CAES Newswire

 College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences UGA Cooperative Extension
Menu
Published on 07/22/04

UGA study reveals new role for germ cells

By Cat Holmes
University of Georgia

Anyone who's ever watched an ant farm or beehive knows that some insects are social creatures.

In fact, “a lot of insects are social,” said University of Georgia entomologist Michael Strand. “They've evolved societies in which different individuals have different functions. They've also evolved completely different body shapes and behaviors.”

That means that, despite the fact that they begin with essentially the same genetic material, some individuals develop into queens that reproduce while others develop into soldiers or workers that defend and maintain the colony.

This ability for something with the same genetic material to look and behave differently is called phenotypic plasticity. Examples of phenotypic plasticity are also known to occur in many other animals, yet scientists do not understand very well how this occurs at a cellular or molecular level.

However, recent UGA studies have shed new light on this question by finding that caste formation in a unique type of wasp is strongly influenced by whether individuals possess a specialized type of cells called germ cells.

The study, published in the July 6 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also reveals a previously unknown role for germ cells in development according to Strand, one of the authors of the study.

Doubl[ing] agents

The wasp used in the study is “a particularly elegant model [for this research] because its eggs develop clonally to produce genetically identical offspring,” Strand said.

So, in much the same way human identical twins are formed from one egg, each egg laid by this wasp produces roughly 2,000 identical sibling wasps.

Yet despite each wasp in a colony being genetically identical, individuals develop into two distinctly different castes: soldiers and queens.

The question addressed in the UGA study was what determines at a cellular and molecular level whether a given offspring develops into a queen or soldier. The answer is germ cells.

Germ cells

Germs cells are determined very early in the development of mammals as well as insects.

“Germs cells are formed very early in the embryogenesis of wasps, long before any individuals develop into a soldier or queen,” Strand said.

In humans as well as insects, the main function of germ cells is to give rise to reproductive cells (sperm and eggs) that will produce offspring in the next generation. Germ cells usually remain dormant in humans and other animals until they reach maturity and are able to reproduce.

In the wasps used in this study, however, germ cells were parceled out to some embryos and not others. The embryos that inherited germ cells went on to develop into queens, while embryos without germ cells developed into soldiers.

“These results indicate that germ cells are not only important for gamete formation but also influence how individuals look and behave,” Strand said.

The next step for the UGA research team will be to uncover how germ cells modulate the activity of other cells and genes that regulate growth, development and behavior.

The full text of this study can be found at the PNAS Web site: www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abract/101/27/10095

(Cat Holmes is a news editor with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.)

Cat Holmes was a science writer with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Experts/Sources:
Michael R. Strand
The holiday season can be a time of anticipation and joy, but balancing multiple commitments and personalities across families and friends can be a source of stress for hosts and visitors alike. Like preparing parts of the meal ahead of time to spend more of the holiday with guests, taking time ahead of the day to set expectations can go a long way to ensuring enjoyable gatherings, said Ted Futris, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension specialist and professor of human development and family science in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. CAES News
Manage holiday stress with kindness, boundaries 11/21/24 Maria M. Lameiras
The holiday season can be a time of anticipation and joy, but balancing multiple commitments and personalities across families and friends can be a source of stress for hosts and visitors alike. Much like preparing parts of the meal ahead of time allows you to spend more of the holiday with guests, setting expectations ahead of the celebration can go a long way to ensuring enjoyable gatherings, said Ted Futris, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension specialist and professor of human development and family science.
Conner Hall CAES News
CAES welcomes 2024 cohort of Rural Scholars 11/20/24 Maria M. Lameiras
The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences welcomed its fourth cohort of students chosen for the CAES Rural Scholars Program this fall just weeks after celebrating the program's first graduation. Georgia Orman, one of four inaugural Rural Scholars in CAES, graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education. The new scholars for 2024, all from Georgia, are Ela Ash of Ocilla, Lauren E. Coley of Cochran, Amelia Housley of Canon, and London O’Steen of Ambrose.
Women play a vital role in rural American farming, but much of that work is "invisible," like raising children or household chores, according to a new UGA study. (Getty Images) CAES News
The women and stress behind rural farming in America 11/19/24 Leigh Hataway
Recent research from the University of Georgia suggests the unique stresses from farm life may be taking a toll on one of the pillars of the families that make your dinners possible: the women who keep farming families running. “If we don’t control our food sources, we don’t control our health and safety,” said Anna Scheyett, lead author of the study and a professor in UGA’s School of Social Work. “It’s a matter of national security that farmers survive in the United States. And one of the big factors in helping farms survive is women.”
Mergoum at Creature Comforts CAES News
That's the spirit! 11/18/24 Maria M. Lameiras, Claire Sanders Kinnard
Wheat breeders spend years meticulously crossing varieties to coax the best traits out of each species, carefully propagating plant varieties that are healthier, heartier and better suited for the environments where they are grown. Professional brewmasters are equally painstaking when choosing the components that will give their beers a specific flavor profile.
Contest-winning concept becomes viable business for alumnus who developed solar-powered, self-propelled chicken coop as a student. CAES News
Poultry in motion 11/14/24 Sean Montgomery
Chris Ayers emerged from his orange and black rough-terrain vehicle with an ear-to-ear grin. “This is Chiktopia,” he said, sweeping his arm wide to indicate the back half of a 3,600-square-foot warehouse on his family’s farm in Ball Ground, Georgia. “This is where I manufacture and assemble the chicken coops. Everything is done entirely from over here.”
UGA Grand Farm Site Plan web CAES News
UGA Grand Farm wins stage two of 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund competition 11/13/24 Jordan Powers
Startups in the agricultural technology sector face significant barriers on the path to establishment, including access to training and capital. These barriers are heightened for underrepresented entrepreneurs seeking to start new companies. The University of Georgia Grand Farm, part of a historic partnership between the University of Georgia and Fargo, North Dakota-based Grand Farm, aims to change that.