A1 Journal article (refereed)
Starvation resistance and tissue-specific gene expression of stress-related genes in a naturally inbred ant population (2016)

Bos, N., Pulliainen, U., Sundström, L., & Freitak, D. (2016). Starvation resistance and tissue-specific gene expression of stress-related genes in a naturally inbred ant population. Royal Society Open Science, 3(4), Article 160062. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.160062

JYU authors or editors

Freitak, Dalial

Publication details

All authors or editors: Bos, Nick; Pulliainen, Unni; Sundström, Liselotte; Freitak, Dalial

Journal or series: Royal Society Open Science

ISSN: 2054-5703

eISSN: 2054-5703

Publication year: 2016

Volume: 3

Issue number: 4

Article number: 160062

Publisher: The Royal Society

Publication country: United Kingdom

Publication language: English

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.160062

Research data link: http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.k3553

Publication open access: Openly available

Publication channel open access: Open Access channel

Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/49687

Additional information: Data and R-scripts used for analyses have been made available at dryad: http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.k3553.

Abstract

Starvation is one of the most common and severe stressors in nature. Not only does it lead to death if not alleviated, it also forces the starved individual to allocate resources only to the most essential processes. This creates energetic trade-offs which can lead to many secondary challenges for the individual. These energetic trade-offs could be exacerbated in inbred individuals, which have been suggested to have a less efficient metabolism. Here, we studied the effect of inbreeding on starvation resistance in a natural population of Formica exsecta ants, with a focus on survival and tissue-specific expression of stress, metabolism and immunity-related genes. Starvation led to large tissue-specific changes in gene expression, but inbreeding had little effect on most of the genes studied. Our results illustrate the importance of studying stress responses in different tissues instead of entire organisms.

Keywords: hunger; tolerance (physical); inbreeding; gene expression; ants

Free keywords: social insect; starvation; tissue specificity; Formica exsecta

Fields of science: