TY - JOUR

T1 - Transcriptomes of parents identify parenting strategies and sexual conflict in a subsocial beetle

AU - Parker, Darren J

AU - Cunningham, Christopher B

AU - Walling, Craig A

AU - Stamper, Clare E

AU - Head, Megan L

AU - Roy-Zokan, Eileen M

AU - McKinney, Elizabeth C

AU - Ritchie, Michael G

AU - Moore, Allen J

PY - 2015/9/29

Y1 - 2015/9/29

N2 - Parenting in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides is complex and, unusually, the sex and number of parents that can be present is flexible. Such flexibility is expected to involve specialized behaviour by the two sexes under biparental conditions. Here, we show that offspring fare equally well regardless of the sex or number of parents present. Comparing transcriptomes, we find a largely overlapping set of differentially expressed genes in both uniparental and biparental females and in uniparental males including vitellogenin, associated with reproduction, and takeout, influencing sex-specific mating and feeding behaviour. Gene expression in biparental males is similar to that in non-caring states. Thus, being 'biparental' in N. vespilloides describes the family social organization rather than the number of directly parenting individuals. There was no specialization; instead, in biparental families, direct male parental care appears to be limited with female behaviour unchanged. This should lead to strong sexual conflict.

AB - Parenting in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides is complex and, unusually, the sex and number of parents that can be present is flexible. Such flexibility is expected to involve specialized behaviour by the two sexes under biparental conditions. Here, we show that offspring fare equally well regardless of the sex or number of parents present. Comparing transcriptomes, we find a largely overlapping set of differentially expressed genes in both uniparental and biparental females and in uniparental males including vitellogenin, associated with reproduction, and takeout, influencing sex-specific mating and feeding behaviour. Gene expression in biparental males is similar to that in non-caring states. Thus, being 'biparental' in N. vespilloides describes the family social organization rather than the number of directly parenting individuals. There was no specialization; instead, in biparental families, direct male parental care appears to be limited with female behaviour unchanged. This should lead to strong sexual conflict.

KW - Animals

KW - Coleoptera/genetics

KW - Female

KW - Gene Expression Profiling

KW - Male

KW - Molecular Sequence Data

KW - Sexual Behavior, Animal/physiology

KW - Social Behavior

KW - Transcriptome

U2 - 10.1038/ncomms9449

DO - 10.1038/ncomms9449

M3 - Article

C2 - 26416581

VL - 6

SP - 8449

JO - Nature Communications

JF - Nature Communications

SN - 2041-1723

ER -