RNAdata_Common and Specific Genes

The emergence of eusociality is one of the major events in evolution. Although several previous studies have investigated the mechanism underlying caste differentiation and social behavior of eusocial insects including ants and honeybees, the molecular circuits governing the sociality of these insects remain obscure. In this study, we profiled the brain transcriptome and chromatin accessibility of all categories of adult castes: queens, males, gynes and workers in Monomorium pharaonis which is a typical caste-dependent eusocial insect. We created a comprehensive dataset including 16 RNA-seq and 16 ATAC-seq profiles from 4 biological replicates. We also demonstrated strong reproducibility of the datasets and identified specific genes and open chromatin regions in the genome that may be associated with caste differentiation. Overall, our data will be a valuable resource for further study of the mechanisms underlying eusocial insect behavior, particularly the role of brain in the control of eusociality.

真社会性（eusociality）的出现是演化历程中的重大事件之一。尽管此前已有多项研究针对包括蚂蚁、蜜蜂在内的真社会性昆虫的品级分化（caste differentiation）与社会行为机制展开了探索，但调控这类昆虫社会性行为的分子环路（molecular circuits）仍未完全明晰。本研究以典型的品级依赖型真社会性昆虫法老蚁（Monomorium pharaonis）为研究对象，对其所有成虫品级的脑转录组（brain transcriptome）与染色质可及性（chromatin accessibility）进行了检测分析，涵盖的品级包括蚁后（queens）、雄蚁（males）、处女蚁后（gynes）与工蚁（workers）。本研究构建了一套完整的数据集，包含来自4组生物学重复（biological replicates）的16份RNA测序（RNA-seq）样本与16份ATAC测序（ATAC-seq）样本的图谱信息。同时，本研究验证了该数据集具备良好的可重复性，并筛选出了可能与品级分化相关的特异性基因及基因组内的开放染色质区域（open chromatin regions）。总体而言，本研究产生的数据将为后续探究真社会性昆虫行为的调控机制，尤其是大脑在真社会性调控中发挥的作用，提供宝贵的研究资源。