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Alhosin M. Epigenetics Mechanisms of Honeybees: Secrets of Royal Jelly. Epigenet Insights 2023; 16:25168657231213717. [PMID: 38033464 PMCID: PMC10687967 DOI: 10.1177/25168657231213717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2023] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Early diets in honeybees have effects on epigenome with consequences on their phenotype. Depending on the early larval diet, either royal jelly (RJ) or royal worker, 2 different female castes are generated from identical genomes, a long-lived queen with fully developed ovaries and a short-lived functionally sterile worker. To generate these prominent physiological and morphological differences between queen and worker, honeybees utilize epigenetic mechanisms which are controlled by nutritional input. These mechanisms include DNA methylation and histone post-translational modifications, mainly histone acetylation. In honeybee larvae, DNA methylation and histone acetylation may be differentially altered by RJ. This diet has biologically active ingredients with inhibitory effects on the de novo methyltransferase DNMT3A or the histone deacetylase 3 HDAC3 to create and maintain the epigenetic state necessary for developing larvae to generate a queen. DNMT and HDAC enzymes work together to induce the formation of a compacted chromatin structure, repressing transcription. Such dialog could be coordinated by their association with other epigenetic factors including the ubiquitin-like containing plant homeodomain (PHD) and really interesting new gene (RING) finger domains 1 (UHRF1). Through its multiple functional domains, UHRF1 acts as an epigenetic reader of both DNA methylation patterns and histone marks. The present review discusses the epigenetic regulation of honeybee's chromatin and how the early diets in honeybees can affect the DNA/histone modifying types of machinery that are necessary to stimulate the larvae to turn into either queen or worker. The review also looks at future directions in epigenetics mechanisms of honeybees, mainly the potential role of UHRF1 in these mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahmoud Alhosin
- Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- Cancer and Mutagenesis Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- Centre for Artificial intelligence in Precision Medicines, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
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Feiner N, Radersma R, Vasquez L, Ringnér M, Nystedt B, Raine A, Tobi EW, Heijmans BT, Uller T. Environmentally induced DNA methylation is inherited across generations in an aquatic keystone species. iScience 2022; 25:104303. [PMID: 35573201 PMCID: PMC9097707 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2021] [Revised: 04/02/2022] [Accepted: 04/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Transgenerational inheritance of environmentally induced epigenetic marks can have significant impacts on eco-evolutionary dynamics, but the phenomenon remains controversial in ecological model systems. We used whole-genome bisulfite sequencing of individual water fleas (Daphnia magna) to assess whether environmentally induced DNA methylation is transgenerationally inherited. Genetically identical females were exposed to one of three natural stressors, or a de-methylating drug, and their offspring were propagated clonally for four generations under control conditions. We identified between 70 and 225 differentially methylated CpG positions (DMPs) in F1 individuals whose mothers were exposed to a natural stressor. Roughly half of these environmentally induced DMPs persisted until generation F4. In contrast, treatment with the drug demonstrated that pervasive hypomethylation upon exposure is reset almost completely after one generation. These results suggest that environmentally induced DNA methylation is non-random and stably inherited across generations in Daphnia, making epigenetic inheritance a putative factor in the eco-evolutionary dynamics of freshwater communities. Naturally induced DNA-methylation persists until generation F4 in Daphnia Drug-induced de-methylation is reset after one generation Methylation is enriched in exons suggesting a gene regulatory function Epigenetic inheritance may influence eco-evolutionary dynamics
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Reinder Radersma
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Louella Vasquez
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, National Bioinformatics Infrastructure Sweden, Science for Life Laboratory, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Markus Ringnér
- Department of Biology, National Bioinformatics Infrastructure Sweden, Science for Life Laboratory, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Björn Nystedt
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, National Bioinformatics Infrastructure Sweden, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Amanda Raine
- Department of Medical Sciences, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Elmar W Tobi
- Periconceptional Epidemiology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Division of Obstetrics and Prenatal Medicine, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Division of Human Nutrition and Health, Department of Agrotechnology and Food Science, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Molecular Epidemiology, Department of Biomedical Data Sciences, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Bastiaan T Heijmans
- Molecular Epidemiology, Department of Biomedical Data Sciences, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Tobias Uller
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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Morandin C, Brendel VP. Tools and applications for integrative analysis of DNA methylation in social insects. Mol Ecol Resour 2021; 22:1656-1674. [PMID: 34861105 DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.13566] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2021] [Revised: 11/18/2021] [Accepted: 11/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
DNA methylation is a common epigenetic signalling tool and an important biological process which is widely studied in a large array of species. The presence, level and function of DNA methylation vary greatly across species. In some insects, DNA methylation systems are minimal, and overall methylation rates tend to be low in all studied insect species. Low methylation levels probed by whole-genome bisulphite sequencing require great care with respect to data quality control and interpretation. Here, we introduce BWASP/R, a complete workflow that allows efficient, scalable and entirely reproducible analyses of raw DNA methylation sequencing data. Consistent application of quality control filters and analysis parameters provides fair comparisons among different studies and an integrated view of all experiments on one species. We describe the capabilities of the BWASP/R workflow by re-analysing several publicly available social insect WGBS data sets, comprising 70 samples and cumulatively 147 replicates from four different species. We show that the CpG methylome comprises only about 1.5% of CpG sites in the honeybee genome and that the cumulative data are consistent with genetic signatures of site accessibility and physiological control of methylation levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Morandin
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Biophore, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Volker P Brendel
- Departments of Biology and Computer Science, Indiana University, Bloomingto, Indiana, USA
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Yagound B, Remnant EJ, Buchmann G, Oldroyd BP. Reply to Soley: DNA methylation marks are stably transferred across generations in honey bees. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2109211118. [PMID: 34260407 PMCID: PMC8285941 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2109211118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Boris Yagound
- Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution Laboratory, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia;
- Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Emily J Remnant
- Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution Laboratory, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Gabriele Buchmann
- Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution Laboratory, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
- Centre for Plant Genome Engineering, Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Benjamin P Oldroyd
- Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution Laboratory, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
- Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, 14193 Berlin, Germany
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