Huang Jun, Wang Shizhen, Yu Chendi, Su Hongli, Jiang Zhitao, Li Xiaowei, Lu Yaobin, Zhang Juan
State Key Laboratory for Quality and Safety of Agro-Products Institute of Plant Protection and Microbiology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences Hangzhou China.
Institute of Garden Plants and Flowers Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences Hangzhou China.
Ecol Evol. 2025 Jun 7;15(6):e71508. doi: 10.1002/ece3.71508. eCollection 2025 Jun.
The queen ant is central to colony reproduction and chemical communication. Removing her causes significant phenotypic changes, such as wing loss and oviposition in virgins, and the emergence of reproductive pseudoqueens. However, the effects of queen loss in the workers of invasive have not been thoroughly documented. Our study compares worker behavior and gene expression post-queen removal, revealing altered dietary preferences, life expectancy, and no change in necrophoresis behavior. The queen's absence mildly affects gene expression in major workers, but TO and MRJP1 expression rise in minors. Metabolite changes relate to unsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis and autophagy, with increased lysosome production in queenless minors, likely due to the phosphatidylinositol signaling pathway in response to changes in nutritional status. This upregulation may clear cellular debris, ensuring nutrient stability and cellular integrity, and activate the PI3K/Akt pathway to regulate FoxO, enhancing resilience to sugar intake reduction and promoting longevity. We also suggest that the metabolite 12(Z), 15(Z)-heneicosadienoic acid is key in MRJP synthesis, linked to worker ant longevity.
蚁后对于蚁群的繁殖和化学通讯至关重要。移除蚁后会导致显著的表型变化，如处女蚁失去翅膀并开始产卵，以及生殖性假蚁后的出现。然而，入侵蚁种工蚁失去蚁后的影响尚未得到充分记录。我们的研究比较了移除蚁后后工蚁的行为和基因表达，发现饮食偏好改变、寿命变化，而尸体搬运行为没有改变。蚁后的缺失对主要工蚁的基因表达有轻微影响，但未成年工蚁中TO和MRJP1的表达增加。代谢物变化与不饱和脂肪酸生物合成和自噬有关，无蚁后的未成年工蚁中溶酶体产量增加，这可能是由于磷脂酰肌醇信号通路对营养状况变化的响应。这种上调可能清除细胞碎片以确保营养稳定和细胞完整性，并激活PI3K/Akt途径来调节FoxO，增强对糖摄入量减少的抵抗力并促进长寿。我们还认为代谢物12(Z), 15(Z)-二十一碳二烯酸是MRJP合成的关键，与工蚁寿命相关。
