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MBE Advance Access originally published online on June 18, 2009
Molecular Biology and Evolution 2009 26(8):1841-1850; doi:10.1093/molbev/msp095
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Research Articles

Comparison of Queen-Specific Gene Expression in Related Lower Termite Species

Tobias Weil*,{dagger}, Judith Korb*,{ddagger},1 and Michael Rehli{dagger},1

* Biology I, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
{dagger} Department of Hematology, University Hospital, Regensburg, Germany
{ddagger} Behavioral Biology, University of Osnabrueck, Osnabrueck, Germany

E-mail: judith.korb{at}biology.uni-osnabrueck.de.

Accepted for publication April 24, 2009.

The molecular mechanisms regulating caste determination and reproductive division of labor, the hallmarks of insect societies, are poorly defined. The identification of key genes involved in these developmentally important processes will be essential to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms controlling one of the most impressive examples of polyphenism, the caste structure of eusocial species. Here, we applied representational difference analysis of cDNAs, to study differential gene expression between queens (female neotenics) and workers in the dry wood termite Cryptotermes cynocephalus and identified 13 genes that were highly expressed in queens. In addition, we partially cloned several homologous genes of the related termite species Cryptotermes secundus and compared the expression profiles of 10 homologous genes. In most cases, the preferential expression in female neotenics was not conserved between species, despite the close phylogenetic relationship of both Cryptotermes species. It is possible that these genes are associated with known species-specific differences in caste development modes. Only three genes (Neofem1, 2, and 3) showed a conserved and highly preferential expression in female neotenics, suggesting that their products may play important roles in female reproductives, in particular in controlling caste determination and reproductive division of labor.

Key Words: caste determination • gene expression • reproduction • social insects • termites • reproductive division of labor

1 These authors contributed equally to this work.

Douglas Crawford, Associate Editor


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