Journal
INSECT SCIENCE
Volume 28, Issue 1, Pages 77-92Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.12763
Keywords
dispersal flight; eusocial termite; flight muscle; mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation; swarming behavior; three-dimensional reconstruction
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Funding
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [31772516, 31501634]
- Key Foreign Cooperation Projects of the Bureau of International Cooperation of Chinese Academy of Sciences [152111KYSB20160067]
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The dispersal flight of eusocial termite Reticulitermes chinensis Snyder leads to physiological and morphological adjustments in flight muscle systems, facilitating the swarming flight procedure.
Swarming behavior facilitates pair formation, and therefore mating, in many eusocial termites. However, the physiological adjustments and morphological transformations of the flight muscles involved in flying and flightless insect forms are still unclear. Here, we found that the dispersal flight of the eusocial termite Reticulitermes chinensis Snyder led to a gradual decrease in adenosine triphosphate supply from oxidative phosphorylation, as well as a reduction in the activities of critical mitochondrial respiratory enzymes from preflight to dealation. Correspondingly, using three-dimensional reconstruction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the flight muscles were found to be gradually deteriorated during this process. In particular, two tergo-pleural muscles (IItpm5 and III-tpm5) necessary to adjust the rotation of wings for wing shedding behavior were present only in flying alates. These findings suggest that flight muscle systems vary in function and morphology to facilitate the swarming flight procedure, which sheds light on the important role of swarming in successful extension and fecundity of eusocial termites.
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