The molecular basis of socially-mediated phenotypic plasticity in a eusocial paper wasp

We report analyses the individual-level brain gene expression profiles of Polistes dominula paper wasps following the loss of a queen, a perturbation that induces some individuals to undergo a significant phenotypic shift and become queens while others maintain an apparently unchanged worker phenotype. We use a machine learning approach to map individual transcriptomes on a continuum between worker and queen states and then match these scores to detailed phenotypic data. We find a strong response of caste-associated gene expression to queen loss, with individuals’ expression profiles becoming intermediate between queen and worker states. Brain mRNA profiles for 96 individuals: 26 queens; 12 workers from control nests; 24 individuals from nests three days after queen removal; 34 individuals from nests twelve days after queen removal.