title: Starvation resistance and tissue-specific gene expression of stress-related genes in a naturally inbred ant population.
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.
authors.affiliation: Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, Viikinaari 1, Biocenter 3, PO Box 65, Helsinki 00014, Finland; University of Helsinki Tvärminne Zoological Station, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, J.A. Palménin tie 260, Hanko 10900, Finland.
authors.forename: Nick
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bos
authors.affiliation: Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, Viikinaari 1, Biocenter 3, PO Box 65, Helsinki 00014, Finland; University of Helsinki Tvärminne Zoological Station, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, J.A. Palménin tie 260, Hanko 10900, Finland.
authors.forename: Unni
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Pulliainen
authors.affiliation: Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, Viikinaari 1, Biocenter 3, PO Box 65, Helsinki 00014, Finland; University of Helsinki Tvärminne Zoological Station, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, J.A. Palménin tie 260, Hanko 10900, Finland.
authors.forename: Liselotte
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sundström
authors.affiliation: Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, Viikinaari 1, Biocenter 3, PO Box 65, Helsinki 00014, Finland; University of Helsinki Tvärminne Zoological Station, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, J.A. Palménin tie 260, Hanko 10900, Finland; Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Survontie 9, Jyväskylä 40014, Finland.
authors.forename: Dalial
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Freitak
keywords: gene expression; inbreeding; social insect; starvation; tissue specificity