University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Chemosensory gene expression analysis in the argentine ant, linepithema humile

Laird, Joseph G.

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2_Laird_Joseph.pdf

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/16221

Description

Title
Chemosensory gene expression analysis in the argentine ant, linepithema humile
Author(s)
Laird, Joseph G.
Issue Date
2010-05-19T18:41:00Z
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
  • Suarez, Andrew V.
  • Robertson, Hugh M.
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Robertson, Hugh M.
Department of Study
School of Integrative Biology
Discipline
Biology
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
M.S.
Degree Level
Thesis
Date of Ingest
2010-05-19T18:41:00Z
Keyword(s)
  • Linepithema humile
  • opsin
  • odorant receptors
  • odorant binding protein
  • SYBR Green
Abstract
This experiment was conducted to determine expression patterns of a subset of chemosensory genes, including odorant receptors (Ors) and odorant binding proteins (OBPs), in the invasive Argentine ant, Linepithema humile. Fragments of two Ors were identified from a whole ant EST project, which suggested their potential importance in Argentine ant ecology. An initial RT-PCR experiment demonstrated that OrA and OrB were expressed throughout the body. The newly available genome sequence was used to manually build additional Or gene models to test in RT-PCR. OBP and opsin genes were also tested in the RT-PCR to serve as positive and negative controls. The RT-PCR results were unclear; therefore qPCR was conducted for a semi-quantitative analysis of their gene expression in the tissue samples. It was hypothesized that the expression levels for the Ors should be high in the head/antennal samples, and low in the other body samples assayed. We also hypothesized that the OBPs would have variable of expression levels in all the body regions analyzed and that opsins would be highly expressed in the head/antennal region since they are photoreceptors in the eyes. The qPCR results demonstrated that the Ors and opsins were highly expressed in the head/antennal samples compared to the thorax/legs and abdominal tissue samples. The OBPs did not have a pattern that suggested a bias toward one tissue, but were highly expressed in all body regions.
Graduation Semester
2010-5
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/16221
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2010 Joseph G. Laird

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