ArticlePloS one2019
Long live the queen, the king and the commoner? Transcript expression differences between old and young in the termite Cryptotermes secundus.
Article in PloS one, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 34 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
- Extended longevity of termite kings and queens is accompanied by extranuclear localization of telomerase in somatic organs and caste-specific expression of its isoforms.Insect science · 2025Article
- A genetic toolkit underlying the queen phenotype in termites with totipotent workers.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Article
- Complex regulatory role of DNA methylation in caste- and age-specific expression of a termite.Open biology · 2022Article
- Gene Coexpression Network Reveals Highly Conserved, Well-Regulated Anti-Ageing Mechanisms in Old Ant Queens.Genome biology and evolution · 2021Article
- Disentangling the aging gene expression network of termite queens.BMC genomics · 2021Article
- Long-lived termite kings and queens activate telomerase in somatic organs.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2021Article
- Ageing and sociality: why, when and how does sociality change ageing patterns?Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2021Article
- Asymmetry, division of labour and the evolution of ageing in multicellular organisms.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2021Review
- Why and how do termite kings and queens live so long?Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2021Article
- The effect of environmental stress on ageing in a termite species with low social complexity.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2021Article
- Queen loss increases worker survival in leaf-cutting ants under paraquat-induced oxidative stress.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2021Article
- Comparative transcriptomic analysis of the mechanisms underpinning ageing and fecundity in social insects.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2021Article
- Transcriptomic analyses of the termite, Cryptotermes secundus, reveal a gene network underlying a long lifespan and high fecundity.Communications biology · 2021Article
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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
Social insects provide promising new avenues for aging research. Within a colony, individuals that share the same genetic background can differ in lifespan by up to two orders of magnitude. Reproducing queens (and in termites also kings) can live for more than 20 years, extraordinary lifespans for insects. We studied aging in a termite species, Cryptotermes secundus, which lives in less socially complex societies with a few hundred colony members. Reproductives develop from workers which are totipotent immatures. Comparing transcriptomes of young and old individuals, we found evidence for aging in reproductives that was especially associated with DNA and protein damage and the activity of transposable elements. By contrast, workers seemed to be better protected against aging. Thus our results differed from those obtained for social insects that live in more complex societies. Yet, they are in agreement with lifespan estimates for the study species. Our data are also in line with expectations from evolutionary theory. For individuals that are able to reproduce, it predicts that aging should only start after reaching maturity. As C. secundus workers are immatures with full reproductive options we expect them to invest into anti-aging processes. Our study illustrates that the degree of aging can differ between social insects and that it may be associated with caste-specific opportunities for reproduction.
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