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Myosin Gene Expression and Protein Abundance in Different Castes of the Formosan Subterranean Termite (Coptotermes formosanus)

The Formosan subterranean termite (Coptotermes formosanus) is an important worldwide pest, each year causing millions of dollars in structural damage and control costs. Termite colonies are composed of several phenotypically distinct castes. Termites utilize these multiple castes to efficiently perf...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Tarver, Matthew R., Florane, Christopher B., Mattison, Christopher P., Holloway, Beth A., Lax, Alan
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2012
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4553571/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26466734
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects3041190
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author Tarver, Matthew R.
Florane, Christopher B.
Mattison, Christopher P.
Holloway, Beth A.
Lax, Alan
author_facet Tarver, Matthew R.
Florane, Christopher B.
Mattison, Christopher P.
Holloway, Beth A.
Lax, Alan
author_sort Tarver, Matthew R.
collection PubMed
description The Formosan subterranean termite (Coptotermes formosanus) is an important worldwide pest, each year causing millions of dollars in structural damage and control costs. Termite colonies are composed of several phenotypically distinct castes. Termites utilize these multiple castes to efficiently perform unique roles within the colony. During the molting/caste differentiation process, multiple genes are believed to be involved in the massive reorganization of the body plan. The objective of this research was to analyze the muscle gene, myosin, to further understand the role it plays in C. formosanus development. We find that comparing worker vs. solider caste myosin gene expression is up-regulated in the soldier and a myosin antibody-reactive protein suggests changes in splicing. Comparison of body regions of mature soldier and worker castes indicates a greater level of myosin transcript in the heads. The differential expression of this important muscle-related gene is anticipated considering the large amount of body plan reorganization and muscle found in the soldier caste. These results have a direct impact on our understanding of the downstream genes in the caste differentiation process and may lead to new targets for termite control.
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spelling pubmed-45535712015-10-08 Myosin Gene Expression and Protein Abundance in Different Castes of the Formosan Subterranean Termite (Coptotermes formosanus) Tarver, Matthew R. Florane, Christopher B. Mattison, Christopher P. Holloway, Beth A. Lax, Alan Insects Article The Formosan subterranean termite (Coptotermes formosanus) is an important worldwide pest, each year causing millions of dollars in structural damage and control costs. Termite colonies are composed of several phenotypically distinct castes. Termites utilize these multiple castes to efficiently perform unique roles within the colony. During the molting/caste differentiation process, multiple genes are believed to be involved in the massive reorganization of the body plan. The objective of this research was to analyze the muscle gene, myosin, to further understand the role it plays in C. formosanus development. We find that comparing worker vs. solider caste myosin gene expression is up-regulated in the soldier and a myosin antibody-reactive protein suggests changes in splicing. Comparison of body regions of mature soldier and worker castes indicates a greater level of myosin transcript in the heads. The differential expression of this important muscle-related gene is anticipated considering the large amount of body plan reorganization and muscle found in the soldier caste. These results have a direct impact on our understanding of the downstream genes in the caste differentiation process and may lead to new targets for termite control. MDPI 2012-11-16 /pmc/articles/PMC4553571/ /pubmed/26466734 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects3041190 Text en © 2012 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Tarver, Matthew R.
Florane, Christopher B.
Mattison, Christopher P.
Holloway, Beth A.
Lax, Alan
Myosin Gene Expression and Protein Abundance in Different Castes of the Formosan Subterranean Termite (Coptotermes formosanus)
title Myosin Gene Expression and Protein Abundance in Different Castes of the Formosan Subterranean Termite (Coptotermes formosanus)
title_full Myosin Gene Expression and Protein Abundance in Different Castes of the Formosan Subterranean Termite (Coptotermes formosanus)
title_fullStr Myosin Gene Expression and Protein Abundance in Different Castes of the Formosan Subterranean Termite (Coptotermes formosanus)
title_full_unstemmed Myosin Gene Expression and Protein Abundance in Different Castes of the Formosan Subterranean Termite (Coptotermes formosanus)
title_short Myosin Gene Expression and Protein Abundance in Different Castes of the Formosan Subterranean Termite (Coptotermes formosanus)
title_sort myosin gene expression and protein abundance in different castes of the formosan subterranean termite (coptotermes formosanus)
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4553571/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26466734
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects3041190
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