Comparative RNA-Seq Analyses of Solenopsis japonica (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Reveal Gene in Response to Cold Stress

Abstract

Solenopsis japonica, as a fire ant species, shows some predatory behavior towards earthworms and woodlice, and preys on the larvae of other ant species by tunneling into a neighboring colony’s brood chamber. This study focused on the molecular response process and gene expression profiles of S. japonica to low (9 °C)-temperature stress in comparison with normal temperature (25 °C) conditions. A total of 89,657 unigenes (the clustered non-redundant transcripts that are filtered from the longest assembled contigs) were obtained, of which 32,782 were annotated in the NR (nonredundant protein) database with gene ontology (GO) terms, gene descriptions, and metabolic pathways. The results were 81 GO subgroups and 18 EggNOG (evolutionary genealogy of genes: Non-supervised Orthologous Groups) keywords. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) with log2fold change (FC) > 1 and log2FC < –1 with p-value ≤ 0.05 were screened for cold stress temperature. We found 215 unigenes up-regulated and 115 unigenes down-regulated. Comparing transcriptome profiles for differential gene expression resulted in various DE proteins and genes, including fatty acid synthases and lipid metabolism, which have previously been reported to be involved in cold resistance. We verified the RNA-seq data by qPCR on 20 up- and down-regulated DEGs. These findings facilitate the basis for the future understanding of the adaptation mechanisms of S. japonica and the molecular mechanisms underlying the response to low temperatures.

Genome-wide transcriptional profiling provides clues to molecular mechanisms underlying cold tolerance in chickpea

“…The GO enrichment analysis of DEGs indicated that some biological processes, including response to stress, abiotic stimulus, temperature, and cold, as well as ribosome biogenesis were enriched in both genotypes (Fig. 2); this is in agreement with prior reports [25][26][27] . In the molecular function category, catalytic, binding, transferase, hydrolase, transporter, transmembrane transporter, oxidoreductase, and ATPase activity, as well as structural constituent of ribosome were among the highly enriched GO indicators in both genotypes.…”

Glycerol biosynthesis plays an essential role in mediating cold tolerance the red imported fire ant,Solenopsis invicta

“…Glycerol titers in the hemolymph of Spodoptera exigua increased significantly in response to RCH and it was dependent on the exposure period at low temperatures (Park & Kim, 2013). Glycerol biosynthesis genes are upregulated in a close ant species, Solenopsis japonica , according to our recent transcriptome research (Vatanparast & Park, 2021). The metabolomics in the flesh fly Sarcophaga crassipalpis has verified glycerol accumulation during RCH, as well as accumulation of two amino acids (alanine and glutamine), an extra polyol (sorbitol), and a sugar (glucose) (Michaud & Denlinger, 2007).…”

Comparative transcriptome analysis of adult worker bees under short-term heat stress

“…Protein kinases can phosphorylate proteins by transferring phosphate groups to specific substrate proteins, usually ATP or GTP as donors and serine, 10.3389/fevo.2023.1099015 threonine, and tyrosine as receptors (Krupa et al, 2004;Faucher et al, 2008). The regulation of fatty acid synthase and serine protease is part of the diapause program (Robich and Denlinger, 2005;Vatanparast and Park, 2021). The heat stress caused metabolic disorders which cause diapause in honeybees.…”