Manfredini, F;
Romero, AE;
Pedroso, I;
Paccanaro, A;
Sumner, S;
Brown, MJF;
(2017)
Neurogenomic Signatures of Successes and Failures in Life-History Transitions in a Key Insect Pollinator.
Genome Biology and Evolution
, 9
(11)
pp. 3059-3072.
10.1093/gbe/evx220.
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Abstract
Life-history transitions require major reprogramming at the behavioral and physiological level. Mating and reproductive maturation are known to trigger changes in gene transcription in reproductive tissues in a wide range of organisms, but we understand little about the molecular consequences of a failure to mate or become reproductively mature, and it is not clear to what extent these processes trigger neural as well as physiological changes. In this study, we examined the molecular processes underpinning the behavioral changes that accompany the major life-history transitions in a key pollinator, the bumblebee Bombus terrestris. We compared neuro-transcription in queens that succeeded or failed in switching from virgin and immature states, to mated and reproductively mature states. Both successes and failures were associated with distinct molecular profiles, illustrating how development during adulthood triggers distinct molecular profiles within a single caste of a eusocial insect. Failures in both mating and reproductive maturation were explained by a general up-regulation of brain gene transcription. We identified 21 genes that were highly connected in a gene coexpression network analysis: nine genes are involved in neural processes and four are regulators of gene expression. This suggests that negotiating life-history transitions involves significant neural processing and reprogramming, and not just changes in physiology. These findings provide novel insights into basic life-history transitions of an insect. Failure to mate or to become reproductively mature is an overlooked component of variation in natural systems, despite its prevalence in many sexually reproducing organisms, and deserves deeper investigation in the future.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Neurogenomic Signatures of Successes and Failures in Life-History Transitions in a Key Insect Pollinator |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1093/gbe/evx220 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evx220 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oup.com. |
| Keywords: | bumblebee, Bombus terrestris, mating, reproductive maturation, brain, gene network |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences > Genetics, Evolution and Environment |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10025169 |
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