Dynamic neurogenomic responses to social interactions and dominance outcomes in female paper wasps

by Floria M. K. Uy, Christopher M. Jernigan, Natalie C. Zaba, Eshan Mehrotra, Sara E. Miller, Michael J. Sheehan Social interactions have large effects on individual physiology and fitness. In the immediate sense, social stimuli are often highly salient and engaging. Over longer time scales, competitive interactions often lead to distinct social ranks and differences in physiology and behavior. Understanding how initial responses lead to longer-term effects of social interactions requires examining the changes in responses over time. Here we examined the effects of social interactions on transcriptomic signatures at two times, at the end of a 45-minute interaction and 4 hours later, in femalePolistes fuscatus paper wasp foundresses. FemaleP.fuscatus have variable facial patterns that are used for visual individual recognition, so we separately examined the transcriptional dynamics in the optic lobe and the non-visual brain. Results demonstrate much stronger transcriptional responses to social interactions in the non-visual brain compared to the optic lobe. Differentially regulated genes in response to social interactions are enriched for memory-related transcripts. Comparisons between winners and losers of the encounters revealed similar overall transcriptional profiles at the end of an interaction, which significantly diverged over the course of 4 hours, with losers showing changes in expression levels of genes associated with aggression and reproduction in paper wasps. On ...
Source: PLoS Genetics - Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Source Type: research