AUTHOR=Sun Pengdong , Li Ganghua , Jian Jianbo , Liu Long , Chen Junhui , Yu Shuxin , Xu Huan , Lei Chaoliang , Zhou Xuguo , Huang Qiuying 

TITLE=Transcriptomic and Functional Analyses of Phenotypic Plasticity in a Higher Termite, Macrotermes barneyi Light

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Genetics

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/genetics/articles/10.3389/fgene.2019.00964

DOI=10.3389/fgene.2019.00964

ISSN=1664-8021

ABSTRACT=<p>Eusocial termites have a complex caste system, which leads to the division of labor. Previous studies offered some insight into the caste differentiation in lower termites; however, few studies were focusing on the molecular mechanisms of higher termites with sophisticated societies. Comparative transcriptomic analyses of five immature castes of a higher termite, <italic>Macrotermes barneyi</italic> Light, suggest that phenotypic plasticity is modulated by an array of transcriptional changes, including differentially expressed genes (e.g., caste-biased genes <italic>Vtg</italic> and <italic>TnC</italic>), co-expression networks (e.g., genes associated with nymph reproduction), and alternative splicing (e.g., events related to muscle development in presoldiers). Transcriptional (RT-PCR and RT-qPCR) and functional (<italic>in vivo</italic> RNAi) validation studies reveal multiple molecular mechanisms contributing to the phenotypic plasticity in eusocial termites. Molecular mechanisms governing the phenotypic plasticity in <italic>M. barneyi</italic> could be a rule rather than an exception in the evolution of sociality.</p>