In social insects, interactions among colony members trigger caste differentiation with morphological modifications. During caste differentiation in termites, body parts and caste-specific morphologies are modified during postembryonic development under endocrine controls such as juvenile hormone (JH) and ecdysone. In addition to endocrine factors, developmental toolkit genes such as Hox- and appendage-patterning genes also contribute to the caste-specific body part modifications. These toolkits are thought to provide spatial information for specific morphogenesis. During social evolution, the complex crosstalks between physiological and developmental mechanisms should be established, leading to the sophisticated caste systems. This article reviews recent studies on these mechanisms underlying the termite caste differentiation and addresses implications for the evolution of caste systems in termites.

中文翻译：

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白蚁种姓分化中身体部位的特异性发育：激素作用和发育工具包基因之间的串扰

在社会性昆虫中，群体成员之间的相互作用引发了种姓分化和形态改变。在白蚁的种姓分化过程中，身体部位和种姓特异性形态在胚胎后发育过程中在保幼激素（JH）和蜕皮激素等内分泌控制下发生改变。除了内分泌因素外，发育工具包基因（例如 Hox 和附属物模式基因）也有助于种姓特定的身体部位修饰。这些工具包被认为可以为特定形态发生提供空间信息。在社会进化过程中，生理和发育机制之间应该建立复杂的串扰，从而导致复杂的种姓制度。本文回顾了最近对白蚁种姓分化机制的研究，并探讨了白蚁种姓系统进化的影响。