Downregulation of Orco and 5-HTT Alters Nestmate Discrimination in the Subterranean Termite Ondontotermes formosanus (Shiraki)

Authors

Pengdong Sun, Huazhong Agricultural University, China
Shuxin Yu, Huazhong Agricultural University, China
Austin Merchant, University of KentuckyFollow
Chaoliang Lei, Huazhong Agricultural University, China
Xuguo Zhou, University of KentuckyFollow
Qiuying Huang, Huazhong Agricultural University, China

Abstract

Nestmate discrimination allows social insects to recognize nestmates from non-nestmates using colony-specific chemosensory cues, which typically evoke aggressive behavior toward non-nestmates. Functional analysis of genes associated with nestmate discrimination has been primarily focused on inter-colonial discrimination in Hymenopterans, and parallel studies in termites, however, are grossly lacking. To fill this gap, we investigated the role of two genes, Orco and 5-HTT, associated with chemosensation and neurotransmission respectively, in nestmate discrimination in a highly eusocial subterranean termite, Odontotermes formosanus (Shiraki). We hypothesized that knocking down of these genes will compromise the nestmate recognition and lead to the antagonistic behavior. To test this hypothesis, we carried out (1) an in vivo RNAi to suppress the expression of Orco and 5-HTT, respectively, (2) a validation study to examine the knockdown efficiency, and finally, (3) a behavioral assay to document the phenotypic impacts/behavioral consequences. As expected, the suppression of either of these two genes elevated stress level (e.g., vibrations and retreats), and led to aggressive behaviors (e.g., biting) in O. formosanus workers toward their nestmates, suggesting both Orco and 5-HTT can modulate nestmate discrimination in termites. This research links chemosensation and neurotransmission with nestmate discrimination at the genetic basis, and lays the foundation for functional analyses of nestmate discrimination in termites.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-11-2019

Notes/Citation Information

Published in Frontiers in Physiology, v. 10, article 714, p. 1-11.

Copyright © 2019 Sun, Yu, Merchant, Lei, Zhou and Huang.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2019.00714

Funding Information

This research was funded by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (grant number: 2662016PY062 and 2013PY007) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number: 31772516).

Related Content

The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2019.00714/full#supplementary-material

Repository Citation

Sun, Pengdong; Yu, Shuxin; Merchant, Austin; Lei, Chaoliang; Zhou, Xuguo; and Huang, Qiuying, "Downregulation of Orco and 5-HTT Alters Nestmate Discrimination in the Subterranean Termite Ondontotermes formosanus (Shiraki)" (2019). Entomology Faculty Publications. 189.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/entomology_facpub/189