ArticlePLoS genetics2018
TGFβ signaling related genes are involved in hormonal mediation during termite soldier differentiation.
Article in PLoS genetics, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
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18 citing papers in PubMed, 40 citations in OpenAlex.
- Genome Evolution in Social Insects.Genome biology and evolution · 2026Review
- Regulation of reproductive and behavioral plasticity in social insects.Current opinion in insect science · 2026Review
- Comparative Expression Analysis of Olfactory Receptor Genes Among Individuals With Soldier and Worker Caste Differentiation Fates in Termites.Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Impact of Excess Activin A on the Lipids, Metabolites, and Steroids of Adult Mouse Reproductive Organs.Endocrinology · 2025Article
- Article
- Regulation of soldier caste differentiation by microRNAs in Formosan subterranean termite (PeerJ · 2024Article
- Screening of reference genes for microRNA analysis in the study of solider caste differentiation of Formosan subterranean termite Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Article
- Efficient RNA interference method during caste differentiation with hormone treatment in the termiteFrontiers in insect science · 2023Article
- The TGF-β Receptor GeneMolecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Comparison of gene expression profiles among caste differentiations in the termite Reticulitermes speratus.Scientific reports · 2022Article
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- Article
- Article
- Diversity of Insect Sesquiterpenoid Regulation.Frontiers in genetics · 2020Review
- Transcriptomic changes during caste development through social interactions in the termiteEcology and evolution · 2019Article
- Transcriptomic and Functional Analyses of Phenotypic Plasticity in a Higher Termite,Frontiers in genetics · 2019Article
- A Crucial Caste Regulation Gene Detected by Comparing Termites and Sister Group Cockroaches.Genetics · 2018Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
A working knowledge of the proximate factors intrinsic to sterile caste differentiation is necessary to understand the evolution of eusocial insects. Genomic and transcriptomic analyses in social hymenopteran insects have resulted in the hypothesis that sterile castes are generated by the novel function of co-opted or recruited universal gene networks found in solitary ancestors. However, transcriptome analysis during caste differentiation has not been tested in termites, and evolutionary processes associated with acquiring the caste are still unknown. Termites possess the soldier caste, which is regarded as the first acquired permanently sterile caste in the taxon. In this study, we performed a comparative transcriptome analysis in termite heads during 3 molting processes, i.e., worker, presoldier and soldier molts, under natural conditions in an incipient colony of the damp-wood termite Zootermopsis nevadensis. Although similar expression patterns were observed during each molting process, more than 50 genes were shown to be highly expressed before the presoldier (intermediate stage of soldier) molt. We then performed RNA interference (RNAi) of the candidate 13 genes, including transcription factors and uncharacterized protein genes, during presoldier differentiation induced by juvenile hormone (JH) analog treatment. Presoldiers induced after RNAi of two genes related to TGFβ (Transforming growth factor beta) signaling were extremely unusual and possessed soldier-like phenotypes. These individuals also displayed aggressive behaviors similar to natural soldiers when confronted with Formica ants as hypothetical enemies. These presoldiers never molted into the next instar, presumably due to the decreased expression levels of the molting hormone (20-hydroxyecdysone; 20E) signaling genes. These results suggest that TGFβ signaling was acquired for the novel function of regulating between JH and 20E signaling during soldier differentiation in termites.
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