Centre for Biodiversity & Environment Research, University College London, London, UK.
Department of Genetics, Evolution & Environment, University College London, London, UK.
Nat Commun. 2021 Feb 3;12(1):775. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-21095-6.
Phenotypic plasticity, the ability to produce multiple phenotypes from a single genotype, represents an excellent model with which to examine the relationship between gene expression and phenotypes. Analyses of the molecular foundations of phenotypic plasticity are challenging, however, especially in the case of complex social phenotypes. Here we apply a machine learning approach to tackle this challenge by analyzing individual-level gene expression profiles of Polistes dominula paper wasps following the loss of a queen. We find that caste-associated gene expression profiles respond strongly to queen loss, and that this change is partly explained by attributes such as age but occurs even in individuals that appear phenotypically unaffected. These results demonstrate that large changes in gene expression may occur in the absence of outwardly detectable phenotypic changes, resulting here in a socially mediated de-differentiation of individuals at the transcriptomic level but not at the levels of ovarian development or behavior.
表型可塑性，即从单个基因型产生多种表型的能力，是研究基因表达与表型之间关系的极佳模型。然而，分析表型可塑性的分子基础具有挑战性，尤其是在复杂的社会表型的情况下。在这里，我们通过分析 Polistes dominula 纸巢蜂失去蜂王后个体水平的基因表达谱，应用机器学习方法来应对这一挑战。我们发现，与社会分工相关的基因表达谱对蜂王的缺失反应强烈，这种变化部分可以用年龄等属性来解释，但即使在外观上没有明显表型变化的个体中也会发生。这些结果表明，即使在外在可检测的表型变化不存在的情况下，基因表达也可能发生巨大变化，导致个体在转录组水平上发生社会介导的去分化，但在卵巢发育或行为水平上则不会。
