Kings and queens of termites are endowed with an extraordinary longevity coupled with lifelong fecundity. We recently reported that termite kings and queens display a dramatically increased enzymatic activity and abundance of telomerase in their somatic organs when compared to short-lived workers and soldiers. We hypothesized that this telomerase activation may represent a noncanonical pro-longevity function, independent of its canonical role in telomere maintenance. Here, we explore this avenue and investigate whether the presumed noncanonical role of telomerase may be due to alternative splicing of the catalytic telomerase subunit TERT and whether the subcellular localization of TERT isoforms differs among organs and castes in the termite Prorhinotermes simplex. We empirically confirm the expression of four in silico predicted splice variants (psTERT1-A, psTERT1-B, psTERT2-A, psTERT2-B), defined by N-terminal splicing implicating differential localizations, and C-terminal splicing giving rise to full-length and truncated isoforms. We show that the transcript proportions of the psTERT are caste- and tissue-specific and that the extranuclear full-length isoform TERT1-A is relatively enriched in the soma of neotenic kings and queens compared to their gonads and to the soma of workers. We also show that extranuclear TERT protein quantities are significantly higher in the soma of kings and queens compared to workers, namely due to the cytosolic TERT. Independently, we confirm by microscopy the extranuclear TERT localization in somatic organs. We conclude that the presumed pleiotropic action of telomerase combining the canonical nuclear role in telomere maintenance with extranuclear functions is driven by complex TERT splicing.

• Keywords
• Isoptera, TERT, alternative splicing, longevity, telomerase, termites,
• MeSH
• Alternative Splicing MeSH
• Longevity * MeSH
• Insect Proteins * metabolism   genetics   MeSH
• Isoptera * physiology   enzymology   genetics   MeSH
• Protein Isoforms metabolism   genetics   MeSH
• Telomerase * metabolism   genetics   MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Male MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Insect Proteins * MeSH
• Protein Isoforms MeSH
• Telomerase * MeSH