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Yu J, Song H, Wang Y, Liu Z, Wang H, Xu B. 20-hydroxyecdysone Upregulates Ecdysone Receptor (ECR) Gene to Promote Pupation in the Honeybee, Apis mellifera Ligustica. Integr Comp Biol 2023; 63:288-303. [PMID: 37365683 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icad077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2023] [Revised: 05/24/2023] [Accepted: 06/11/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023] Open
Abstract
A heterodimeric complex of two nuclear receptors, the ecdysone receptor (ECR) and ultraspiracle (USP), transduces 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) signaling to modulate insect growth and development. Here, we aimed to determine the relationship between ECR and 20E during larval metamorphosis and also the specific roles of ECR during larval-adult transition in Apis mellifera. We found that ECR gene expression peaked in the 7-day-old larvae, then decreased gradually from the pupae stage. 20E slowly reduced food consumption and then induced starvation, resulting in small-sized adults. In addition, 20E induced ECR expression to regulate larval development time. Double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) were prepared using common dsECR as templates. After dsECR injection, larval transition to the pupal stage was delayed, and 80% of the larvae showed prolonged pupation beyond 18 h. Moreover, the mRNA levels of shd, sro, nvd, and spo, and ecdysteroid titers were significantly decreased in ECR RNAi larvae compared with those in GFP RNAi control larvae. ECR RNAi disrupted 20E signaling during larval metamorphosis. We performed rescuing experiments by injecting 20E in ECR RNAi larvae and found that the mRNA levels of ECR, USP, E75, E93, and Br-c were not restored. 20E induced apoptosis in the fat body during larval pupation, while RNAi knockdown of ECR genes reduced apoptosis. We concluded that 20E induced ECR to modulate 20E signaling to promote honeybee pupation. These results assist our understanding of the complicated molecular mechanisms of insect metamorphosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Yu
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271000, China
| | - Hongyu Song
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271000, China
| | - Ying Wang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271000, China
| | - Zhenguo Liu
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271000, China
| | - Hongfang Wang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271000, China
| | - Baohua Xu
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271000, China
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Martins JR, Pinheiro DG, Ahmed ACC, Giuliatti S, Mizzen CA, Bitondi MMG. Genome-wide analysis of the chromatin sites targeted by HEX 70a storage protein in the honeybee brain and fat body. INSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2023; 32:277-304. [PMID: 36630080 DOI: 10.1111/imb.12830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2022] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Hexamerins, the proteins massively stored in the larval haemolymph of insects, are gradually used throughout metamorphosis as a source of raw material and energy for the development of adult tissues. Such behaviour defined hexamerins as storage proteins. Immunofluorescence experiments coupled with confocal microscopy show a hexamerin, HEX 70a, in the nucleus of the brain and fat body cells from honeybee workers, an unexpected localization for a storage protein. HEX 70a colocalizes with fibrillarin, a nucleolar-specific protein and H3 histone, thus suggesting a potential role as a chromatin-binding protein. This was investigated through chromatin immunoprecipitation and high-throughput DNA sequencing (ChIP-seq). The significant HEX 70a-DNA binding sites were mainly localized at the intergenic, promoter and intronic regions. HEX 70a targeted DNA stretches mapped to the genomic regions encompassing genes with relevant functional attributes. Several HEX 70a targeted genes were associated with H3K27ac or/and H3K27me3, known as active and repressive histone marks. Brain and fat body tissues shared a fraction of the HEX 70 targeted genes, and tissue-specific targets were also detected. The presence of overrepresented DNA motifs in the binding sites is consistent with specific HEX 70a-chromatin association. In addition, a search for HEX 70a targets in RNA-seq public libraries of fat bodies from nurses and foragers revealed differentially expressed targets displaying hex 70a-correlated developmental expression, thus supporting a regulatory activity for HEX 70a. Our results support the premise that HEX 70a is a moonlighting protein that binds chromatin and has roles in the brain and fat body cell nuclei, apart from its canonical role as a storage protein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliana R Martins
- Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Departamento de Genética, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - Daniel G Pinheiro
- Departamento de Biotecnologia Agropecuária e Ambiental, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Jaboticabal, Brazil
| | - Amy C C Ahmed
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, Urbana, Illinois, USA
| | - Silvana Giuliatti
- Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Departamento de Genética, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - Craig A Mizzen
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
| | - Márcia M G Bitondi
- Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Departamento de Biologia, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
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Jin MJ, Wang ZL, Wu ZH, He XJ, Zhang Y, Huang Q, Zhang LZ, Wu XB, Yan WY, Zeng ZJ. Phenotypic dimorphism between honeybee queen and worker is regulated by complicated epigenetic modifications. iScience 2023; 26:106308. [PMID: 36942051 PMCID: PMC10024153 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Revised: 01/12/2023] [Accepted: 02/24/2023] [Indexed: 03/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Phenotypic dimorphism between queens and workers is an important biological characteristic of honeybees that has been the subject of intensive research. The enormous differences in morphology, lifespan, physiology, and behavior between queens and workers are caused by a complicated set of factors. Epigenetic modifications are considered to play an important role in this process. In this study, we analyzed the differences in chromosome interactions and H3K27ac and H3K4me1 modifications between the queens and workers using high-throughput chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C) and Chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing (ChIP-Seq) technologies. We found that the queens contain more chromosome interactions and more unique H3K27ac modifications than workers; in contrast, workers have more H3K4me1 modifications than queens. Moreover, we identified Map3k15 as a potential caste gene in queen-worker differentiation. Our results suggest that chromosomal conformation and H3K27ac and H3K4me1 modifications are involved in regulating queen-worker differentiation, which reveals that the queen-worker phenotypic dimorphism is regulated by multiple epigenetic modifications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng Jie Jin
- Honeybee Research Institute, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, P.R.China
- Jiangxi Province Honeybee Biology and Beekeeping, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, P. R. China
| | - Zi Long Wang
- Honeybee Research Institute, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, P.R.China
- Jiangxi Province Honeybee Biology and Beekeeping, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, P. R. China
| | - Zhi Hao Wu
- Honeybee Research Institute, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, P.R.China
- Jiangxi Province Honeybee Biology and Beekeeping, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, P. R. China
| | - Xu Jiang He
- Honeybee Research Institute, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, P.R.China
- Jiangxi Province Honeybee Biology and Beekeeping, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, P. R. China
| | - Yong Zhang
- Honeybee Research Institute, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, P.R.China
- Jiangxi Province Honeybee Biology and Beekeeping, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, P. R. China
| | - Qiang Huang
- Honeybee Research Institute, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, P.R.China
- Jiangxi Province Honeybee Biology and Beekeeping, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, P. R. China
| | - Li Zhen Zhang
- Honeybee Research Institute, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, P.R.China
- Jiangxi Province Honeybee Biology and Beekeeping, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, P. R. China
| | - Xiao Bo Wu
- Honeybee Research Institute, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, P.R.China
- Jiangxi Province Honeybee Biology and Beekeeping, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, P. R. China
| | - Wei Yu Yan
- Honeybee Research Institute, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, P.R.China
- Jiangxi Province Honeybee Biology and Beekeeping, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, P. R. China
| | - Zhi Jiang Zeng
- Honeybee Research Institute, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, P.R.China
- Jiangxi Province Honeybee Biology and Beekeeping, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, P. R. China
- Corresponding author
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Kohlmeier P, Billeter JC. Genetic mechanisms modulating behaviour through plastic chemosensory responses in insects. Mol Ecol 2023; 32:45-60. [PMID: 36239485 PMCID: PMC10092625 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2021] [Revised: 09/02/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
The ability to transition between different behavioural stages is a widespread phenomenon across the animal kingdom. Such behavioural adaptations are often linked to changes in the sensitivity of those neurons that sense chemical cues associated with the respective behaviours. To identify the genetic mechanisms that regulate neuronal sensitivity, and by that behaviour, typically *omics approaches, such as RNA- and protein-sequencing, are applied to sensory organs of individuals displaying differences in behaviour. In this review, we discuss these genetic mechanisms and how they impact neuronal sensitivity, summarize the correlative and functional evidence for their role in regulating behaviour and discuss future directions. As such, this review can help interpret *omics data by providing a comprehensive list of already identified genes and mechanisms that impact behaviour through changes in neuronal sensitivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip Kohlmeier
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jean-Christophe Billeter
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
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5
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Lowe R, Wojciechowski M, Ellis N, Hurd PJ. Chromatin accessibility-based characterisation of brain gene regulatory networks in three distinct honey bee polyphenisms. Nucleic Acids Res 2022; 50:11550-11562. [PMID: 36330958 PMCID: PMC9723623 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2022] [Revised: 10/12/2022] [Accepted: 10/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The honey bee genome has the capacity to produce three phenotypically distinct organisms (two diploid female castes: queen and worker, and a haploid male drone). Previous studies have implicated metabolic flux acting via epigenetic regulation in directing nutrition-driven phenotypic plasticity in the honey bee. However, the cis-acting DNA regulatory elements that establish tissue and polyphenism -specific epigenomes and gene expression programmes, remain unclear. Using a high resolution multiomic approach including assay for transposase-accessible chromatin by sequencing (ATAC-seq), RNA-seq and ChIP-seq, we produce the first genome-wide maps of the regulatory landscape across all three adult honey bee phenotypes identifying > 5000 regulatory regions in queen, 7500 in worker and 6500 in drone, with the vast majority of these sites located within intronic regions. These regions are defined by positive enrichment of H3K27ac and depletion of H3K4me3 and show a positive correlation with gene expression. Using ATAC-seq footprinting we determine queen, worker and drone -specific transcription factor occupancy and uncover novel phenotype-specific regulatory networks identifying two key nuclear receptors that have previously been implicated in caste-determination and adult behavioural maturation in honey bees; ecdysone receptor and ultraspiracle. Collectively, this study provides novel insights into key gene regulatory networks that are associated with these distinct polyphenisms in the honey bee.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Lowe
- RER Consultants, 28 Worbeck Road, London SE20 7SW, UK
| | - Marek Wojciechowski
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK
| | - Nancy Ellis
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK
| | - Paul J Hurd
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK
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6
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Lago DC, Hasselmann M, Hartfelder K. Sex- and caste-specific transcriptomes of larval honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) gonads: DMRT A2 and Hsp83 are differentially expressed and regulated by juvenile hormone. INSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2022; 31:593-608. [PMID: 35524973 DOI: 10.1111/imb.12782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2021] [Accepted: 04/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The gonads of honey bee, Apis mellifera, queens and drones are each composed of hundreds of serial units, the ovarioles and testioles, while the ovaries of the adult subfertile workers consist of only few ovarioles. We performed a comparative RNA-seq analysis on early fifth-instar (L5F1) larval gonads, which is a critical stage in gonad development of honey bee larvae. A total of 1834 genes were identified as differentially expressed (Padj < 0.01) among the three sex and caste phenotypes. The Gene Ontology analysis showed significant enrichment for metabolism, protein or ion binding, and oxidoreductase activity, and a KEGG analysis revealed metabolic pathways as enriched. In a principal component analysis for the total transcriptomes and hierarchical clustering of the DEGs, we found higher similarity between the queen and worker ovary transcriptomes compared to the drone testis, despite the onset of programmed cell death in the worker ovaries. Four DEGs were selected for RT-qPCR analyses, including their response to juvenile hormone (JH), which is a critical factor in the caste-specific development of the ovaries. Among these, DMRT A2 and Hsp83 were found upregulated by JH and, thus, emerged as potential molecular markers for sex- and caste-specific gonad development in honey bees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denyse Cavalcante Lago
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - Martin Hasselmann
- Department of Livestock Population Genomics, Institute of Animal Science, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Klaus Hartfelder
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
- Departamento de Biologia Celular, Molecular e Bioagentes Patogênicos, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
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7
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Vieira J, Freitas FCP, Cristino AS, Moda LMR, Martins JR, Bitondi MMG, Simões ZLP, Barchuk AR. miRNA-34 and miRNA-210 target hexamerin genes enhancing their differential expression during early brain development of honeybee (Apis mellifera) castes. INSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2021; 30:594-604. [PMID: 34309096 DOI: 10.1111/imb.12728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2021] [Revised: 07/20/2021] [Accepted: 07/23/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
During the honeybee larval stage, queens develop larger brains than workers, with morphological differentiation appearing at the fourth larval phase (L4), just after a boost in nutritional difference both prospective females experience. The molecular promoters of this caste-specific brain development are already ongoing in previous larval phases. Transcriptomic analyses revealed a set of differentially expressed genes in the L3 brains of queens and workers, which represents the early molecular response to differential feeding females receive during larval development. Three genes of this set, hex70b, hex70c and hex110, are more highly transcribed in the brain of workers than in queens. The microRNAs miR-34, miR-210 and miR-317 are in higher levels in the queens' brain at the same phase of larval development. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the brain of workers expresses higher levels of hexamerins than that of queens during key phases of larval development and that this differential hexamerin genes expression is further enhanced by the repressing activity of miR-34, miR-210 and miR-317. Our transcriptional analyses showed that hex70b, hex70c and hex110 genes are differentially expressed in the brain of L3 and L4 larval phases of honeybee queens and workers. In silico reconstructed miRNA-mRNA interaction networks were validated using luciferase assays, which showed miR-34 and miR-210 negatively regulate hex70b and hex110 genes by directly and redundantly binding their 3'UTR (untranslated region) sequences. Taken together, our results suggest that miR-34 and miR-210 act together promoting differential brain development in honeybee castes by downregulating the expression of the putative antineurogenic hexamerin genes hex70b and hex110.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Vieira
- Departamento de Biologia Celular e do Desenvolvimento, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal de Alfenas, UNIFAL-MG, Alfenas, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - F C P Freitas
- Departamento de Biologia Celular e do Desenvolvimento, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal de Alfenas, UNIFAL-MG, Alfenas, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - A S Cristino
- Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia
| | - L M R Moda
- Departamento de Biologia Celular e do Desenvolvimento, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal de Alfenas, UNIFAL-MG, Alfenas, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - J R Martins
- Departamento de Biologia Celular e do Desenvolvimento, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal de Alfenas, UNIFAL-MG, Alfenas, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - M M G Bitondi
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Z L P Simões
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - A R Barchuk
- Departamento de Biologia Celular e do Desenvolvimento, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal de Alfenas, UNIFAL-MG, Alfenas, Minas Gerais, Brazil
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8
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Gospocic J, Glastad KM, Sheng L, Shields EJ, Berger SL, Bonasio R. Kr-h1 maintains distinct caste-specific neurotranscriptomes in response to socially regulated hormones. Cell 2021; 184:5807-5823.e14. [PMID: 34739833 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2020] [Revised: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 10/07/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Behavioral plasticity is key to animal survival. Harpegnathos saltator ants can switch between worker and queen-like status (gamergate) depending on the outcome of social conflicts, providing an opportunity to study how distinct behavioral states are achieved in adult brains. Using social and molecular manipulations in live ants and ant neuronal cultures, we show that ecdysone and juvenile hormone drive molecular and functional differences in the brains of workers and gamergates and direct the transcriptional repressor Kr-h1 to different target genes. Depletion of Kr-h1 in the brain caused de-repression of "socially inappropriate" genes: gamergate genes were upregulated in workers, whereas worker genes were upregulated in gamergates. At the phenotypic level, loss of Kr-h1 resulted in the emergence of worker-specific behaviors in gamergates and gamergate-specific traits in workers. We conclude that Kr-h1 is a transcription factor that maintains distinct brain states established in response to socially regulated hormones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janko Gospocic
- Epigenetics Institute and Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Department of Urology and Institute of Neuropathology, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Karl M Glastad
- Epigenetics Institute and Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Lihong Sheng
- Epigenetics Institute and Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Emily J Shields
- Epigenetics Institute and Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Department of Urology and Institute of Neuropathology, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Shelley L Berger
- Epigenetics Institute and Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Department of Genetics, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
| | - Roberto Bonasio
- Epigenetics Institute and Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
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Soares MPM, Pinheiro DG, de Paula Freitas FC, Simões ZLP, Bitondi MMG. Transcriptome dynamics during metamorphosis of imaginal discs into wings and thoracic dorsum in Apis mellifera castes. BMC Genomics 2021; 22:756. [PMID: 34674639 PMCID: PMC8532292 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-021-08040-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2021] [Accepted: 09/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Much of the complex anatomy of a holometabolous insect is built from disc-shaped epithelial structures found inside the larva, i.e., the imaginal discs, which undergo a rapid differentiation during metamorphosis. Imaginal discs-derived structures, like wings, are built through the action of genes under precise regulation. RESULTS We analyzed 30 honeybee transcriptomes in the search for the gene expression needed for wings and thoracic dorsum construction from the larval wing discs primordia. Analyses were carried out before, during, and after the metamorphic molt and using worker and queen castes. Our RNA-seq libraries revealed 13,202 genes, representing 86.2% of the honeybee annotated genes. Gene Ontology analysis revealed functional terms that were caste-specific or shared by workers and queens. Genes expressed in wing discs and descendant structures showed differential expression profiles dynamics in premetamorphic, metamorphic and postmetamorphic developmental phases, and also between castes. At the metamorphic molt, when ecdysteroids peak, the wing buds of workers showed maximal gene upregulation comparatively to queens, thus underscoring differences in gene expression between castes at the height of the larval-pupal transition. Analysis of small RNA libraries of wing buds allowed us to build miRNA-mRNA interaction networks to predict the regulation of genes expressed during wing discs development. CONCLUSION Together, these data reveal gene expression dynamics leading to wings and thoracic dorsum formation from the wing discs, besides highlighting caste-specific differences during wing discs metamorphosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle Prioli Miranda Soares
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Bandeirantes 3900, 14049-900, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Daniel Guariz Pinheiro
- Departamento de Tecnologia, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho, Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil
| | | | - Zilá Luz Paulino Simões
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Bandeirantes 3900, 14040-901, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Márcia Maria Gentile Bitondi
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Bandeirantes 3900, 14040-901, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
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10
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Pan LX, Li M, Zhao FY, Cheng FP, Wang ZL. Amsp3 may act upstream of Amdnmt3 in female caste differentiation in the honeybee (Apis mellifera). INSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2021; 30:532-540. [PMID: 34219310 DOI: 10.1111/imb.12723] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2020] [Revised: 05/31/2021] [Accepted: 06/17/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
In honey bees, the process of producing two female castes, including queens and workers, is nutritionally controlled by differential feeding royal jelly to newly emerged larvae. Although they have almost identical genetic blueprints, these castes show striking differences in their morphologies, longevities and reproductive capabilities. DNA methyltransferase 3 (Amdnmt3) gene is involved in the regulatory network for honeybee caste differentiation. Due to the role of two zinc fingers containing transcription factors, SP1 and SP3 in controlling mammalian Dnmts, this study aimed to determine a similar interaction of SPs with Amdnmt3 in the honeybee. We confirmed that the promoter region of Amdnmt3 contained multiple predicted SP1/SP3 binding sites and then investigated the role of AmSP3 in queen-worker differentiation network. We observed that the expression level of Amsp3 was significantly higher in worker larvae than that in queen larvae at 48 h, 84 h and 120 h. Knockdown of Amsp3 expression by RNAi in worker larvae significantly reduced the expression level of Amdnmt3 and caused morphological changes in adult bees towards a queen-like phenotype. However, the expression levels of Amsp3 and Amdnmt3 were repressed by juvenile hormone (JH). Our results suggest that AmSP3 is an important part of the queen-worker differentiation network and supports the role of Amdnmt3 in determining the phenotypic outcome of developing larvae.
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Affiliation(s)
- L-X Pan
- Honeybee Research Institute, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330045, China
- Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Honeybee Biology and Beekeeping, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330045, China
| | - M Li
- Honeybee Research Institute, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330045, China
- Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Honeybee Biology and Beekeeping, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330045, China
| | - F-Y Zhao
- Honeybee Research Institute, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330045, China
- Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Honeybee Biology and Beekeeping, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330045, China
| | - F-P Cheng
- Honeybee Research Institute, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330045, China
- Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Honeybee Biology and Beekeeping, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330045, China
| | - Z-L Wang
- Honeybee Research Institute, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330045, China
- Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Honeybee Biology and Beekeeping, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330045, China
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Brito DV, da Silva CGN, Rêgo LCN, Carvalho-Zilse GA. Expression of methyl farnesoate epoxidase (mfe) and juvenile hormone esterase (jhe) genes and their relation to social organization in the stingless bee Melipona interrupta (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Genet Mol Biol 2021; 44:e20200367. [PMID: 34387298 PMCID: PMC8361248 DOI: 10.1590/1678-4685-gmb-2020-0367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2020] [Accepted: 04/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Social organization in highly eusocial bees relies upon two important processes: caste differentiation in female larvae, and age polyethism in adult workers. Juvenile Hormone (JH) is a key regulator of both processes. Here we investigated the expression of two genes involved in JH metabolism - mfe (biosynthesis) and jhe (degradation) - in the context of social organization in the stingless bee Melipona interrupta. We found evidence that the expression of mfe and jhe genes is related to changes in JH levels during late larval development, where caste determination occurs. Also, both mfe and jhe were upregulated when workers engage in intranidal tasks, but only jhe expression was downregulated at the transition from nursing to foraging activities. This relation is different than expected, considering recent reports of lower JH levels in foragers than nurses in the closely related species Melipona scutellaris. Our findings suggest that highly eusocial bees have different mechanisms to regulate JH and, thus, to maintain their level of social organization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana Vieira Brito
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Grupo de Pesquisas em Abelhas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Genética, Conservação e Biologia Evolutiva, Manaus, AM, Brazil
| | | | - Livia Cristina Neves Rêgo
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Grupo de Pesquisas em Abelhas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Genética, Conservação e Biologia Evolutiva, Manaus, AM, Brazil
| | - Gislene Almeida Carvalho-Zilse
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Grupo de Pesquisas em Abelhas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Genética, Conservação e Biologia Evolutiva, Manaus, AM, Brazil
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12
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Aurori CM, Giurgiu A, Conlon BH, Kastally C, Dezmirean DS, Routtu J, Aurori A. Juvenile hormone pathway in honey bee larvae: A source of possible signal molecules for the reproductive behavior of Varroa destructor. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:1057-1068. [PMID: 33520186 PMCID: PMC7820148 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2019] [Revised: 10/30/2020] [Accepted: 11/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The parasitic mite Varroa destructor devastates honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies around the world. Entering a brood cell shortly before capping, the Varroa mother feeds on the honey bee larvae. The hormones 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) and juvenile hormone (JH), acquired from the host, have been considered to play a key role in initiating Varroa's reproductive cycle. This study focuses on differential expression of the genes involved in the biosynthesis of JH and ecdysone at six time points during the first 30 hr after cell capping in both drone and worker larvae of A. mellifera. This time frame, covering the conclusion of the honey bee brood cell invasion and the start of Varroa's ovogenesis, is critical to the successful initiation of a reproductive cycle. Our findings support a later activation of the ecdysteroid cascade in honey bee drones compared to worker larvae, which could account for the increased egg production of Varroa in A. mellifera drone cells. The JH pathway was generally downregulated confirming its activity is antagonistic to the ecdysteroid pathway during the larva development. Nevertheless, the genes involved in JH synthesis revealed an increased expression in drones. The upregulation of jhamt gene involved in methyl farnesoate (MF) synthesis came into attention since the MF is not only a precursor of JH but it is also an insect pheromone in its own right as well as JH-like hormone in Acari. This could indicate a possible kairomone effect of MF for attracting the mites into the drone brood cells, along with its potential involvement in ovogenesis after the cell capping, stimulating Varroa's initiation of egg laying.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristian M. Aurori
- Faculty of Animal Science and BiotechnologyUniversity of Agriculture Sciences and Veterinary MedicineCluj‐NapocaRomania
| | - Alexandru‐Ioan Giurgiu
- Faculty of Animal Science and BiotechnologyUniversity of Agriculture Sciences and Veterinary MedicineCluj‐NapocaRomania
| | - Benjamin H. Conlon
- Molecular EcologyInstitute of Biology/ZoologyMartin‐Luther‐University Halle‐WittenbergHalleGermany
- Section for Ecology and EvolutionDepartment of BiologyUniversity of CopenhagenCopenhagenDenmark
| | - Chedly Kastally
- Molecular EcologyInstitute of Biology/ZoologyMartin‐Luther‐University Halle‐WittenbergHalleGermany
- Department of Ecology and Genetics and Biocenter OuluUniversity of OuluOuluFinland
| | - Daniel S. Dezmirean
- Faculty of Animal Science and BiotechnologyUniversity of Agriculture Sciences and Veterinary MedicineCluj‐NapocaRomania
| | - Jarkko Routtu
- Molecular EcologyInstitute of Biology/ZoologyMartin‐Luther‐University Halle‐WittenbergHalleGermany
| | - Adriana Aurori
- Faculty of Animal Science and BiotechnologyUniversity of Agriculture Sciences and Veterinary MedicineCluj‐NapocaRomania
- Advanced Horticultural Research Institute of TransylvaniaUniversity of Agriculture Sciences and Veterinary MedicineCluj‐NapocaRomania
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13
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Wang Y, Amdam GV, Daniels BC, Page RE. Tyramine and its receptor TYR1 linked behavior QTL to reproductive physiology in honey bee workers (Apis mellifera). JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2020; 126:104093. [PMID: 32763247 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2020.104093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2020] [Revised: 06/23/2020] [Accepted: 08/02/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Honey bees (Apis mellifera) provide an excellent model for studying how complex social behavior evolves and is regulated. Social behavioral traits such as the division of labor have been mapped to specific genomic regions in quantitative trait locus (QTL) studies. However, relating genomic mapping to gene function and regulatory mechanism remains a big challenge for geneticists. In honey bee workers, division of labor is known to be regulated by reproductive physiology, but the genetic basis of this regulation remains unknown. In this case, QTL studies have identified tyramine receptor 1 (TYR1) as a candidate gene in region pln2, which is associated with multiple worker social traits and reproductive anatomy. Tyramine (TA), a neurotransmitter, regulates physiology and behavior in diverse insect species including honey bees. Here, we examine directly the effects of TYR1 and TA on worker reproductive physiology, including ovariole number, ovary function and the production of vitellogenin (VG, an egg yolk precursor). First, we used a pharmacology approach to demonstrate that TA affects ovariole number during worker larval development and increases ovary maturation during the adult stage. Second, we used a gene knockdown approach to show that TYR1 regulates vg transcription in adult workers. Finally, we estimated correlations in gene expression and propose that TYR1 may regulate vg transcription by coordinating hormonal and nutritional signals. Taken together, our results suggest TYR1 and TA play important roles in regulating worker reproductive physiology, which in turn regulates social behavior. Our study exemplifies a successful forward-genetic strategy going from QTL mapping to gene function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Wang
- Banner Health Corporation, PO Box 16423, Phoenix, AZ 85012, USA
| | - Gro V Amdam
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, PO Box 874501, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA; Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, 1430 Aas, Norway
| | - Bryan C Daniels
- ASU-SFI Center for Biosocial Complex Systems, Arizona State University, PO Box 872701, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Robert E Page
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, PO Box 874501, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA; Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of California Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
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14
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Araki M, Miyakawa MO, Suzuki T, Miyakawa H. Two insulin‐like peptides may regulate egg production in opposite directions via juvenile hormone signaling in the queenless antPristomyrmex punctatus. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY PART B-MOLECULAR AND DEVELOPMENTAL EVOLUTION 2020; 334:225-234. [DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.22935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2019] [Revised: 01/29/2020] [Accepted: 01/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Marina Araki
- Center for Bioscience Research and EducationUtsunomiya UniversityUtsunomiya Tochigi Japan
| | - Misato O. Miyakawa
- Center for Bioscience Research and EducationUtsunomiya UniversityUtsunomiya Tochigi Japan
| | - Tomohiro Suzuki
- Center for Bioscience Research and EducationUtsunomiya UniversityUtsunomiya Tochigi Japan
| | - Hitoshi Miyakawa
- Center for Bioscience Research and EducationUtsunomiya UniversityUtsunomiya Tochigi Japan
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15
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Richard G, Le Trionnaire G, Danchin E, Sentis A. Epigenetics and insect polyphenism: mechanisms and climate change impacts. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2019; 35:138-145. [PMID: 31557627 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2019.06.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2019] [Revised: 06/21/2019] [Accepted: 06/28/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Phenotypic plasticity is a ubiquitous process found in all living organisms. Polyphenism is an extreme case of phenotypic plasticity which shares a common scheme in insects such as honeybees, locusts or aphids: an initial perception of environmental stimuli, a neuroendocrine transmission of these signals to the target tissues, the activation of epigenetic mechanisms allowing the setup of alternative transcriptional programs responsible for the establishment of discrete phenotypes. Climate change can modulate the environmental stimuli triggering polyphenisms, and/or some epigenetics marks, thus modifying on the short and long terms the discrete phenotype proportions within populations. This might result in critical ecosystem changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gautier Richard
- Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Stübeweg 51, 79108 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany; IGEPP, INRA, Agrocampus Ouest, Univ Rennes, 35600 Le Rheu, France
| | | | - Etienne Danchin
- Laboratoire Évolution & Diversité Biologique (EDB UMR 5174), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD. 118 route de Narbonne, Bat 4R1, 31062 Toulouse cedex 9, France
| | - Arnaud Sentis
- IRSTEA, Aix Marseille Univ., UMR RECOVER, 3275 route Cézanne, 13182 Aix-en-Provence, France
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16
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De Souza DA, Hartfelder KH, Tarpy DR. Effects of larval Age at Grafting and Juvenile Hormone on Morphometry and Reproductive Quality Parameters of in Vitro Reared Honey Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae). JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 2019; 112:2030-2039. [PMID: 31145456 DOI: 10.1093/jee/toz148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
The honey bee queen plays a central role in the Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) colony, and her high reproductive capacity is fundamental for building up the workforce of a colony. Caste development in honey bee females involves elaborate physiological pathways unleashed at the beginning of the first larval instars, with juvenile hormone (JH) playing a crucial role. Here we took advantage of established in vitro rearing techniques to conduct a 2 × 2 experimental design and test initial rearing age (young vs old) and JH treatment (JH III vs solvent control) to enlighten the role of nutrient quality and JH in shaping honey bee female fertility, morphological features related to queenliness, and key physiological parameters (hemolymph vitellogenin/Vg, sugar levels, and Vg transcript levels). Our results show that while the age at initial larval rearing had major impacts on external morphology development, where younger larvae exhibited a higher probability to develop into queen-like adults morphotypes, the JH application during the larval stage improved physiological pathways related to ovary development and metabolism during the ontogenic development. We detected that the supplementation of queen larvae with JH promoted important benefits regarding queen fertility as the increase of ovariole number and vg levels at hemolymph, both crucial factors at eggs production. The data presented here provide guidance in efforts to improve honey bee queen quality, especially in light of frequent episodes of queen failures in the beekeeping industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daiana A De Souza
- Departamento de Biologia Celular e Molecular e Bioagentes Patogênicos, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP
- Department of Entomology & Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Campus, Raleigh, NC
| | - Klaus H Hartfelder
- Departamento de Biologia Celular e Molecular e Bioagentes Patogênicos, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP
| | - David R Tarpy
- Department of Entomology & Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Campus, Raleigh, NC
- W. M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
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17
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Pengfei L, Weiwei W, Xiaofei L, Qin L, Jinwen Z, Rui H, Hang C. Regulation of Hormone-Related Genes in Ericerus pela (Hemiptera: Coccidae) for Dimorphic Metamorphosis. JOURNAL OF INSECT SCIENCE (ONLINE) 2019; 19:5587053. [PMID: 31612946 PMCID: PMC6792091 DOI: 10.1093/jisesa/iez092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2019] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Insect hormones regulate metamorphosis including that leading to sexual dimorphism. Using RNA-Seq, we discovered that the second-instar male larva (SM) of the white wax insect, Ericerus pela, have 5,968 and 8,620 differentially expressed transcripts compared with the second-instar female larva (SF) and the first-instar male larva (FM), respectively. The expression levels of genes involved in the apoptosis of old tissues and the reconstruction of new ones in the SM significantly enhanced, while the SF mainly has enhanced expression levels of anabolic genes such as chitin. We predicted that the second-instar larvae are the developmental origin of sexual dimorphic metamorphosis. Meanwhile, in the juvenile hormone (JH) metabolic pathway, CYP15A1 and JH esterase (JHE) are differentially expressed; and in the 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) metabolic pathway, CYP307A1, CYP314A1, and CYP18A1 are differentially expressed. In the SM, the expression levels of CYP307A1 and CYP314A1 are significantly increased, whereas the expression level of CYP18A1 is significantly decreased; in the SF, the expression levels of the above genes are opposite to that of the SM. Expression trends of RNA-seq is consistent with the expression level of qRT-PCR, and seven of them are highly correlated (R ≥ 0.610) and four are moderately correlated (0.588 ≥ R ≥ 0.542).
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Affiliation(s)
- Liu Pengfei
- Research Institute of Resources Insect, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Kunming, China
- NanJing Forestry University, Nanjing, China
| | - Wang Weiwei
- Research Institute of Resources Insect, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Kunming, China
| | - Ling Xiaofei
- Research Institute of Resources Insect, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Kunming, China
| | - Lu Qin
- Research Institute of Resources Insect, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Kunming, China
| | - Zhang Jinwen
- Research Institute of Resources Insect, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Kunming, China
| | - He Rui
- Research Institute of Resources Insect, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Kunming, China
- The Key Laboratory of Cultivating and Utilization of Resources Insects, State Forestry Administration, Kunming, China
| | - Chen Hang
- Research Institute of Resources Insect, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Kunming, China
- The Key Laboratory of Cultivating and Utilization of Resources Insects, State Forestry Administration, Kunming, China
- Corresponding author, e-mail:
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18
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Corby-Harris V, Snyder L, Meador C. Fat body lipolysis connects poor nutrition to hypopharyngeal gland degradation in Apis mellifera. JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2019; 116:1-9. [PMID: 30953617 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2019.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2018] [Revised: 03/18/2019] [Accepted: 04/02/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
The hypopharyngeal glands (HGs) of honey bee nurse workers secrete the major protein fraction of jelly, a protein and lipid rich substance fed to developing larvae, other worker bees, and queens. A hallmark of poorly nourished nurses is their small HGs, which actively degrade due to hormone-induced autophagy. To better connect nutritional stress with HG degradation, we looked to honey bees and other insect systems, where nutrient stress is often accompanied by fat body degradation. The fat body contains stored lipids that are likely a substrate for ecdysteroid synthesis, so we tested whether starvation caused increased fat body lipolysis. Ecdysteroid signaling and response pathways and IIS/TOR are tied to nutrient-dependent autophagy in honey bees and other insects, and so we also tested whether and where genes in these pathways were differentially regulated in the head and fat body. Last, we injected nurse-aged bees with the honey bee ecdysteroid makisterone A to determine whether this hormone influenced HG size and autophagy. We find that starved nurse aged bees exhibited increased fat body lipolysis and increased expression of ecdysteroid production and response genes in the head. Genes in the IIS/TOR pathway were not impacted by starvation in either the head or fat body. Additionally, bees injected with makisterone A had smaller HGs and increased expression of autophagy genes. These data support the hypothesis that nutritional stress induces fat body lipolysis, which may liberate the sterols important for ecdysteroid production, and that increased ecdysteroid levels induce autophagic HG degradation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lucy Snyder
- Carl Hayden Bee Research Center, USDA-ARS, Tucson, AZ 85718, USA
| | - Charlotte Meador
- Carl Hayden Bee Research Center, USDA-ARS, Tucson, AZ 85718, USA
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19
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He XJ, Jiang WJ, Zhou M, Barron AB, Zeng ZJ. A comparison of honeybee (Apis mellifera) queen, worker and drone larvae by RNA-Seq. INSECT SCIENCE 2019; 26:499-509. [PMID: 29110379 DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.12557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2017] [Revised: 09/08/2017] [Accepted: 09/28/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Honeybees (Apis mellifera) have haplodiploid sex determination: males develop from unfertilized eggs and females develop from fertilized ones. The differences in larval food also determine the development of females. Here we compared the total somatic gene expression profiles of 2-day and 4-day-old drone, queen and worker larvae by RNA-Seq. The results from a co-expression network analysis on all expressed genes showed that 2-day-old drone and worker larvae were closer in gene expression profiles than 2-day-old queen larvae. This indicated that for young larvae (2-day-old) environmental factors such as larval diet have a greater effect on gene expression profiles than ploidy or sex determination. Drones had the most distinct gene expression profiles at the 4-day larval stage, suggesting that haploidy, or sex dramatically affects the gene expression of honeybee larvae. Drone larvae showed fewer differences in gene expression profiles at the 2-day and 4-day time points than the worker and queen larval comparisons (598 against 1190 and 1181), suggesting a different pattern of gene expression regulation during the larval development of haploid males compared to diploid females. This study indicates that early in development the queen caste has the most distinct gene expression profile, perhaps reflecting the very rapid growth and morphological specialization of this caste compared to workers and drones. Later in development the haploid male drones have the most distinct gene expression profile, perhaps reflecting the influence of ploidy or sex determination on gene expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xu-Jiang He
- Honeybee Research Institute, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China
| | - Wu-Jun Jiang
- Honeybee Research Institute, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China
| | - Mi Zhou
- Biomarker Technologies Co., Ltd., Beijing, China
| | - Andrew B Barron
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, Australia
| | - Zhi-Jiang Zeng
- Honeybee Research Institute, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China
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20
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Mello TRP, Aleixo AC, Pinheiro DG, Nunes FMF, Cristino AS, Bitondi MMG, Barchuk AR, Simões ZLP. Hormonal control and target genes of ftz-f1 expression in the honeybee Apis mellifera: a positive loop linking juvenile hormone, ftz-f1, and vitellogenin. INSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2019; 28:145-159. [PMID: 30270498 DOI: 10.1111/imb.12541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Ftz-f1 is an orphan member of the nuclear hormone receptor superfamily. A 20-hydroxyecdysone pulse allows ftz-f1 gene expression, which then regulates the activity of downstream genes involved in major developmental progression events. In honeybees, the expression of genes like vitellogenin (vg), prophenoloxidase and juvenile hormone-esterase during late pharate-adult development is known to be hormonally controlled in both queens and workers by increasing juvenile hormone (JH) titres in the presence of declining levels of ecdysteroids. Since Ftz-f1 is known for mediating intracellular JH signalling, we hypothesized that ftz-f1 could mediate JH action during the pharate-adult development of honeybees, thus controlling the expression of these genes. Here, we show that ftz-f1 has caste-specific transcription profiles during this developmental period, with a peak coinciding with the increase in JH titre, and that its expression is upregulated by JH and downregulated by ecdysteroids. RNAi-mediated knock down of ftz-f1 showed that the expression of genes essential for adult development (e.g. vg and cuticular genes) depends on ftz-f1 expression. Finally, a double-repressor hypothesis-inspired vg gene knock-down experiment suggests the existence of a positive molecular loop between JH, ftz-f1 and vg.
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Affiliation(s)
- T R P Mello
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - A C Aleixo
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - D G Pinheiro
- Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, UNESP - Universidade Estadual Paulista, Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - F M F Nunes
- Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - A S Cristino
- Translational Research Institute, The University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, Brisbane, Australia
| | - M M G Bitondi
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - A R Barchuk
- Departamento de Biologia Celular e do Desenvolvimento, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal de Alfenas, UNIFAL-MG, Alfenas, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Z L P Simões
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
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21
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Luna-Lucena D, Rabico F, Simoes ZL. Reproductive capacity and castes in eusocial stingless bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae). CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2019; 31:20-28. [PMID: 31109669 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2018.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2018] [Accepted: 06/25/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Eusocial lifestyle is one of the most important transitions in the evolutionary history of some groups of organisms. In bees, there are only two eusocial groups: the honey bees (Apini) and the stingless bees (Meliponini). Despite similarities on the eusocial lifestyles of these taxa, they present profound differences related to caste determination, development, behavior, and reproductive capacity of their members. In most of them the queen has a monopoly on reproduction. However, even though workers are tipically sterile, they can contribute to producing haploid eggs that generate males, or trophic eggs, used as an additional nutrition by the queen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danielle Luna-Lucena
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.
| | - Franciene Rabico
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - Zilá Lp Simoes
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil; Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.
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22
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Christen V, Kunz PY, Fent K. Endocrine disruption and chronic effects of plant protection products in bees: Can we better protect our pollinators? ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2018; 243:1588-1601. [PMID: 30296754 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2018.09.117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2018] [Revised: 09/21/2018] [Accepted: 09/22/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Exposure to plant protection products (PPPs) is one of the causes for the population decline of pollinators. In addition to direct exposure, pollinators are exposed to PPPs by pollen, nectar and honey that often contain residues of multiple PPPs. While in legislation PPPs are regarded mainly for their acute toxicity in bees, other effects such as neurotoxicity, immunotoxicity, behavioural changes, stress responses and chronic effects that may harm different physiologically and ecologically relevant traits are much less or not regarded. Despite the fact that endocrine disruption by PPPs is among key effects weakening survival and thriving of populations, pollinators have been poorly investigated in this regard. Here we summarize known endocrine disruptive effects of PPPs in bees and compare them to other chronic effects. Endocrine disruption in honey bees comprise negative effects on reproductive success of queens and drones and behavioural transition of nurse bees to foragers. Among identified PPPs are insecticides, including neonicotinoids, fipronil, chlorantraniliprole and azadirachtin. So far, there exists no OECD guideline to investigate possible endocrine effects of PPPs. Admittedly, investigation of effects on reproduction success of queens and drones is rarely possible under laboratory conditions. But the behavioural transition of nurse bees to foragers could be a possible endpoint to analyse endocrine effects of PPPs under laboratory conditions. We identified some genes, including vitellogenin, which regulate this transition and which may be used as biomarkers for endocrine disruptive PPPs. We plea for a better implementation of the adverse outcome pathway concept into bee's research and propose a procedure for extending and complementing current assessments, including OECD guidelines, with additional physiological and molecular endpoints. Consequently, assessing potential endocrine disruption in pollinators should receive much more relevance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verena Christen
- University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, School of Life Sciences, Hofackerstrasse 30, CH-4132, Muttenz, Switzerland
| | - Petra Y Kunz
- Swiss Federal Office for the Environment, Section Biocides and Plant Protection Products, CH-3003, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Karl Fent
- University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, School of Life Sciences, Hofackerstrasse 30, CH-4132, Muttenz, Switzerland; Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETH Zürich), Department of Environmental System Sciences, Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollution Dynamics, CH-8092, Zürich, Switzerland.
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23
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Winkler P, Sieg F, Buttstedt A. Transcriptional Control of Honey Bee ( Apis mellifera) Major Royal Jelly Proteins by 20-Hydroxyecdysone. INSECTS 2018; 9:insects9030122. [PMID: 30235865 PMCID: PMC6163268 DOI: 10.3390/insects9030122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2018] [Revised: 09/14/2018] [Accepted: 09/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
One of the first tasks of worker honey bees (Apis mellifera) during their lifetime is to feed the larval offspring. In brief, young workers (nurse bees) secrete a special food jelly that contains a large amount of unique major royal jelly proteins (MRJPs). The regulation of mrjp gene expression is not well understood, but the large upregulation in well-fed nurse bees suggests a tight repression until, or a massive induction upon, hatching of the adult worker bees. The lipoprotein vitellogenin, the synthesis of which is regulated by the two systemic hormones 20-hydroxyecdysone and juvenile hormone, is thought to be a precursor for the production of MRJPs. Thus, the regulation of mrjp expression by the said systemic hormones is likely. This study focusses on the role of 20-hydroxyecdysone by elucidating its effect on mrjp gene expression dynamics. Specifically, we tested whether 20-hydroxyecdysone displayed differential effects on various mrjps. We found that the expression of the mrjps (mrjp1–3) that were finally secreted in large amounts into the food jelly, in particular, were down regulated by 20-hydroxyecdysone treatment, with mrjp3 showing the highest repression value.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Winkler
- Institut für Biologie, Molekulare Ökologie, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Hoher Weg 4, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany.
| | - Frank Sieg
- CuroNZ, 173 Cames Road, Mangawhai 0975, New Zealand.
| | - Anja Buttstedt
- Institut für Biologie, Molekulare Ökologie, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Hoher Weg 4, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany.
- B CUBE-Center for Molecular Bioengineering, Technische Universität Dresden, Arnoldstraße 18, 01307 Dresden, Germany.
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Opachaloemphan C, Yan H, Leibholz A, Desplan C, Reinberg D. Recent Advances in Behavioral (Epi)Genetics in Eusocial Insects. Annu Rev Genet 2018; 52:489-510. [PMID: 30208294 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-genet-120116-024456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Eusocial insects live in societies in which distinct family members serve specific roles in maintaining the colony and advancing the reproductive ability of a few select individuals. Given the genetic similarity of all colony members, the diversity of morphologies and behaviors is surprising. Social communication relies on pheromones and olfaction, as shown by mutants of orco, the universal odorant receptor coreceptor, and through electrophysiological analysis of neuronal responses to pheromones. Additionally, neurohormonal factors and epigenetic regulators play a key role in caste-specific behavior, such as foraging and caste switching. These studies start to allow an understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying social behavior and provide a technological foundation for future studies of eusocial insects. In this review, we highlight recent findings in eusocial insects that advance our understanding of genetic and epigenetic regulations of social behavior and provide perspectives on future studies using cutting-edge technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Comzit Opachaloemphan
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA; ,
| | - Hua Yan
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA; , .,Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA; .,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | | | - Claude Desplan
- Department of Biology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA; ,
| | - Danny Reinberg
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA; , .,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
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25
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Nijhout HF, McKenna KZ. The distinct roles of insulin signaling in polyphenic development. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2018; 25:58-64. [PMID: 29602363 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2017.11.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2017] [Revised: 11/05/2017] [Accepted: 11/21/2017] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Many insects have the ability to develop alternative morphologies in response to specific environmental signals such as photoperiod, temperature, nutrition and crowding. These signals are integrated by the brain and result in alternative patterns of secretion of developmental hormones like ecdysone, juvenile hormone and insulin-like growth factors, which, in turn, direct alternative developmental trajectories. Insulin signaling appears to be particularly important when the polyphenism involves differences in the sizes of the body, appendages and other structures, such as wings, mandibles and horns. Here we review recent advances in understanding the role of insulin signaling, and its interaction with other hormones, in the development of polyphenisms.
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26
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Jiang D, Yan S. Effects of Cd, Zn or Pb stress in Populus alba berolinensis on the development and reproduction of Lymantria dispar. ECOTOXICOLOGY (LONDON, ENGLAND) 2017; 26:1305-1313. [PMID: 28951982 DOI: 10.1007/s10646-017-1855-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/12/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
In order to investigate the effects of heavy metal stress on woody plant defense against phytophagous insects, we studied development and reproduction traits of the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar that were separately fed with leaves plucked from poplar seedlings (Populus alba berolinensis) grown in either non-contaminated soil (control), Cd-contaminated soil (1.5 mg/kg), Zn-contaminated soil (500 mg/kg) or Pb-contaminated soil (500 mg/kg). The results showed that feeding on Cd or Pb stressed poplar leaves significantly decreased L. dispar larval weights, body lengths and head capsule widths, pupal weights and female fecundity, and delayed the duration of larval development. Similar effects from the Zn stressed poplar leaves were also observed on all the above mentioned variables except male pupal weight and larval development duration that showed no differences from the control. Cd, Zn, or Pb stressed poplar leaves had no significant effects on L. dispar larval survival, pupation and emergence rates; in fact, both larval survival and pupation rates reached 100%. These results suggest that Cd, Zn or Pb stress in P. alba berolinensis might help the trees defend against the defoliator, however; L. dispar may in turn have an effective detoxification mechanism for lessening the effects of plant-mediated defenses and heavy metals in leaves on larval survival, pupation and eclosion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dun Jiang
- Northeast Forestry University, School of Forestry, Harbin, 150040, China
| | - Shanchun Yan
- Northeast Forestry University, School of Forestry, Harbin, 150040, China.
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27
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Cardoso-Júnior CAM, Silva RP, Borges NA, de Carvalho WJ, Walter SL, Simões ZLP, Bitondi MMG, Ueira Vieira C, Bonetti AM, Hartfelder K. Methyl farnesoate epoxidase (mfe) gene expression and juvenile hormone titers in the life cycle of a highly eusocial stingless bee, Melipona scutellaris. JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2017; 101:185-194. [PMID: 28800885 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2017.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2017] [Revised: 08/02/2017] [Accepted: 08/03/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
In social insects, juvenile hormone (JH) has acquired novel functions related to caste determination and division of labor among workers, and this is best evidenced in the honey bee. In contrast to honey bees, stingless bees are a much more diverse group of highly eusocial bees, and the genus Melipona has long called special attention due to a proposed genetic mechanism of caste determination. Here, we examined methyl farnesoate epoxidase (mfe) gene expression, encoding an enzyme relevant for the final step in JH biosynthesis, and measured the hemolymph JH titers for all life cycle stages of Melipona scutellaris queens and workers. We confirmed that mfe is exclusively expressed in the corpora allata. The JH titer is high in the second larval instar, drops in the third, and rises again as the larvae enter metamorphosis. During the pupal stage, mfe expression is initialy elevated, but then gradually drops to low levels before adult emergence. No variation was, however, seen in the JH titer. In adult virgin queens, mfe expression and the JH titer are significantly elevated, possibly associated with their reproductive potential. For workers we found that JH titers are lower in foragers than in nurse bees, while mfe expression did not differ. Stingless bees are, thus, distinct from honey bee workers, suggesting that they have maintained the ancestral gonadotropic function for JH. Hence, the physiological circuitries underlying a highly eusocial life style may be variable, even within a monophyletic clade such as the corbiculate bees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Antônio Mendes Cardoso-Júnior
- Departamento de Biologia Celular, Molecular e Bioagentes Patogênicos, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes 3900, 14049-900 Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
| | - Renato Pereira Silva
- Departmento de Genética e Bioquímica, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Av. Pará 1720, 38400-902 Uberlândia, MG, Brazil.
| | - Naiara Araújo Borges
- Departmento de Genética e Bioquímica, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Av. Pará 1720, 38400-902 Uberlândia, MG, Brazil.
| | - Washington João de Carvalho
- Departmento de Genética e Bioquímica, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Av. Pará 1720, 38400-902 Uberlândia, MG, Brazil.
| | - S Leal Walter
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, College of Biological Sciences University of California at Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, USA.
| | - Zilá Luz Paulino Simões
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirãp Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes 3900, 14040-901 Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
| | - Marcia Maria Gentile Bitondi
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirãp Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes 3900, 14040-901 Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
| | - Carlos Ueira Vieira
- Departmento de Genética e Bioquímica, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Av. Pará 1720, 38400-902 Uberlândia, MG, Brazil.
| | - Ana Maria Bonetti
- Departmento de Genética e Bioquímica, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Av. Pará 1720, 38400-902 Uberlândia, MG, Brazil.
| | - Klaus Hartfelder
- Departamento de Biologia Celular, Molecular e Bioagentes Patogênicos, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes 3900, 14049-900 Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
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28
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Oliveira RC, Vollet-Neto A, Akemi Oi C, van Zweden JS, Nascimento F, Sullivan Brent C, Wenseleers T. Hormonal pleiotropy helps maintain queen signal honesty in a highly eusocial wasp. Sci Rep 2017; 7:1654. [PMID: 28490760 PMCID: PMC5431770 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-01794-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2016] [Accepted: 04/10/2017] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
In insect societies, both queens and workers produce chemicals that reliably signal caste membership and reproductive status. The mechanisms that help to maintain the honesty of such queen and fertility signals, however, remain poorly studied. Here we test if queen signal honesty could be based on the shared endocrine control of queen fertility and the production of specific signals. In support of this “hormonal pleiotropy” hypothesis, we find that in the common wasp, application of methoprene (a juveline hormone analogue) caused workers to acquire a queen-like cuticular hydrocarbon profile, resulting in the overproduction of known queen pheromones as well as some compounds typically linked to worker fertility. By contrast, administration of precocene-I (a JH inhibitor) had a tendency to have the opposite effect. Furthermore, a clear gonadotropic effect of JH in queens was suggested by the fact that circulating levels of JH were ca. 2 orders of magnitude higher in queens than those in workers and virgin, non-egg-laying queens, even if methoprene or precocene treatment did not affect the ovary development of workers. Overall, these results suggest that queen signal honesty in this system is maintained by queen fertility and queen signal production being under shared endocrine control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ricardo Caliari Oliveira
- Laboratory of Socioecology and Social Evolution, Zoological Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Ayrton Vollet-Neto
- Laboratory of Socioecology and Social Evolution, Zoological Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.,Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Cintia Akemi Oi
- Laboratory of Socioecology and Social Evolution, Zoological Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jelle S van Zweden
- Laboratory of Socioecology and Social Evolution, Zoological Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Fabio Nascimento
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | | | - Tom Wenseleers
- Laboratory of Socioecology and Social Evolution, Zoological Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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Collins DH, Mohorianu I, Beckers M, Moulton V, Dalmay T, Bourke AFG. MicroRNAs Associated with Caste Determination and Differentiation in a Primitively Eusocial Insect. Sci Rep 2017; 7:45674. [PMID: 28361900 PMCID: PMC5374498 DOI: 10.1038/srep45674] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2016] [Accepted: 03/02/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
In eusocial Hymenoptera (ants, bees and wasps), queen and worker adult castes typically arise via environmental influences. A fundamental challenge is to understand how a single genome can thereby produce alternative phenotypes. A powerful approach is to compare the molecular basis of caste determination and differentiation along the evolutionary trajectory between primitively and advanced eusocial species, which have, respectively, relatively undifferentiated and strongly differentiated adult castes. In the advanced eusocial honeybee, Apis mellifera, studies suggest that microRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in the molecular basis of caste determination and differentiation. To investigate how miRNAs affect caste in eusocial evolution, we used deep sequencing and Northern blots to isolate caste-associated miRNAs in the primitively eusocial bumblebee Bombus terrestris. We found that the miRNAs Bte-miR-6001-5p and -3p are more highly expressed in queen- than in worker-destined late-instar larvae. These are the first caste-associated miRNAs from outside advanced eusocial Hymenoptera, so providing evidence for caste-associated miRNAs occurring relatively early in eusocial evolution. Moreover, we found little evidence that miRNAs previously shown to be associated with caste in A. mellifera were differentially expressed across caste pathways in B. terrestris, suggesting that, in eusocial evolution, the caste-associated role of individual miRNAs is not conserved.
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Affiliation(s)
- David H Collins
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK
| | - Irina Mohorianu
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK.,School of Computing Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK
| | - Matthew Beckers
- School of Computing Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK
| | - Vincent Moulton
- School of Computing Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK
| | - Tamas Dalmay
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK
| | - Andrew F G Bourke
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK
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30
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Lago DC, Humann FC, Barchuk AR, Abraham KJ, Hartfelder K. Differential gene expression underlying ovarian phenotype determination in honey bee, Apis mellifera L., caste development. INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2016; 79:1-12. [PMID: 27720811 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2016.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2016] [Revised: 09/26/2016] [Accepted: 10/03/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Adult honey bee queens and workers drastically differ in ovary size. This adult ovary phenotype difference becomes established during the final larval instar, when massive programmed cell death leads to the degeneration of 95-99% of the ovariole anlagen in workers. The higher juvenile hormone (JH) levels in queen larvae protect the ovaries against such degeneration. To gain insights into the molecular architecture underlying this divergence critical for adult caste fate and worker sterility, we performed a microarray analysis on fourth and early fifth instar queen and worker ovaries. For the fourth instar we found nine differentially expressed genes (DEGs) with log2FC > 1.0, but this number increased to 56 in early fifth-instar ovaries. We selected 15 DEGs for quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) analysis. Nine differed significantly by the variables caste and/or development. Interestingly, genes with enzyme functions were higher expressed in workers, while those related to transcription and signaling had higher transcript levels in queens. For the RT-qPCR confirmed genes we analyzed their response to JH. This revealed a significant up-regulation for two genes, a short chain dehydrogenase reductase (sdr) and a heat shock protein 90 (hsp90). Five other genes, including hsp60 and hexamerin 70b (hex70b), were significantly down-regulated by JH. The sdr gene had previously come up as differentially expressed in other transcriptome analyses on honey bee larvae and heat shock proteins are frequently involved in insect hormone responses, this making them interesting candidates for further functional assays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denyse Cavalcante Lago
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes 3900, 14049-900 Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
| | - Fernanda Carvalho Humann
- Departamento de Biologia Celular e Molecular e Bioagentes Patogênicos, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes 3900, 14049-900 Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil; Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de São Paulo, Campus Matão, Rua Estéfano D'avassi, 625, 15991-502 Matão, SP, Brazil.
| | - Angel Roberto Barchuk
- Departamento de Biologia Celular e do Desenvolvimento, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal de Alfenas, Rua Gabriel Monteiro da Silva 700, 37130-000 Alfenas, MG, Brazil.
| | - Kuruvilla Joseph Abraham
- Departamento de Puericultura e Pediatria Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes 3900, 14049-900 Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil; Universidade Estácio-Uniseb, Rua Abrahão Issa Halach 980, 14096-160 Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
| | - Klaus Hartfelder
- Departamento de Biologia Celular e Molecular e Bioagentes Patogênicos, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes 3900, 14049-900 Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
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31
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Elsner D, Kremer LP, Arning N, Bornberg-Bauer E. Chapter 6. Comparative genomic approaches to investigate molecular traits specific to social insects. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2016; 16:87-94. [PMID: 27720056 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2016.05.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2016] [Revised: 05/01/2016] [Accepted: 05/20/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Ageing is a feature of nearly all known organisms and, by its connection to survival, appears to trade off with fecundity. However, in some organisms such as in queens of social insects, this negative relation appears reversed and individuals live long and reproduce much. Since new experimental techniques, transcriptomes and genomes of many social insects have recently become available, a comparison of these data in a phylogenetic framework becomes feasible. This allows the study of general trends, species specific oddities and evolutionary dynamics of the molecular properties and changes which underlie ageing, fecundity and the reversal of this negative association. In the framework of social insect evolution, we review the most important recent insights, computational methods, their applications and data resources which are available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Elsner
- Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Institute of Biology I (Zoology), University of Freiburg, Hauptstrasse 1, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany.
| | - Lukas Pm Kremer
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, Westfalian Wilhelms University, Hüfferstrasse 1, D-48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Nicolas Arning
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, Westfalian Wilhelms University, Hüfferstrasse 1, D-48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Erich Bornberg-Bauer
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, Westfalian Wilhelms University, Hüfferstrasse 1, D-48149 Münster, Germany
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Santos DE, Alberici LC, Hartfelder K. Mitochondrial structure and dynamics as critical factors in honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) caste development. INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2016; 73:1-11. [PMID: 27058771 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2016.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2016] [Revised: 03/30/2016] [Accepted: 04/01/2016] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
The relationship between nutrition and phenotype is an especially challenging question in cases of facultative polyphenism, like the castes of social insects. In the honey bee, Apis mellifera, unexpected modifications in conserved signaling pathways revealed the hypoxia response as a possible mechanism underlying the regulation of body size and organ growth. Hence, the current study was designed to investigate possible causes of why the three hypoxia core genes are overexpressed in worker larvae. Parting from the hypothesis that this has an endogenous cause and is not due to differences in external oxygen levels we investigated mitochondrial numbers and distribution, as well as mitochondrial oxygen consumption rates in fat body cells of queen and worker larvae during the caste fate-critical larval stages. By immunofluorescence and electron microscopy we found higher densities of mitochondria in queen larval fat body, a finding further confirmed by a citrate synthase assay quantifying mitochondrial functional units. Oxygen consumption measurements by high-resolution respirometry revealed that queen larvae have higher maximum capacities of ATP production at lower physiological demand. Finally, the expression analysis of mitogenesis-related factors showed that the honey bee TFB1 and TFB2 homologs, and a nutritional regulator, ERR, are overexpressed in queen larvae. These results are strong evidence that the differential nutrition of queen and worker larvae by nurse bees affects mitochondrial dynamics and functionality in the fat body of these larvae, hence explaining their differential hypoxia response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Douglas Elias Santos
- Departamento de Biologia Celular e Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Bandeirantes 3900, 14049-900, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.
| | - Luciane Carla Alberici
- Departamento de Física e Química, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. do Café, s/n, 14040-903, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.
| | - Klaus Hartfelder
- Departamento de Biologia Celular e Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Bandeirantes 3900, 14049-900, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.
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33
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Zinna R, Gotoh H, Brent CS, Dolezal A, Kraus A, Niimi T, Emlen D, Lavine LC. Endocrine Control of Exaggerated Trait Growth in Rhinoceros Beetles. Integr Comp Biol 2016; 56:247-59. [PMID: 27252223 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icw042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Juvenile hormone (JH) is a key insect growth regulator frequently involved in modulating phenotypically plastic traits such as caste determination in eusocial species, wing polymorphisms in aphids, and mandible size in stag beetles. The jaw morphology of stag beetles is sexually-dimorphic and condition-dependent; males have larger jaws than females and those developing under optimum conditions are larger in overall body size and have disproportionately larger jaws than males raised under poor conditions. We have previously shown that large males have higher JH titers than small males during development, and ectopic application of fenoxycarb (JH analog) to small males can induce mandibular growth similar to that of larger males. What remains unknown is whether JH regulates condition-dependent trait growth in other insects with extreme sexually selected structures. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that JH mediates the condition-dependent expression of the elaborate horns of the Asian rhinoceros beetle, Trypoxylus dichotomus. The sexually dimorphic head horn of this beetle is sensitive to nutritional state during larval development. Like stag beetles, male rhinoceros beetles receiving copious food produce disproportionately large horns for their body size compared with males under restricted diets. We show that JH titers are correlated with body size during the late feeding and early prepupal periods, but this correlation disappears by the late prepupal period, the period of maximum horn growth. While ectopic application of fenoxycarb during the third larval instar significantly delayed pupation, it had no effect on adult horn size relative to body size. Fenoxycarb application to late prepupae also had at most a marginal effect on relative horn size. We discuss our results in context of other endocrine signals of condition-dependent trait exaggeration and suggest that different beetle lineages may have co-opted different physiological signaling mechanisms to achieve heightened nutrient-sensitive weapon growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Zinna
- *Department of Entomology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164 USA
| | - H Gotoh
- **Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8601, Japan
| | - C S Brent
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Arid-Land Agricultural Research Center, Maricopa, AZ 85138 USA
| | - A Dolezal
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011, USA
| | - A Kraus
- Department of Biology, Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA 99258 USA
| | - T Niimi
- Division of Evolutionary Developmental Biology, National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki, Aichi 444-8585, Japan
| | - D Emlen
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana-Missoula, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
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Chemosensory proteins of the eastern honeybee, Apis cerana: Identification, tissue distribution and olfactory related functional characterization. Comp Biochem Physiol B Biochem Mol Biol 2016; 194-195:11-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpb.2015.11.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2015] [Revised: 10/20/2015] [Accepted: 11/05/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Fourrier J, Deschamps M, Droin L, Alaux C, Fortini D, Beslay D, Le Conte Y, Devillers J, Aupinel P, Decourtye A. Larval Exposure to the Juvenile Hormone Analog Pyriproxyfen Disrupts Acceptance of and Social Behavior Performance in Adult Honeybees. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0132985. [PMID: 26171610 PMCID: PMC4501706 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0132985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2015] [Accepted: 06/23/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Juvenile hormone (JH) plays an important role in honeybee development and the regulation of age-related division of labor. However, honeybees can be exposed to insect growth regulators (IGRs), such as JH analogs developed for insect pest and vector control. Although their side effects as endocrine disruptors on honeybee larval or adult stages have been studied, little is known about the subsequent effects on adults of a sublethal larval exposure. We therefore studied the impact of the JH analog pyriproxyfen on larvae and resulting adults within a colony under semi-field conditions by combining recent laboratory larval tests with chemical analysis and behavioral observations. Oral and chronic larval exposure at cumulative doses of 23 or 57 ng per larva were tested. RESULTS Pyriproxyfen-treated bees emerged earlier than control bees and the highest dose led to a significant rate of malformed adults (atrophied wings). Young pyriproxyfen-treated bees were more frequently rejected by nestmates from the colony, inducing a shorter life span. This could be linked to differences in cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profiles between control and pyriproxyfen-treated bees. Finally, pyriproxyfen-treated bees exhibited fewer social behaviors (ventilation, brood care, contacts with nestmates or food stocks) than control bees. CONCLUSION Larval exposure to sublethal doses of pyriproxyfen affected several life history traits of the honeybees. Our results especially showed changes in social integration (acceptance by nestmates and social behaviors performance) that could potentially affect population growth and balance of the colony.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie Fourrier
- ACTA, ICB-VETAGROSUP, 1 avenue C. Bourgelat, 69280, Marcy l’Etoile, France
- * E-mail:
| | - Matthieu Deschamps
- ACTA, ICB-VETAGROSUP, 1 avenue C. Bourgelat, 69280, Marcy l’Etoile, France
| | - Léa Droin
- ACTA, ICB-VETAGROSUP, 1 avenue C. Bourgelat, 69280, Marcy l’Etoile, France
| | - Cédric Alaux
- INRA, UR 406 Abeilles et Environnement, 228 Route de l'Aérodrome, CS 40509, 84914, Avignon, Cedex 9, France
- UMT PrADE, CS 40509, Avignon, France
| | - Dominique Fortini
- INRA, UE1255, UE Entomologie, Station du Magneraud, CS 40052, 17700, Surgères, France
| | - Dominique Beslay
- INRA, UR 406 Abeilles et Environnement, 228 Route de l'Aérodrome, CS 40509, 84914, Avignon, Cedex 9, France
- UMT PrADE, CS 40509, Avignon, France
| | - Yves Le Conte
- INRA, UR 406 Abeilles et Environnement, 228 Route de l'Aérodrome, CS 40509, 84914, Avignon, Cedex 9, France
- UMT PrADE, CS 40509, Avignon, France
| | - James Devillers
- CTIS, 3 chemin de la gravière, 69140, Rillieux La Pape, France
| | - Pierrick Aupinel
- INRA, UE1255, UE Entomologie, Station du Magneraud, CS 40052, 17700, Surgères, France
| | - Axel Decourtye
- UMT PrADE, CS 40509, Avignon, France
- ACTA, 228 Route de l'Aérodrome, CS 40509, 84914, Avignon, Cedex 9, France
- ITSAP-Institut de l’abeille, 228 Route de l'Aérodrome, CS 40509, Avignon, France
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Santos CG, Hartfelder K. Insights into the dynamics of hind leg development in honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) queen and worker larvae - A morphology/differential gene expression analysis. Genet Mol Biol 2015; 38:263-77. [PMID: 26500430 PMCID: PMC4612609 DOI: 10.1590/s1415-475738320140393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2014] [Accepted: 03/25/2015] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Phenotypic plasticity is a hallmark of the caste systems of social insects, expressed in their life history and morphological traits. These are best studied in bees. In their co-evolution with angiosperm plants, the females of corbiculate bees have acquired a specialized structure on their hind legs for collecting pollen. In the highly eusocial bees (Apini and Meliponini), this structure is however only present in workers and absent in queens. By means of histological sections and cell proliferation analysis we followed the developmental dynamics of the hind legs of queens and workers in the fourth and fifth larval instars. In parallel, we generated subtractive cDNA libraries for hind leg discs of queen and worker larvae by means of a Representational Difference Analysis (RDA). From the total of 135 unique sequences we selected 19 for RT-qPCR analysis, where six of these were confirmed as differing significantly in their expression between the two castes in the larval spinning stage. The development of complex structures such as the bees' hind legs, requires diverse patterning mechanisms and signaling modules, as indicated by the set of differentially expressed genes related with cell adhesion and signaling pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolina Gonçalves Santos
- Departamento de Biologia Celular e Molecular e Bioagentes Patogênicos, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Klaus Hartfelder
- Departamento de Biologia Celular e Molecular e Bioagentes Patogênicos, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
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Ueno T, Takeuchi H, Kawasaki K, Kubo T. Changes in the Gene Expression Profiles of the Hypopharyngeal Gland of Worker Honeybees in Association with Worker Behavior and Hormonal Factors. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0130206. [PMID: 26083737 PMCID: PMC4470657 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0130206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2013] [Accepted: 05/18/2015] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The hypopharyngeal glands (HPGs) of worker honeybees undergo physiological changes along with the age-dependent role change from nursing to foraging: nurse bee HPGs secrete mainly major royal jelly proteins, whereas forager HPGs secrete mainly α-glucosidase III, which converts the sucrose in the nectar into glucose and fructose. We previously identified two other genes, Apis mellifera buffy (Ambuffy) and Apis mellifera matrix metalloproteinase 1 (AmMMP1), with enriched expression in nurse bee and forager HPGs, respectively. In the present study, to clarify the molecular mechanisms that coordinate HPG physiology with worker behavior, we first analyzed whether Ambuffy, AmMMP1, mrjp2 (a gene encoding one of major royal jelly protein isoforms), and Hbg3 (a gene encoding α-glucosidase III) expression, is associated with worker behavior in 'single-cohort colonies' where workers of almost the same age perform different tasks. Expression of these genes correlated with the worker’s role, while controlling for age, indicating their regulation associated with the worker’s behavior. Associated gene expression suggested the possible involvement of some hormonal factors in its regulation. We therefore examined the relationship between ecdysone- and juvenile hormone (JH)-signaling, and the expression profiles of these ‘indicator’ genes (nurse bee HPG-selective genes: mrjp2 and Ambuffy, and forager HPG-selective genes: Hbg3 and AmMMP1). Expression of both ecdysone-regulated genes (ecdysone receptor, mushroom body large type Kenyon cell specific protein-1, and E74) and JH-regulated genes (Methoprene tolerant and Krüppel homolog 1) was higher in the forager HPGs than in the nurse bee HPGs, suggesting the possible roles of ecdysone- and JH-regulated genes in worker HPGs. Furthermore, 20-hydroxyecdysone-treatment repressed both nurse bee- and forager-selective gene expression, whereas methoprene-treatment enhanced the expression of forager-selective genes and repressed nurse bee-selective genes in the HPGs. Our findings suggest that both ecdysone- and JH-signaling cooperatively regulate the physiological state of the HPGs in association with the worker’s behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takayuki Ueno
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113–0033, Japan
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Doshisha Women's College, Kyotanabe, Kyoto, 610–0395, Japan
| | - Hideaki Takeuchi
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113–0033, Japan
| | - Kiyoshi Kawasaki
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Doshisha Women's College, Kyotanabe, Kyoto, 610–0395, Japan
| | - Takeo Kubo
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113–0033, Japan
- * E-mail:
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Mello TRP, Aleixo AC, Pinheiro DG, Nunes FMF, Bitondi MMG, Hartfelder K, Barchuk AR, Simões ZLP. Developmental regulation of ecdysone receptor (EcR) and EcR-controlled gene expression during pharate-adult development of honeybees (Apis mellifera). Front Genet 2014; 5:445. [PMID: 25566327 PMCID: PMC4273664 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2014.00445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2014] [Accepted: 12/04/2014] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Major developmental transitions in multicellular organisms are driven by steroid hormones. In insects, these, together with juvenile hormone (JH), control development, metamorphosis, reproduction and aging, and are also suggested to play an important role in caste differentiation of social insects. Here, we aimed to determine how EcR transcription and ecdysteroid titers are related during honeybee postembryonic development and what may actually be the role of EcR in caste development of this social insect. In addition, we expected that knocking-down EcR gene expression would give us information on the participation of the respective protein in regulating downstream targets of EcR. We found that in Apis mellifera females, EcR-A is the predominantly expressed variant in postembryonic development, while EcR-B transcript levels are higher in embryos, indicating an early developmental switch in EcR function. During larval and pupal stages, EcR-B expression levels are very low, while EcR-A transcripts are more variable and abundant in workers compared to queens. Strikingly, these transcript levels are opposite to the ecdysteroid titer profile. 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) application experiments revealed that low 20E levels induce EcR expression during development, whereas high ecdysteroid titers seem to be repressive. By means of RNAi-mediated knockdown (KD) of both EcR transcript variants we detected the differential expression of 234 poly-A+ transcripts encoding genes such as CYPs, MRJPs and certain hormone response genes (Kr-h1 and ftz-f1). EcR-KD also promoted the differential expression of 70 miRNAs, including highly conserved ones (e.g., miR-133 and miR-375), as well honeybee-specific ones (e.g., miR-3745 and miR-3761). Our results put in evidence a broad spectrum of EcR-controlled gene expression during postembryonic development of honeybees, revealing new facets of EcR biology in this social insect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tathyana R P Mello
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Aline C Aleixo
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Daniel G Pinheiro
- Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, Universidade Estadual Paulista São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Francis M F Nunes
- Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal de São Carlos São Carlos, Brazil
| | - Márcia M G Bitondi
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Klaus Hartfelder
- Departamento de Biologia Celular, Molecular e de Bioagentes Patogênicos, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Angel R Barchuk
- Laboratório de Biologia Animal Integrativa, Departamento de Biologia Celular, Tecidual e do Desenvolvimento, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal de Alfenas Alfenas, Brazil
| | - Zilá L P Simões
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo São Paulo, Brazil
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Dimorphic ovary differentiation in honeybee (Apis mellifera) larvae involves caste-specific expression of homologs of ark and buffy cell death genes. PLoS One 2014; 9:e98088. [PMID: 24844304 PMCID: PMC4028266 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0098088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2013] [Accepted: 04/28/2014] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
The establishment of the number of repeated structural units, the ovarioles, in the ovaries is one of the critical events that shape caste polyphenism in social insects. In early postembryonic development, honeybee (Apis mellifera) larvae have a pair of ovaries, each one consisting of almost two hundred ovariole primordia. While practically all these ovarioles continue developing in queen-destined larvae, they undergo massive programmed cell death (PCD) in worker-destined larvae. So as to gain insight into the molecular basis of this fundamental process in caste differentiation we used quantitative PCR (qPCR) and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) to investigate the expression of the Amark and Ambuffy genes in the ovaries of the two honeybee castes throughout the fifth larval instar. These are the homologs of ark and buffy Drosophila melanogaster genes, respectively, involved in activating and inhibiting PCD. Caste-specific expression patterns were found during this time-window defining ovariole number. Amark transcript levels were increased when ovariole resorption was intensified in workers, but remained at low levels in queen ovaries. The transcripts were mainly localized at the apical end of all the worker ovarioles, but appeared in only a few queen ovarioles, thus strongly suggesting a function in mediating massive ovariolar cell death in worker larvae. Ambuffy was mainly expressed in the peritoneal sheath cells covering each ovariole. The levels of Ambuffy transcripts increased earlier in the developing ovaries of queens than in workers. Consistent with a protective role against cell death, Ambuffy transcripts were localized in practically all queen ovarioles, but only in few worker ovarioles. The results are indicative of a functional relationship between the expression of evolutionary conserved cell death genes and the morphological events leading to caste-specific ovary differentiation in a social insect.
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40
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Tian L, Zhou X. The soldiers in societies: defense, regulation, and evolution. Int J Biol Sci 2014; 10:296-308. [PMID: 24644427 PMCID: PMC3957085 DOI: 10.7150/ijbs.6847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2013] [Accepted: 01/02/2014] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The presence of reproductively altruistic castes is one of the primary traits of the eusocial societies. Adaptation and regulation of the sterile caste, to a certain extent, drives the evolution of eusociality. Depending on adaptive functions of the first evolved sterile caste, eusocial societies can be categorized into the worker-first and soldier-first lineages, respectively. The former is marked by a worker caste as the first evolved altruistic caste, whose primary function is housekeeping, and the latter is highlighted by a sterile soldier caste as the first evolved altruistic caste, whose task is predominantly colony defense. The apparent functional differences between these two fundamentally important castes suggest worker-first and soldier-first eusociality are potentially driven by a suite of distinctively different factors. Current studies of eusocial evolution have been focused largely on the worker-first Hymenoptera, whereas understanding of soldier-first lineages including termites, eusocial aphids, gall-dwelling thrips, and snapping shrimp, is greatly lacking. In this review, we summarize the current state of knowledge on biology, morphology, adaptive functions, and caste regulation of the soldier caste. In addition, we discuss the biological, ecological and genetic factors that might contribute to the evolution of distinct caste systems within eusocial lineages.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Xuguo Zhou
- Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546-0091, USA
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41
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Wheeler DE, Buck NA, Evans JD. Expression of insulin/insulin-like signalling and TOR pathway genes in honey bee caste determination. INSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2014; 23:113-121. [PMID: 24224645 DOI: 10.1111/imb.12065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
The development of queen and worker castes in honey bees is induced by differential nutrition, with future queens and workers receiving diets that are qualitatively and quantitatively different. We monitored the gene expression of 14 genes for components of the insulin/insulin-like signalling and TOR pathways in honey bee larvae from 40-88 h after hatching. We compared normally fed queen and normally fed worker larvae and found that three genes showed expression differences in 40-h-old larvae. Genes that show such early differences in expression may be part of the mechanism that transduces nutrition level into a hormone signal. We then compared changes in expression after shifts in diet with those in normally developing queens and workers. Following a shift to the worker diet, the expression of 9/14 genes was upregulated in comparison with queens. Following a shift to the queen diet, expression of only one gene changed. The honey bee responses may function together as a homeostatic mechanism buffering larvae from caste-disrupting variation in nutrition. The different responses would be part of the canalization of both the queen and worker developmental pathways, and as such, a signature of advanced sociality.
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Affiliation(s)
- D E Wheeler
- Department of Entomology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
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Bomtorin AD, Mackert A, Rosa GCC, Moda LM, Martins JR, Bitondi MMG, Hartfelder K, Simões ZLP. Juvenile hormone biosynthesis gene expression in the corpora allata of honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) female castes. PLoS One 2014; 9:e86923. [PMID: 24489805 PMCID: PMC3906101 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0086923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2013] [Accepted: 12/16/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Juvenile hormone (JH) controls key events in the honey bee life cycle, viz. caste development and age polyethism. We quantified transcript abundance of 24 genes involved in the JH biosynthetic pathway in the corpora allata-corpora cardiaca (CA-CC) complex. The expression of six of these genes showing relatively high transcript abundance was contrasted with CA size, hemolymph JH titer, as well as JH degradation rates and JH esterase (jhe) transcript levels. Gene expression did not match the contrasting JH titers in queen and worker fourth instar larvae, but jhe transcript abundance and JH degradation rates were significantly lower in queen larvae. Consequently, transcriptional control of JHE is of importance in regulating larval JH titers and caste development. In contrast, the same analyses applied to adult worker bees allowed us inferring that the high JH levels in foragers are due to increased JH synthesis. Upon RNAi-mediated silencing of the methyl farnesoate epoxidase gene (mfe) encoding the enzyme that catalyzes methyl farnesoate-to-JH conversion, the JH titer was decreased, thus corroborating that JH titer regulation in adult honey bees depends on this final JH biosynthesis step. The molecular pathway differences underlying JH titer regulation in larval caste development versus adult age polyethism lead us to propose that mfe and jhe genes be assayed when addressing questions on the role(s) of JH in social evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Durvalina Bomtorin
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - Aline Mackert
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
- Departamento de Ciências do Ambiente, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Campus do Pantanal, Corumbá, Brazil
| | - Gustavo Conrado Couto Rosa
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - Livia Maria Moda
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - Juliana Ramos Martins
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - Márcia Maria Gentile Bitondi
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - Klaus Hartfelder
- Departamento de Biologia Celular e Molecular e Bioagentes Patogênicos, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - Zilá Luz Paulino Simões
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
- * E-mail:
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Humann FC, Tiberio GJ, Hartfelder K. Sequence and expression characteristics of long noncoding RNAs in honey bee caste development--potential novel regulators for transgressive ovary size. PLoS One 2013; 8:e78915. [PMID: 24205350 PMCID: PMC3814967 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0078915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2013] [Accepted: 09/25/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Division of labor in social insect colonies relies on a strong reproductive bias that favors queens. Although the ecological and evolutionary success attained through caste systems is well sketched out in terms of ultimate causes, the molecular and cellular underpinnings driving the development of caste phenotypes are still far from understood. Recent genomics approaches on honey bee developmental biology revealed a set of genes that are differentially expressed genes in larval ovaries and associated with transgressive ovary size in queens and massive cell death in workers. Amongst these, two contigs called special attention, both being over 200 bp in size and lacking apparent coding potential. Herein, we obtained their full cDNA sequences. These and their secondary structure characteristics placed in evidence that they are bona fide long noncoding RNAs (lncRNA) differentially expressed in larval ovaries, thus named lncov1 and lncov2. Genomically, both map within a previously identified QTL on chromosome 11, associated with transgressive ovary size in honey bee workers. As lncov1 was over-expressed in worker ovaries we focused on this gene. Real-time qPCR analysis on larval worker ovaries evidenced an expression peak coinciding with the onset of autophagic cell death. Cellular localization analysis through fluorescence in situ hybridization revealed perinuclear spots resembling omega speckles known to regulate trafficking of RNA-binding proteins. With only four lncRNAs known so far in honey bees, two expressed in the ovaries, these findings open a novel perspective on regulatory factors acting in the fine tuning of developmental processes underlying phenotypic plasticity related to social life histories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fernanda C. Humann
- Departamento de Biologia Celular e Molecular e Bioagentes Patogênicos, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Gustavo J. Tiberio
- Departamento de Biologia Celular e Molecular e Bioagentes Patogênicos, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Klaus Hartfelder
- Departamento de Biologia Celular e Molecular e Bioagentes Patogênicos, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
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Koyama T, Mendes CC, Mirth CK. Mechanisms regulating nutrition-dependent developmental plasticity through organ-specific effects in insects. Front Physiol 2013; 4:263. [PMID: 24133450 PMCID: PMC3783933 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2013.00263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2013] [Accepted: 09/06/2013] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Nutrition, via the insulin/insulin-like growth factor (IIS)/Target of Rapamycin (TOR) signaling pathway, can provide a strong molding force for determining animal size and shape. For instance, nutrition induces a disproportionate increase in the size of male horns in dung and rhinoceros beetles, or mandibles in staghorn or horned flour beetles, relative to body size. In these species, well-fed male larvae produce adults with greatly enlarged horns or mandibles, whereas males that are starved or poorly fed as larvae bear much more modest appendages. Changes in IIS/TOR signaling plays a key role in appendage development by regulating growth in the horn and mandible primordia. In contrast, changes in the IIS/TOR pathway produce minimal effects on the size of other adult structures, such as the male genitalia in fruit flies and dung beetles. The horn, mandible and genitalia illustrate that although all tissues are exposed to the same hormonal environment within the larval body, the extent to which insulin can induce growth is organ specific. In addition, the IIS/TOR pathway affects body size and shape by controlling production of metamorphic hormones important for regulating developmental timing, like the steroid molting hormone ecdysone and sesquiterpenoid hormone juvenile hormone. In this review, we discuss recent results from Drosophila and other insects that highlight mechanisms allowing tissues to differ in their sensitivity to IIS/TOR and the potential consequences of these differences on body size and shape.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takashi Koyama
- Development, Evolution and the Environment Laboratory, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência Oeiras, Portugal
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Sun R, Zhang Y, Xu B. Characterization of the response to ecdysteroid of a novel cuticle protein R&R gene in the honey bee, Apis cerana cerana. Comp Biochem Physiol B Biochem Mol Biol 2013; 166:73-80. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpb.2013.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2013] [Revised: 07/02/2013] [Accepted: 07/04/2013] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
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Wang Y, Azevedo SV, Hartfelder K, Amdam GV. Insulin-like peptides (AmILP1 and AmILP2) differentially affect female caste development in the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.). ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013; 216:4347-57. [PMID: 23997199 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.085779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
The food a honey bee female larva receives determines whether she develops into a large long-lived fertile queen or a short-lived sterile worker. Through well-established nutrient-sensing and growth-promoting functions in metazoans, the insulin/insulin-like growth factor 1 signaling (IIS) pathway has become a focal topic in investigations on how differences in food environment can be translated into internal signals responsible for queen-worker determination. However, low expression levels of two insulin receptors (AmInRs) in honey bee larvae and the failure of one AmInR to influence caste differentiation are in potential conflict with such a classical growth-promoting role of IIS in queen-worker development. In view of such an apparent contradiction, and the fact that binding partners and affinities of these two AmInRs have not been worked out, we performed a functional study on insulin-like peptide genes (AmILP1 and AmILP2) in honey bee larvae by using a double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-mediated gene knockdown approach. We found that juvenile hormone (JH) levels were diminished by AmILP1 dsRNA treatment, while the AmILP2 knockdown caused a reduction in ovary size. Blood sugar titers were not significantly affected by the treatments. From these results we conclude that AmILP2 transcript levels may influence specific organ development, such as the ovary and body mass, while more general traits of caste differentiation, such as mandibles, may require additional regulators. In addition, JH production may be regulated by AmILP1 expressed locally in the brain, similar to the function of certain ILPs in Drosophila.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Wang
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
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Buttstedt A, Moritz RFA, Erler S. Origin and function of the major royal jelly proteins of the honeybee (Apis mellifera) as members of the yellow gene family. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2013; 89:255-69. [PMID: 23855350 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 105] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2012] [Revised: 06/19/2013] [Accepted: 06/20/2013] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
In the honeybee, Apis mellifera, the queen larvae are fed with a diet exclusively composed of royal jelly (RJ), a secretion of the hypopharyngeal gland of young worker bees that nurse the brood. Up to 15% of RJ is composed of proteins, the nine most abundant of which have been termed major royal jelly proteins (MRJPs). Although it is widely accepted that RJ somehow determines the fate of a female larva and in spite of considerable research efforts, there are surprisingly few studies that address the biochemical characterisation and functions of these MRJPs. Here we review the research on MRJPs not only in honeybees but in hymenopteran insects in general and provide metadata analyses on genome organisation of mrjp genes, corroborating previous reports that MRJPs have important functions for insect development and not just a nutritional value for developing honeybee larvae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anja Buttstedt
- Departamentul de Apicultură şi Sericicultură, Facultatea de Zootehnie şi Biotehnologii, Universitatea de Ştiinţe Agricole şi Medicină Veterinară, Cluj-Napoca, 400372, Romania; Institut für Biologie, Zoologie-Molekulare Ökologie, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, 06099, Germany
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Li W, Huang ZY, Liu F, Li Z, Yan L, Zhang S, Chen S, Zhong B, Su S. Molecular cloning and characterization of juvenile hormone acid methyltransferase in the honey bee, Apis mellifera, and its differential expression during caste differentiation. PLoS One 2013; 8:e68544. [PMID: 23874662 PMCID: PMC3706623 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0068544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2013] [Accepted: 05/30/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Juvenile hormone acid methyltransferase (JHAMT) is an enzyme involved in one of the final steps of juvenile hormone biosynthesis in insects. It transfers a methyl group from S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) to the carboxyl group of either farnesoic acid (FA) or JH acid (JHA). Several genes coding for JHAMT have been cloned and characterized from insects from different orders, and they have been shown to play critical roles in metamorphosis and reproduction. However, the significance of JHAMT in Hymenopteran insects is unknown. We used RACE amplification method to clone JHAMT cDNA from the honey bee, Apis mellifera (AmJHAMT). The full length cDNA of AmJHAMT that we cloned is 1253bp long and encodes a 278-aa protein that shares 32-36% identity with known JHAMTs. A SAM-binding motif, conserved in the SAM-dependent methyltransferase (SAM-MT) superfamily, is present in AmJHAMT. Its secondary structure also contains a typical SAM-MT fold. Most of the active sites bound with SAM and substrates (JHA or FA) are conserved in AmJHAMT as in other JHAMT orthologs. Phylogenetic analysis clustered AmJHAMT with the other orthologs from Hymenoptera to form a major clade in the phylogenetic tree. Purified recombinant AmJHAMT protein expressed in E. coli was used to produce polyclonal antibodies and to verify the identity of AmJHAMT by immunoblotting and mass spectrometry. Quantitative RT-PCR and immunoblotting analyses revealed that queen larvae contained significantly higher levels of AmJHAMT mRNA and protein than worker larvae during the periods of caste development. The temporal profiles of both AmJHAMT mRNA and protein in queens and workers showed a similar pattern as the JH biosynthesis. These results suggest that the gene that we cloned codes for a functional JHAMT that catalyzes the final reactions of JH biosynthesis in honey bees. In addition, AmJHAMT may play an important role in honey bee caste differentiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenfeng Li
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Zachary Y. Huang
- Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Fang Liu
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Zhiguo Li
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Limin Yan
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Shaowu Zhang
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Vision Science, Research School of Biology, College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Shenglu Chen
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Boxiong Zhong
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Songkun Su
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- College of Bee Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
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Cousin M, Silva-Zacarin E, Kretzschmar A, El Maataoui M, Brunet JL, Belzunces LP. Size changes in honey bee larvae oenocytes induced by exposure to Paraquat at very low concentrations. PLoS One 2013; 8:e65693. [PMID: 23724149 PMCID: PMC3665783 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0065693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2012] [Accepted: 05/01/2013] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
The effects of the herbicide Paraquat were investigated in honey bee larvae with attention focused on oenocytes. Honey bee larvae were exposed to Paraquat at different concentrations in the food: 0, 0.001, 0.01, 0.1 and 1 µg/kg. In controls, between 24 h and 48 h, oenocytes grew from 630.1 to 1643.8 µm(2) while nuclei changed in size from 124.9 to 245.6 µm(2). At 24 h, Paraquat induced a slight decrease in the size of oenocytes and nuclei. N-acetylcysteine (NAC), an antioxidant substance, slightly lowered the effects of Paraquat. At 48 h, Paraquat elicited a strong concentration-dependent decrease in the size of oenocytes, even at the lowest concentration. NAC reversed the effect of Paraquat at a concentration of ≥0.01 µg/kg. This reversion suggested different modes of action of Paraquat, with an oxidant action prevalent at concentrations ≥0.01 µg/kg. This study is the first which reports an effect of a pesticide at the very low concentration of 1 ng/kg, a concentration below the detection limits of the most efficient analytic methods. It shows that chemicals, including pesticides, are likely to have a potential impact at such exposure levels. We also suggest that Paraquat could be used as a suitable tool for investigating the functions of oenocytes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marianne Cousin
- INRA, UR 406 Abeilles & Environnement, Laboratoire de Toxicologie Environnementale, Avignon, France
| | - Elaine Silva-Zacarin
- Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Laboratory of Structural and Functional Biology, Sorocaba, São Paulo State, Brazil
| | | | | | - Jean-Luc Brunet
- INRA, UR 406 Abeilles & Environnement, Laboratoire de Toxicologie Environnementale, Avignon, France
| | - Luc P. Belzunces
- INRA, UR 406 Abeilles & Environnement, Laboratoire de Toxicologie Environnementale, Avignon, France
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Han B, Zhang L, Feng M, Fang Y, Li J. An Integrated Proteomics Reveals Pathological Mechanism of Honeybee (Apis cerena) Sacbrood Disease. J Proteome Res 2013; 12:1881-97. [DOI: 10.1021/pr301226d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Bin Han
- Institute of Apicultural Research/Key Laboratory of
Pollinating Insect Biology, Ministry of Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China
| | - Lan Zhang
- Institute of Apicultural Research/Key Laboratory of
Pollinating Insect Biology, Ministry of Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China
| | - Mao Feng
- Institute of Apicultural Research/Key Laboratory of
Pollinating Insect Biology, Ministry of Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China
| | - Yu Fang
- Institute of Apicultural Research/Key Laboratory of
Pollinating Insect Biology, Ministry of Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China
| | - Jianke Li
- Institute of Apicultural Research/Key Laboratory of
Pollinating Insect Biology, Ministry of Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China
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