Data from: Transcriptomes of parents identify parenting strategies and sexual conflict in a subsocial beetle

Parenting in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides is complex and, unusually, the sex and number of parents that can be present is flexible. Such flexibility is expected to involve specialized behaviour by the two sexes under biparental conditions. Here, we show that offspring fare equally well regardless of the sex or number of parents present. Comparing transcriptomes, we find a largely overlapping set of differentially expressed genes in both uniparental and biparental females and in uniparental males including vitellogenin, associated with reproduction, and takeout, influencing sex-specific mating and feeding behaviour. Gene expression in biparental males is similar to that in non-caring states. Thus, being ‘biparental’ in N. vespilloides describes the family social organization rather than the number of directly parenting individuals. There was no specialization; instead, in biparental families, direct male parental care appears to be limited with female behaviour unchanged. This should lead to strong sexual conflict.

葬甲（Nicrophorus vespilloides）的育幼行为复杂且具有独特的灵活性：参与育幼的亲本性別与数量均可变。学界此前推测，这种灵活性应涉及双亲育幼情境下两性的行为特化。本研究结果显示，无论育幼亲本性別与数量如何，子代的生存表现均无显著差异。通过转录组（transcriptome）比较分析，我们发现，在单亲育幼雌性、双亲育幼雌性以及单亲育幼雄性样本中，存在一套高度重叠的差异表达基因（differentially expressed gene），其中包括与繁殖过程相关的卵黄蛋白原（vitellogenin），以及调控性特异性交配与取食行为的takeout基因。双亲育幼雄性的基因表达模式与非育幼状态下的雄性个体基本一致。由此可见，在该物种中，"双亲育幼"这一概念描述的是家族的社会组织形式，而非直接参与育幼的个体数量。本研究未发现两性存在育幼行为特化；相反，在双亲育幼家族中，雄性的直接育幼行为十分有限，且雌性的育幼行为未发生任何改变。这种情境下势必会引发强烈的性冲突。