Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1007/s00040-023-00928-1

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Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Oxford University Press (OUP)  

Abstract

Society in eusocial insects is based on the reproductive division of labor, with a small number of reproductive individuals supported by a large number of non-reproductive individuals. Because inclusive fitness of all colony members depends on the survival and fertility of reproductive members, sterile members provide royals with special treatment. Here we show that termite kings and queens each receive special food of a different composition from workers. Sequential analysis of feeding processes demonstrated that workers exhibit discriminative trophallaxis, indicating their decision-making capacity in allocating food to the kings and queens. LC-MS/MS analyses of the stomodeal food and midgut contents revealed king- and queen-specific compounds including diacylglycerols and short-chain peptides. DESI-MSI analyses of 13C-labelled termites identified phosphatidylinositol and acetyl-L-carnitine in the royal food. Comparison of the digestive tract structure showed remarkable differences in the volume ratio of the midgut-to-hindgut among castes, indicating that digestive division of labor underlies reproductive division of labor. Our demonstration of king- and queen-specific food in termites provides insight into the nutritional system that underpins the extraordinary reproduction and longevity of royals in eusocial insects.

DOI： 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad222

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Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1007/s00040-023-00907-6

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Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Frontiers Media {SA}  

<jats:p>Termite colonies, composed of large numbers of siblings, develop an important caste-based division of labor; individuals in these societies interact via intra- or intercaste chemical communications. For more than 50 years, termites have been known to use a variety of pheromones to perform tasks necessary for maintenance of their societies, similar to eusocial hymenopterans. Although trail-following pheromones have been chemically identified in various termites, other types of pheromones have not been elucidated chemically or functionally. In the past decade, however, chemical compositions and biological functions have been successfully identified for several types of termite pheromones; accordingly, the details of the underlying pheromone communications have been gradually revealed. In this review, we summarize both the functions of all termite pheromones identified so far and the chemical interactions among termites and other organisms. Subsequently, we argue how termites developed their sophisticated pheromone communication. We hypothesize that termites have diverted defensive and antimicrobial substances to pheromones associated in caste recognition and caste-specific roles. Furthermore, termites have repeatedly used a pre-existing pheromone or have added supplementary compounds to it in accordance with the social context, leading to multifunctionalization of pre-existing pheromones and emergence of new pheromones. These two mechanisms may enable termites to transmit various context-dependent information with a small number of chemicals, thus resulting in formation of coordinated, complex, and rational chemical communication systems.</jats:p>

DOI： 10.3389/fevo.2020.595614

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Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1007/s10886-020-01182-6

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Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Springer Science and Business Media {LLC}  

Social behaviours in termites are regulated by sophisticated chemical communication systems. The majority of subterranean termites continuously forage for new wood resources to expand their nesting areas; an aggregation pheromone is presumed to regulate this process. However, the chemical components of this pheromone have never been determined. We identified the chemical properties of the aggregation pheromone that signals nestmate presence and induces arrest in the termite Reticulitermes speratus. The results of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses and bioassays indicated that R. speratus worker release the pheromone to their nesting site. The pheromone consists of an aromatic compound (2-phenylundecane), cuticular hydrocarbons (pentacosane and heptacosane), fatty acids (palmitic acid and trans-vaccenic acid), and cholesterol; the pheromone induces long-term aggregation at new nesting and feeding sites. Although 2-phenylundecane alone attracted workers, the combination of all six compounds showed greater arrestant activity than 2-phenylundecane alone. This suggests that 2-phenylundecane functions as an attractant, whereas the remaining five components function as arrestants. Our results indicate that foraging worker termites produce a multi-component aggregation pheromone by combining a volatile hydrocarbon and non-volatile lipids with cuticular hydrocarbons. This pheromone enables rapid, long-lasting aggregation of termite workers, which contributes to efficient feeding and colonisation of new wood. Our work furthers the understanding of chemical communication systems underlying social assembly in social insects.

DOI： 10.1038/s41598-020-64388-4

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PubMed

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Authorship：Lead author   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Elsevier {BV}  

DOI： 10.1016/j.isci.2019.06.041

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Authorship：Lead author   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Impact Journals, {LLC}  

DOI： 10.18632/aging.101578

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Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Springer Nature America, Inc  

DOI： 10.1007/s13355-018-0589-1

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Other Link： http://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s13355-018-0589-1.pdf

Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Wiley  

DOI： 10.1111/1744-7917.12640

PubMed

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Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Royal Society  

DOI： 10.1098/rsbl.2018.0025

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Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：University of Chicago Press  

DOI： 10.1086/697238

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Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Springer Nature  

DOI： 10.1007/s13355-018-0545-0

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Other Link： http://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s13355-018-0545-0.pdf

Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Royal Society  

Division of labour in eusocial insects is characterized by efficient communication systems based on pheromones. Among such insects, termites have evolved specialized sterile defenders, called soldiers. Because they are incapable of feeding themselves, it has been suggested that soldiers are sustained by workers and emit the pheromone arresting workers. However, such a soldier pheromone has not been identified in any termite species, and the details of the soldier–worker interaction remain to be explored. Here, we identified a soldier-specific volatile sesquiterpene as a worker arrestant, which also acts as a primer pheromone regulating soldier differentiation and fungistatic agent in a termite
<italic>Reticulitermes speratus</italic>
. Chemical analyses revealed that (−)-
<italic>β</italic>
-elemene is the major component of soldier extract, and its authentic standard exhibited arrestant activity to workers and inhibited the differentiation from workers to soldiers. This compound also showed fungistatic activity against entomopathogenic fungi. These suggest that (−)-
<italic>β</italic>
-elemene secreted by soldiers acts not only as a worker arrestant but also as one component of inhibitory primer pheromone and an anti-pathogenic agent. Our study provides novel evidence supporting the multi-functionality of termite soldier pheromone and provides new insights into the role of soldiers and the evolutionary mechanisms of pheromone compounds.

DOI： 10.1098/rspb.2017.1134

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Other Link： https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspb.2017.1134

Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Public Library of Science  

DOI： 10.1371/journal.pone.0175417

PubMed

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Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Public Library of Science  

DOI： 10.1371/journal.pone.0146125

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