Regulatory mechanisms of homeostasis in social insects
Description: Social deprivation can have negative effects on the lives of social animals, including humans, yet little is known about the mechanisms by which social withdrawal affects animal health. Here we study the mechanisms that negatively regulate the lives and health of individuals with ants. In the carpenter ant, socially isolated workers have a greatly reduced lifespan relative to ants kept in groups. With a tracking system, we found that social isolation resulted in important behavioral changes and greatly increased locomotor activity. We performed the transcriptome analysis and found that the genes related with energy metabolism, digestion, is differentially expressed in isolated ants, suggesting the impairment of energy balancing in social isolation. We also found that the expression of genes categorized neurotransmitter, neuro transport and oxidative stress are differentially expressed in isolated ants, showing the high correlation with their behavior.
Amount: ¥4,160,000
Funding type: fellowship
Funder scheme: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
Start date: 2018-04-01
End date: 2021-03-31
Investigator: Akiko Koto
Institution: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
Subfield: Genetics
Domain: Life Sciences
Funded outputs count: 2
Funder award ID: 18K14761
OpenAlex ID: G3225835513