Variation in gene expression leads to phenotypic diversity and plays a central role in caste differentiation of eusocial insect species. In social Hymenoptera, females with the same genetic ...background can develop into queens or workers, which are characterized by divergent morphologies, behaviours and lifespan. Moreover, many social insects exhibit behaviourally distinct worker castes, such as brood‐tenders and foragers. Researchers have just started to explore which genes are differentially expressed to achieve this remarkable phenotypic plasticity. Although the queen is normally the only reproductive individual in the nest, following her removal, young brood‐tending workers often develop ovaries and start to reproduce. Here, we make use of this ability in the ant Temnothorax longispinosus and compare gene expression patterns in the queens and three worker castes along a reproductive gradient. We found the largest expression differences between the queen and the worker castes (~2500 genes) and the smallest differences between infertile brood‐tenders and foragers (~300 genes). The expression profile of fertile workers is more worker‐like, but to a certain extent intermediate between the queen and the infertile worker castes. In contrast to the queen, a high number of differentially expressed genes in the worker castes are of unknown function, pointing to the derived status of hymenopteran workers within insects.
The transition to a parasitic lifestyle entails comprehensive changes to the selective regime. In parasites, genes encoding for traits that facilitate host detection, exploitation and transmission ...should be under selection. Slavemaking ants are social parasites that exploit the altruistic behaviour of their hosts by stealing heterospecific host brood during raids, which afterwards serve as slaves in slavemaker nests. Here we search for evidence of selection in the transcriptomes of three slavemaker species and three closely related hosts. We expected selection on genes underlying recognition and raiding or defense behaviour. Analyses of selective forces in species with a slavemaker or host lifestyle allowed investigation into whether or not repeated instances of slavemaker evolution share the same genetic basis. To investigate the genetic basis of host-slavemaker co-evolution, we created orthologous clusters from transcriptome sequences of six Temnothorax ant species - three slavemakers and three hosts - to identify genes with signatures of selection. We further tested for functional enrichment in selected genes from slavemakers and hosts respectively and investigated which pathways the according genes belong to.
Our phylogenetic analysis, based on more than 5000 ortholog sequences, revealed sister species status for two slavemakers as well as two hosts, contradicting a previous phylogeny based on mtDNA. We identified 309 genes with signs of positive selection on branches leading to slavemakers and 161 leading to hosts. Among these were genes potentially involved in cuticular hydrocarbon synthesis, thus species recognition, and circadian clock functionality possibly explaining the different activity patterns of slavemakers and hosts. There was little overlap of genes with signatures of positive selection among species, which are involved in numerous different functions and different pathways.
We identified different genes, functions and pathways under positive selection in each species. These results point to species-specific adaptations rather than convergent trajectories during the evolution of the slavemaker and host lifestyles suggesting that the evolution of parasitism, even in closely related species, may be achieved in diverse ways.
K+Λ(1405) photoproduction has been studied at the BGOOD experiment via the all neutral decay, Λ(1405)→Σ0π0. The unique BGOOD experimental setup allows both the cross section and Λ(1405) invariant ...mass distribution (line shape) to be measured over a broad K+ polar angle range, extending to extreme forward K+ angles unattainable at previous experiments.
Evidence is provided for the role of a triangle singularity driven by the N⁎(2030) resonance, which appears to contribute significantly to K+Λ(1405) photoproduction. This is observed in the integrated cross section which was determined with unprecedented energy resolution and supported by the angular distributions. The measured line shape is also in agreement with the previous results of CLAS and ANKE, and is consistent with two poles derived in χPT based models.
The coherent reaction, γd→π0π0d was studied with the BGOOD experiment at ELSA from threshold to a centre-of-mass energy of 2850MeV. A full kinematic reconstruction was made, with final state ...deuterons identified in the forward spectrometer and π0 decays in the central BGO Rugby Ball. The strength of the differential cross section exceeds what can be described by models of coherent photoproduction and instead supports the three isoscalar dibaryon candidates reported by the ELPH collaboration at 2.38, 2.47 and 2.63GeV/c2. A low mass enhancement in the π0π0 invariant mass is also observed at the d⁎(2380) centre-of-mass energy which is consistent with the ABC effect. At higher centre-of-mass energies, a narrow peak in the π0d invariant mass at 2114MeV/c2 with a width of 20MeV/c2 supports a sequential two-dibaryon decay mechanism.
The γp→K+Σ0 differential cross section at extremely forward angles was measured at the BGOOD experiment. A three-quarter drop in strength over a narrow range in energy and a strong dependence on the ...polar angle of the K+ in the centre-of-mass of the reaction is observed at a centre-of-mass energy of 1900 MeV. Residing close to multiple open and hidden strangeness thresholds, the structure appears consistent with meson-baryon threshold effects which may contribute to the reaction mechanism.
γ
p
→
K
+
Λ
differential cross sections and recoil polarisation data from threshold for extremely forward angles are presented. The measurements were performed at the BGOOD experiment at ELSA, ...utilising the high angular and momentum resolution forward spectrometer for charged particle identification. The high statistics and forward angle acceptance enables the extraction of the cross section as the minimum momentum transfer to the recoiling hyperon is approached.
The first measurement of the helicity dependence of the photoproduction cross section of single neutral pions off protons is reported for photon energies from 600 to 2300 MeV, covering nearly the ...full solid angle. The data are compared to predictions from the SAID, MAID, and BnGa partial wave analyses. Strikingly large differences between data and predictions are observed, which are traced to differences in the helicity amplitudes of well-known and established resonances. Precise values for the helicity amplitudes of several resonances are reported.
The BGOOD experiment at ELSA Jude, TC; Beck, R; Braghieri, A ...
Journal of physics. Conference series,
09/2023, Letnik:
2586, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Abstract
The BGOOD photoproduction experiment accesses forward meson angles and low momentum exchange kinematics in the
uds
sector, which may be sensitive to molecular-like hadron structure. Recent ...results are presented, including strangeness photoproduction at forward meson angles, and π
0
π
0
coherent photoproduction off the deuteron.
The Nπ^{0}π^{0} decays of positive-parity N^{*} and Δ^{*} resonances at about 2 GeV are studied at ELSA by photoproduction of two neutral pions off protons. The data reveal clear evidence for several ...intermediate resonances: Δ(1232), N(1520)3/2^{-}, and N(1680)5/2^{+}, with spin parities J^{P}=3/2^{+}, 3/2^{-}, and 5/2^{+}. The partial wave analysis (within the Bonn-Gatchina approach) identifies N(1440)1/2^{+} and the N(ππ)_{S wave} (abbreviated as Nσ here) as further isobars and assigns the final states to the formation of nucleon and Δ resonances and to nonresonant contributions. We observe the known Δ(1232)π decays of Δ(1910)1/2^{+}, Δ(1920)3/2^{+}, Δ(1905)5/2^{+}, Δ(1950)7/2^{+}, and of the corresponding spin-parity series in the nucleon sector, N(1880)1/2^{+}, N(1900)3/2^{+}, N(2000)5/2^{+}, and N(1990)7/2^{+}. For the nucleon resonances, these decay modes are reported here for the first time. Further new decay modes proceed via N(1440)1/2^{+}π, N(1520)3/2^{-}π, N(1680)5/2^{+}π, and Nσ. The latter decay modes are observed in the decay of N^{*} resonances and at most weakly in Δ^{*} decays. It is argued that these decay modes provide evidence for a 3-quark nature of N^{*} resonances rather than a quark-diquark structure.
The differential cross sections and unpolarized spin-density matrix elements for the reaction γp→pω were measured using the CBELSA/TAPS experiment for initial photon energies ranging from the ...reaction threshold to 2.5 GeV. These observables were measured from the radiative decay of the ω meson, ω→π0γ. The cross sections cover the full angular range and show the full extent of the t-channel forward rise. The overall shape of the angular distributions in the differential cross sections and unpolarized spin-density matrix elements are in fair agreement with previous data. In addition, for the first time, a beam of linearly-polarized tagged photons in the energy range from 1150 MeV to 1650 MeV was used to extract polarized spin-density matrix elements.
These data were included in the Bonn–Gatchina partial wave analysis (PWA). The dominant contribution to ω photoproduction near threshold was found to be the 3/2+ partial wave, which is primarily due to the sub-threshold N(1720)3/2+ resonance. At higher energies, pomeron-exchange was found to dominate whereas π-exchange remained small. These t-channel contributions as well as further contributions from nucleon resonances were necessary to describe the entire dataset: the 1/2−, 3/2−, and 5/2+ partial waves were also found to contribute significantly.