects protect themselves from microbial infections through innate immune responses, including pathogen recognition, phagocytosis, the activation of proteolytic cascades, and the synthesis of antimicrobial peptides. Termites, eusocial insects inhabiting microbe-rich wood, live in closely-related family groups that are susceptible to shared pathogen infections. To resist pathogenic infection, termite families have evolved diverse immune adaptations at both individual and societal levels, and a strategy of trade-offs between reproduction and immunity has been suggested. Although termite immune-inducible genes have been identified, few studies have investigated the differential expression of these genes between reproductive and neuter castes, and between sexes in each caste. In this study, we compared the expression levels of immune-related genes among castes, sexes, and ages in a Japanese subterranean termite, Reticulitermes speratus. Using RNA-seq, we found 197 immune-related genes, including 40 pattern recognition proteins, 97 signalling proteins, 60 effectors. Among these genes, 174 showed differential expression among castes. Comparing expression levels between males and females in each caste, we found sexually dimorphic expression of immune-related genes not only in reproductive castes, but also in neuter castes. Moreover, we identified age-related differential expression of 162 genes in male and/or female reproductives. In addition, although R. speratus is known to use the antibacterial peptide C-type lysozyme as an egg recognition pheromone, we determined that R. speratus has not only C-type, but also P-type and I-type lysozymes, as well as other termite species. Our transcriptomic analyses revealed immune response plasticity among all castes, and sex-biased expression of immune genes even in neuter castes, suggesting a sexual division of labor in the immune system of R. speratus. This study heightens the understanding of the evolution of antimicrobial strategies in eusocial insects, and of sexual roles in insect societies as a whole.
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