14 research outputs found
Oxidative stress and senescence in social insects:A significant but inconsistent link?
The life-prolonging effects of antioxidants have long entered popular culture, but the scientific community still debates whether free radicals and the resulting oxidative stress negatively affect longevity. Social insects are intriguing models for analysing the relationship between oxidative stress and senescence because life histories differ vastly between long-lived reproductives and the genetically similar but short-lived workers. Here, we present the results of an experiment on the accumulation of oxidative damage to proteins, and a comparative analysis of the expression of 20 selected genes commonly involved in managing oxidative damage, across four species of social insects: a termite, two bees and an ant. Although the source of analysed tissue varied across the four species, our results suggest that oxidative stress is a significant factor in senescence and that its manifestation and antioxidant defenses differ among species, making it difficult to find general patterns. More detailed and controlled investigations on why responses to oxidative stress may differ across social species may lead to a better understanding of the relations between oxidative stress, antioxidants, social life history and senescence. This article is part of the theme issue 'Ageing and sociality: why, when and how does sociality change ageing patterns
Hemimetabolous genomes reveal molecular basis of termite eusociality
Around 150 million years ago, eusocial termites evolved from within the cockroaches, 50 million years before eusocial Hymenoptera, such as bees and ants, appeared. Here, we report the 2-Gb genome of the German cockroach, Blattella germanica, and the 1.3-Gb genome of the drywood termite Cryptotermes secundus. We show evolutionary signatures of termite eusociality by comparing the genomes and transcriptomes of three termites and the cockroach against the background of 16 other eusocial and non-eusocial insects. Dramatic adaptive changes in genes underlying the production and perception of pheromones confirm the importance of chemical communication in the termites. These are accompanied by major changes in gene regulation and the molecular evolution of caste determination. Many of these results parallel molecular mechanisms of eusocial evolution in Hymenoptera. However, the specific solutions are remarkably different, thus revealing a striking case of convergence in one of the major evolutionary transitions in biological complexity
Oxidative stress and senescence in social insects : a significant but inconsistent link?
The life-prolonging effects of antioxidants have long entered popular
culture, but the scientific community still debates whether free radicals
and the resulting oxidative stress negatively affect longevity. Social
insects are intriguing models for analysing the relationship between oxidative
stress and senescence because life histories differ vastly between
long-lived reproductives and the genetically similar but short-lived
workers. Here, we present the results of an experiment on the accumulation
of oxidative damage to proteins, and a comparative analysis of
the expression of 20 selected genes commonly involved in managing oxidative
damage, across four species of social insects: a termite, two bees
and an ant. Although the source of analysed tissue varied across the
four species, our results suggest that oxidative stress is a significant
factor in senescence and that its manifestation and antioxidant defenses
differ among species, making it difficult to find general patterns. More
detailed and controlled investigations on why responses to oxidative
stress may differ across social species may lead to a better understanding
of the relations between oxidative stress, antioxidants, social life history
and senescence.
This article is part of the theme issue ‘Ageing and sociality: why, when
and how does sociality change ageing patterns?’The German Research Foundation and the Technische Universität Dresden Zukunftskonzept funded from the Excellence Initiative by the German Federal and State Governments.http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.orgam2022Zoology and Entomolog
Ox stress Bayes from Oxidative stress and senescence in social insects—a significant but inconsistent link?
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