Transcriptomic Signatures Mirror the Lack of the Fecundity/Longevity Trade-Off in Ant Queens
Abstract
Life-history theory predicts a trade-off between reproductive investment and self-maintenance. The negative association between fertility and longevity found throughout multicellular organisms supports this prediction. As an important exception, the reproductives of many eusocial insects (ants, bees, and termites) are simultaneously very long-lived and highly fertile. Here, we examine the proximate basis for this exceptional relationship by comparing whole-body transcriptomes of differently aged queens of the ant Cardiocondyla obscurior. We show that the sets of genes differentially expressed with age significantly overlap with age-related expression changes previously found in female Drosophila melanogaster. We identified several developmental processes, such as the generation of neurons, as common signatures of aging. More generally, however, gene expression in ant queens and flies changes with age mainly in opposite directions. In contrast to flies, reproduction-associated genes were upregulated and genes associated with metabolic processes and muscle contraction were downregulated in old relative to young ant queens. Furthermore, we searched for putative C. obscurior longevity candidates associated with the previously repor...Continue Reading
References
Social influence on age and reproduction: reduced lifespan and fecundity in multi-queen ant colonies
Programmatic features of aging originating in development: aging mechanisms beyond molecular damage?
Citations
Chapter 6. Comparative genomic approaches to investigate molecular traits specific to social insects
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