Identification and functional analsis of genes associated with social organization in termites

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26891002
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Ecology/Environment
• Research Institution: Hokkaido University
• Principal Investigator: Hayashi Yoshinobu 北海道大学, 地球環境科学研究科(研究院), 学術研究員 (70626803)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-08-29 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 昆虫 / トランスクリプトーム

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, to identify genes involved in social organization in termites, comprehensive gene expression and evolutionary analyses were conducted in the Japanese damp wood termite Hodotermopsis sjostedti. First, the sequences of expressed genes obtained from soldiers, kings, queens, male neotenics, and female neotenics were determined with a next generation sequencer, and expression levels of the genes were estimated. As a result, 492 genes exhibited significantly higher expression levels in soldiers than in the other castes. Next, a comparative analysis was performed to detect positive selection in the ancestral lineage of termites, and found four genes that were positively selected. The differentially expressed genes and the positively selected genes are considered to be important in social organization in termites.

Free Research Field

昆虫遺伝学