What is it about?
In a fire ant colony, only the queen can lay eggs but the workers must feed her and ensure the success of their queens by foraging for protein and carbohydrates. We try to understand how neuropeptides are involved or regulate (coordinate) this division of labor (workers that forage but cannot reproduce vs queens that reproduce but do not forrage) for successful reproductive output.
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Why is it important?
We try to find important signaling pathways that when disturbed can lead to better management of fire ants.
Perspectives
In the post genomic era (after transcriptomics and fire ant genome availability) we are back full circle to understand the colony-level significance by analyzing specific proteins localization and expression in queens while my collaborator's lab focuses on workers.
Professor and Texas AgriLife Research Fellow Patricia V. Pietrantonio
Texas A&M University System
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Neuropeptide signaling in the red imported fire ant in nutrition, reproduction, and division of labor, January 2016, Entomological Society of America,
DOI: 10.1603/ice.2016.105682.
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