RNA-seq of Temnothorax rugatulus workers with/without inhibitors of histone (de)acetylation

We investigated the role of histone acetylation in the regulation of worker reproduction in the ant Temnothorax rugatulus. We removed queens from their colonies to induce worker fecundity, and either fed workers with chemical inhibitors of histone acetylation (C646), deacetylation (Trichostatin A), or only the solvent (DMSO) as control. We monitored worker number for six weeks after which we assessed ovary development and sequenced fat body mRNA.

我们研究了组蛋白乙酰化（histone acetylation）在凹胸蚁（Temnothorax rugatulus）工蚁繁殖调控中的作用。本研究通过从蚁群中移除蚁后以诱导工蚁具备繁殖能力，随后分别向工蚁投喂组蛋白乙酰化抑制剂C646、组蛋白去乙酰化抑制剂曲古抑菌素A（Trichostatin A），以及仅投喂溶剂二甲基亚砜（DMSO）作为对照。我们对工蚁种群数量进行了为期六周的监测，待实验周期结束后评估其卵巢发育状况，并对脂肪体的mRNA进行测序。