Under a sociogenomic context, the molecular mechanisms underlying gene-behavior associations are of particular interest. The Drosophila foraging (for) gene has been demonstrated to have a causal role in insect behavioral plasticity. Previous studies of for have revealed many facets of for function, including roles in foraging, energy metabolism, learning and memory, circadian rhythm, and stress resistance. for orthologs have been identified in a variety of insect taxa. However, expression patterns are not consistent across all insects, with for orthologs serving as both positive and negative regulators of foraging behavior. In this study, we cloned two for orthologs, Rffor-α and Rffor-β, from the Eastern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes. Spatial distribution study showed that the termite brain possesses significantly higher expression levels of Rffor-α and Rffor-β than other types of tissues, which suggests that for may act on the brain to influence an individual's ability to respond to its environment. The temporal expression profile of Rffor across different developmental stages suggests that Rffor functions as a negative regulator of foraging behavior. However, results from environmental impacts, that is, temperature and photoperiod, do not fit under a model of negative correlation between gene expression and locomotion. Further testing is warranted to better understand the interaction between Rffor expression and the environment.

中文翻译：

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候选觅食基因直系同源物在较低的白蚁网状黄素中。

在社会基因组学背景下，引起基因与行为关联的分子机制尤为重要。果蝇觅食（for）基因已被证明在昆虫行为可塑性中具有因果作用。以前对for的研究揭示了for功能的许多方面，包括在觅食，能量代谢，学习和记忆，昼夜节律和压力抗性中的作用。直系同源物已在多种昆虫类群中鉴定。然而，表达方式并非在所有昆虫中都一致，直向同源物同时充当觅食行为的正向和负向调节者。在这项研究中，我们从东部地下白蚁Reticulitermes flavipes克隆了两个直系同源物Rffor-α和Rffor-β。空间分布研究表明，白蚁大脑的Rffor-α和Rffor-β的表达水平明显高于其他类型的组织，这表明白蚁的大脑可能作用于大脑，从而影响个体对其环境做出反应的能力。Rffor在不同发育阶段的时间表达谱表明，Rffor充当觅食行为的负调节器。但是，环境影响（即温度和光周期）的结果不适用于基因表达与运动之间呈负相关的模型。为了进一步了解Rffor表达与环境之间的相互作用，有必要进行进一步的测试。应对环境的能力。Rffor在不同发育阶段的时间表达谱表明，Rffor充当觅食行为的负调节器。但是，环境影响（即温度和光周期）的结果不适用于基因表达与运动之间呈负相关的模型。为了进一步了解Rffor表达与环境之间的相互作用，有必要进行进一步的测试。应对环境的能力。Rffor在不同发育阶段的时间表达谱表明，Rffor充当觅食行为的负调节器。但是，环境影响（即温度和光周期）的结果不适用于基因表达与运动之间呈负相关的模型。为了进一步了解Rffor表达与环境之间的相互作用，有必要进行进一步的测试。