From gene list to gene network: Recognizing functional connections that regulate behavioral traits

Faragalla, Kyrillos M.; Chernyshova, Anna M.; Gallo, Anthony J.; Thompson, Graham

doi:10.1002/jez.b.22829

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 123 publications

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“…We conducted gene network analysis to identify co-expressed networks of genes underlying ovary size differences among individuals. This analysis may provide additional insight into functional connections between sets of genes underlying our phenotypes of interest that may not be captured during standard differential expression analysis (Faragalla et al, 2018). To do this, we used the WGCNA (weighted gene co-expression network analysis) package in R (Langfelder & Horvath, 2008) to identify modules of genes showing co-expression.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental disruption of social structure reveals totipotency in the orchid bee, Euglossa dilemma

Saleh

Henske

Ramírez

2022

Preprint

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Eusociality has evolved multiple times across the insect phylogeny. Social insects with greater levels of social complexity tend to exhibit specialized castes with low levels of individual phenotypic plasticity. In contrast, species with small, simple social groups may consist of totipotent individuals that can transition among behavioral and reproductive states as the social hierarchy shifts. However, recent work has shown that in some simple social groups, there can still be constraint on individual plasticity, caused by differences in maternal nourishment or initial social interaction. It is not well understood how and when these constraints arise during social evolution, ultimately leading to the evolution of nonreproductive workers. Some species of orchid bees can form social groups of a dominant and 1-2 subordinate helpers where all individuals are reproductive. Females can also disperse on emergence to start their own nest as a solitary foundress, which includes a nonreproductive nest guarding phase not typically expressed by subordinates. Little data exist to characterize the flexibility of orchid bees across these trajectories. Here, using the orchid bee Euglossa dilemma, we conduct an experiment assessing the plasticity of subordinate helpers, finding that they are highly flexible and capable of the behavioral, physiological, transcriptomic, and chemical changes seen in foundresses. Furthermore, we identify genes and gene networks associated with reproductive changes in E. dilemma that overlap with genes associated with worker physiology in eusocial species. Our results provide evidence that the lack of nonreproductive workers in E. dilemma is not due to a lack of subordinate plasticity.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental disruption of social structure reveals totipotency in the orchid bee, Euglossa dilemma

Saleh

Henske

Ramírez

2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…We conducted gene network analysis to identify co-expressed networks of genes underlying ovary size differences among individuals. This analysis may provide additional insight into functional connections between sets of genes underlying phenotypes of interest that may not be captured during standard differential expression analysis (Faragalla et al 2018). To do this, we used the WGCNA (weighted gene co-expression network analysis) package in R (Langfelder and Horvath 2008) to identify modules of genes showing co-expression.…”

Section: Gene Network Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental disruption of social structure reveals totipotency in the orchid bee, Euglossa dilemma

2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Eusociality has evolved multiple times across the insect phylogeny. Social insects with greater levels of social complexity tend to exhibit specialized castes with low levels of individual phenotypic plasticity. In contrast, species with simple social groups may consist of totipotent individuals that transition among behavioral and reproductive states. However, recent work has shown that in simple social groups, there can still be constraint on individual plasticity, caused by differences in maternal nourishment or social interaction. It is not well understood how these constraints arise, ultimately leading to the evolution of nonreproductive workers. Some species of orchid bees form social groups of a dominant and-one to two subordinate helpers where all individuals are reproductive. Females can also disperse to start their own nest as a solitary foundress, which includes a nonreproductive phase characterized by ovary inactivation, not typically expressed by subordinates. Little is known about individual flexibility across these trajectories. Here, using the orchid bee Euglossa dilemma, we assess the plasticity of subordinate helpers, finding that they are capable of the same behavioral, physiological, transcriptomic, and chemical changes seen in foundresses. Our results suggest that the lack of nonreproductive workers in E. dilemma is not due to a lack of subordinate plasticity.

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“…We also targeted a TF related to Broad that did not exhibit a strong signature of transcriptional regulatory plasticity (see Results), to complement and contrast with Broad: Fushi tarazu transcription factor 1 (Ftz-F1). Ftz-F1 is a downstream target of Broad in highly conserved endocrine cascades that are critical to insect development (Bonneton and Laudet, 2012) and, like Broad, it is predicted to be a key regulator of several behaviors in honey bees (Ament et al, 2012a;Chandrasekaran et al, 2011;Faragalla et al, 2018). Additionally, like Broad, Ftz-F1's putative targets are enriched for gene ontology terms related to neuronal plasticity, cognition and learning and memory (Chandrasekaran et al, 2011).…”

Section: Tfs Chosen For Manipulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Division of labor in honey bees is associated with transcriptional regulatory plasticity in the brain

Hamilton

Traniello

Ray

et al. 2019

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Studies in evolutionary and developmental biology show that relationships between transcription factors (TFs) and their target genes can be altered to result in novel regulatory relationships that generate phenotypic plasticity. We hypothesized that contextdependent shifts in the nervous system associated with behavior may also be linked to changes in TF-target relationships over physiological time scales. We tested this hypothesis using honey bee (Apis mellifera) division of labor as a model system by performing bioinformatic analyses of previously published brain transcriptomic profiles together with new RNAi and behavioral experiments. The bioinformatic analyses identified five TFs that exhibited strong signatures of regulatory plasticity as a function of division of labor. RNAi targeting of one of these TFs (broad complex) and a related TF that did not exhibit plasticity (fushi tarazu transcription factor 1) was administered in conjunction with automated analyses of foraging behavior in the field, laboratory assays of aggression and brood care behavior, and endocrine treatments. The results showed that changes in the regulatory relationships of these TFs were associated with behavioral state, social context and endocrine state. These findings provide the first empirical evidence that TF-target relationships in the brain are altered in conjunction with behavior and social context. They also suggest that one mechanism for this plasticity involves pleiotropic TFs high up in regulatory hierarchies producing behavior-specific transcriptional responses by activating different downstream TFs to induce discrete context-dependent transcriptional cascades. These findings provide new insights into the dynamic nature of the transcriptional regulatory architecture underlying behavior in the brain.

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From gene list to gene network: Recognizing functional connections that regulate behavioral traits

Cited by 4 publications

References 123 publications

Experimental disruption of social structure reveals totipotency in the orchid bee, Euglossa dilemma

Experimental disruption of social structure reveals totipotency in the orchid bee, Euglossa dilemma

Experimental disruption of social structure reveals totipotency in the orchid bee, Euglossa dilemma

Division of labor in honey bees is associated with transcriptional regulatory plasticity in the brain

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