PRJNA434006
Transcriptomics and genomics of social parasitism in wasps
In this study we aim to understand the molecular underpinnings of social parasitism in wasps. In the eusocial Hymenoptera, individuals in a society form castes that divide labor. The queen caste monopolizes reproduction, whereas females in the worker caste specialize in raising their sisters and other tasks. Certain species known as obligate social parasites or inquilines, however, have secondarily lost the worker caste. Therefore, these social parasites must exploit the workers of a host species to guarantee the survival of their parasitic offspring. To discover the molecular changes associated with social parasitism, we performed RNA and whole-genome sequencing of the inquiline wasp D. arctica and its host D. arenaria. For RNA sequencing, we isolated RNA from individual heads using an RNeasy Mini Kit, prepared 24 TruSeq Stranded mRNA libraries (350bp insert), and sequenced the pooled libraries across three full lanes on a HiSeq 2500 (High Output mode) system with read length 125 x 125. The 24 individuals for RNA sequencing included 8 females of D. arctica and from D. arenaria 6 foundresses, 4 queens, and 6 workers. For whole genome sequencing, we isolated DNA from a single male of each species using a DNeasy Blood and Tissue Kit, prepared TruSeq PCR-free (450bp insert) libraries, and sequenced these libraries on a HiSeq X system with read length 151 x 151.