title: Genomic comparison of the ants Camponotus floridanus and Harpegnathos saltator.
abstract: The organized societies of ants include short-lived worker castes displaying specialized behavior and morphology and long-lived queens dedicated to reproduction. We sequenced and compared the genomes of two socially divergent ant species: Camponotus floridanus and Harpegnathos saltator. Both genomes contained high amounts of CpG, despite the presence of DNA methylation, which in non-Hymenoptera correlates with CpG depletion. Comparison of gene expression in different castes identified up-regulation of telomerase and sirtuin deacetylases in longer-lived H. saltator reproductives, caste-specific expression of microRNAs and SMYD histone methyltransferases, and differential regulation of genes implicated in neuronal function and chemical communication. Our findings provide clues on the molecular differences between castes in these two ants and establish a new experimental model to study epigenetics in aging and behavior.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, New York University School of Medicine, 522 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bonasio
authors.forename: Guojie
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Chaoyang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.forename: Navdeep S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Mutti
authors.forename: Xiaodong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.forename: Greg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Donahue
authors.forename: Pengcheng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Qiye
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Cai
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Pei
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zhiyong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Shelley L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Berger
authors.forename: Danny
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Reinberg
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liebig
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001000:Ants / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D015226:Dinucleoside Phosphates / Q000032:analysis; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D017344:Genes, Insect; D016678:Genome; D056545:Group III Histone Deacetylases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006838:Hydrocarbons / Q000378:metabolism; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011496:Protein Methyltransferases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020543:Proteome; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012919:Social Behavior; D013045:Species Specificity; D019098:Telomerase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004247:DNA; D015226:Dinucleoside Phosphates; D056545:Group III Histone Deacetylases; D006838:Hydrocarbons; D019476:Insect Proteins; D035683:MicroRNAs; D011496:Protein Methyltransferases; D020543:Proteome; D019098:Telomerase; C015772:CpG dinucleotide
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