Studying the molecular mechanisms of social life using a novel ant model system

使用新型蚂蚁模型系统研究社会生活的分子机制

• 批准号: 8356612
• 负责人: Daniel Kronauer
• 金额: $ 254.25万
• 依托单位: ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-09-30 至 2017-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8356612
• 关键词: Animal Model; Ants; Architecture; Behavior; Behavioral; Biological Models; Candidate Disease Gene; Development; Foundations; Future; Gene Expression; Gene Expression Profile; Genetic; Genetic Models; Human; Individual; Insecta; Life; Light; Mind; Molecular; Molecular Genetics; Pathway interactions; Pheromone; Physiology; RNA; Regulation; Social Behavior; Social Environment; Social Interaction; Societies; Staging; Stereotyping; Stimulus; System; Tactile; Techniques; United States National Institutes of Health; Work; abstracting; fascinate; genetic manipulation; genome sequencing; novel; public health relevance; reproductive; research study; response; social; social organization; Animal Model; Ants; Architecture; Behavior; Behavioral; Biological Models; Candidate Disease Gene; Development; Foundations; Future; Gene Expression; Gene Expression Profile; Genetic; Genetic Models; Human; Individual; Insecta; Life; Light; Mind; Molecular; Molecular Genetics; Pathway interactions; Pheromone; Physiology; RNA; Regulation; Social Behavior; Social Environment; Social Interaction; Societies; Staging; Stereotyping; Stimulus; System; Tactile; Techniques; United States National Institutes of Health; Work; abstracting; fascinate; genetic manipulation; genome sequencing; novel; public health relevance; reproductive; research study; response; social; social organization

DESCRIPTION (Provided by the applicant) Abstract: Like humans, social insects are highly responsive to their social environment and therefore are great potential systems to study the effects of social interactions on individual behavior and physiology. Here I propose to develop and use a novel genetic model system, the ant Cerapachys biroi, to study the following main questions. 1. Which basic molecular components are required for individuals to function as a society? 2. How are these components derived from the genetic architecture of solitary ancestors? 3. How does evolutionary change at the individual level give rise to novel forms of social organization? Cerapachys biroi is perfectl suited as a model system because it uniquely combines fascinating social behavior with unparalleled experimental accessibility. Workers reproduce parthenogenetically, which means that the individual allelic background and the genetic composition of experimental colonies can be perfectly controlled and replicated. The species also has a peculiar form of social organization. While colonies of other social insects perform different tasks simultaneously, colonies of C. biroi undergo highly stereotyped behavioral and reproductive cycles. These colony-level cycles emerge from the workers' synchronized response to pheromone and tactile stimuli from the brood. The social environment is therefore precisely defined by the different brood developmental stages present in the colony. This form of social organization allows me to precisely control, replicate, and experimentally manipulate the social environment. As a foundation for future work, my lab is currently sequencing the genome and transcriptome of C. biroi and developing automated techniques to quantify individual and colony-level behavior. As a NIH New Innovator, I first plan to quantify cyclic behavior and associated changes in global gene expression using RNA-Seq experiments. This will identify candidate molecular pathways that are responsive to changes in the social environment. As a second step, my group will characterize the function and regulation of particular candidate genes and pathways by using a combination of targeted approaches (RT-qPCR, immunostaining, pharmacological and genetic manipulations, etc.). In comparison to solitary model organisms, this will shed light on how the molecular architecture of social species builds on that of their solitary ancestors, and which components have evolved entirely de novo. Finally, by comparing C. biroi to other social insects, we will study how the derived cyclic social organization emerges from evolutionary change at the individual level. Public Health Relevance: Similar to humans, social insects are highly responsive to the social environment and therefore are great systems to study the effects of social interactions on individual behavior and physiology. Using a novel ant model system, I will investigate the fundamental molecular and genetic mechanisms that underlie social life. This work will potentially also have important implications for our basic understanding of the human social mind.

描述（申请人提供） 摘要：像人类一样，社会昆虫对其社会环境有很高的反应，因此是研究社会互动对个人行为和生理学的影响的巨大潜在系统。在这里，我建议开发和使用一种新型的遗传模型系统，即Ant Cerapachys Biroi，以研究以下主要问题。 1。个人需要哪些基本分子成分才能充当社会？ 2。这些成分是如何源自孤立祖先的遗传结构的？ 3.个人一级的进化变化如何产生新的社会组织形式？ Cerapachys Biroi非常适合作为模型系统，因为它唯一地将迷人的社会行为与无与伦比的实验可访问性结合在一起。工人从遗传学上再现孤态，这意味着可以完全控制和复制实验菌落的单个等位基因背景和遗传组成。该物种还具有社会组织的特殊形式。 尽管其他社会昆虫的殖民地同时执行了不同的任务，但C. biroi的菌落经历了高度定型的行为和生殖周期。这些菌落水平的周期从工人对育雏的信息素和触觉刺激的同步反应中浮现出来。因此，社会环境是由殖民地中存在的不同育雏发展阶段精确定义的。这种社会组织的形式使我能够精确控制，复制和实验操纵社会环境。作为未来工作的基础，我的实验室目前正在对C. biroi的基因组和转录组进行测序，并开发自动化技术以量化个体和群体级别的行为。作为NIH的新创新者，我首先计划使用RNA-Seq实验来量化全局基因表达的循环行为和相关的变化。这将确定候选分子途径，这些途径对社会环境的变化有反应。作为第二步，我的小组将通过使用靶向方法的组合（RT-QPCR，免疫染色，药理和遗传操作等）来表征特定候选基因和途径的功能和调节。与孤立的模型生物相比，这将阐明社会物种的分子建筑如何建立在其单独祖先的分子建筑，以及哪些组成部分已经完全发展起来。最后，通过将Biroi与其他社会昆虫进行比较，我们将研究衍生的循环社会组织如何从个人层面的进化变化中出现。 公共卫生相关性：与人类类似，社会昆虫对社会环境有很高的反应，因此是研究社会互动对个人行为和生理学影响的好体系。使用新型的蚂蚁模型系统，我将研究基于社会生活的基本分子和遗传机制。这项工作也有可能对我们对人类社会思想的基本理解具有重要意义。