title: Expansion of presoldier cuticle contributes to head elongation during soldier differentiation in termites.
abstract: In termites, the soldier caste possesses morphological features suitable for colony defence, despite some exceptions. Soldiers are differentiated via two moultings through a presoldier stage with dramatic morphogenesis. While a number of morphological modifications are known to occur during the presoldier moult, growth and morphogenesis seem to continue even after the moult. The present study, using the damp-wood termite Hodotermopsis sjostedti, carried out morphological and histological investigations on the developmental processes during the presoldier stage that is artificially induced by the application of a juvenile hormone analogue. Measurements of five body parameters indicated that head length significantly increased during the 14-day period after the presoldier moult, while it did not increase subsequently to the stationary moult (pseudergate moult as control). Histological observations also showed that the cuticular development played a role in the presoldier head elongation, suggesting that the soft and flexible presoldier cuticle contributed to the soldier morphogenesis in termites.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0810, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sugime
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0810, Japan.|NIBB Core Research Facilities, National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki, 444-8585, Japan.
authors.forename: Kota
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ogawa
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0810, Japan.
authors.forename: Dai
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0810, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shimoji
authors.affiliation: The Hakubi Center for Advanced Research and Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan.
authors.forename: Shigeyuki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Koshikawa
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0810, Japan. miu@ees.hokudai.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Miura
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006257:Head / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D020049:Isoptera / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development*; D018978:Molting; D009024:Morphogenesis / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Cuticle; Intermoult; Presoldier; Soldier differentiation; Termite