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Schweizer RM, Meidt CG, Benavides LR, Wilson JS, Griswold TL, Sim SB, Geib SM, Branstetter MG. Reference genome for the Mojave poppy bee (Perdita meconis), a specialist pollinator of conservation concern. J Hered 2024; 115:470-479. [PMID: 38088446 PMCID: PMC11235129 DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esad076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2023] [Revised: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2024] Open
Abstract
The Mojave poppy bee, Perdita meconis Griswold (Hymenoptera: Anthophila: Andrenidae), is a species of conservation concern that is restricted to the eastern Mojave Desert of North America. It is a specialist pollinator of two poppy genera, Arctomecon and Argemone (Papaveraceae), and is being considered for listing under the US Endangered Species Act along with one of its pollinator hosts, the Las Vegas bearpoppy (Arctomecon californica). Here, we present a near chromosome-level genome of the Mojave poppy bee to provide a genomic resource that will aid conservation efforts and future research. We isolated DNA from a single, small (<7 mm), male specimen collected using non-ideal preservation methods and then performed whole-genome sequencing using PacBio HiFi technology. After quality and contaminant filtering, the final draft genome assembly is 327 Mb, with an N50 length of 17.5 Mb. Annotated repetitive elements compose 37.3% of the genome, although a large proportion (24.87%) of those are unclassified repeats. Additionally, we annotated 18,245 protein-coding genes and 19,433 transcripts. This genome represents one of only a few genomes from the large bee family Andrenidae and one of only a few genomes for pollinator specialists. We highlight both the potential of this genome as a resource for future research, and how high-quality genomes generated from small, non-ideal (in terms of preservation) specimens could facilitate biodiversity genomics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rena M Schweizer
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), Pollinating Insects Research Unit, Utah State University, Logan, UT, United States
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, United States
| | - Colleen G Meidt
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), Pollinating Insects Research Unit, Utah State University, Logan, UT, United States
- Department of Biology, Utah State University, Logan, UT, United States
| | - Ligia R Benavides
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), Pollinating Insects Research Unit, Utah State University, Logan, UT, United States
| | - Joseph S Wilson
- Department of Biology, Utah State University-Tooele, Tooele, UT, United States
| | - Terry L Griswold
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), Pollinating Insects Research Unit, Utah State University, Logan, UT, United States
| | - Sheina B Sim
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center, Tropical Pest Genetics and Molecular Biology Research Unit, Hilo, HI, United States
| | - Scott M Geib
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center, Tropical Pest Genetics and Molecular Biology Research Unit, Hilo, HI, United States
| | - Michael G Branstetter
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), Pollinating Insects Research Unit, Utah State University, Logan, UT, United States
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Eynard SE, Klopp C, Canale-Tabet K, Marande W, Vandecasteele C, Roques C, Donnadieu C, Boone Q, Servin B, Vignal A. The black honey bee genome: insights on specific structural elements and a first step towards pangenomes. Genet Sel Evol 2024; 56:51. [PMID: 38943059 PMCID: PMC11212449 DOI: 10.1186/s12711-024-00917-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2024] [Accepted: 06/04/2024] [Indexed: 07/01/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The honey bee reference genome, HAv3.1, was produced from a commercial line sample that was thought to have a largely dominant Apis mellifera ligustica genetic background. Apis mellifera mellifera, often referred to as the black bee, has a separate evolutionary history and is the original type in western and northern Europe. Growing interest in this subspecies for conservation and non-professional apicultural practices, together with the necessity of deciphering genome backgrounds in hybrids, triggered the necessity for a specific genome assembly. Moreover, having several high-quality genomes is becoming key for taking structural variations into account in pangenome analyses. RESULTS Pacific Bioscience technology long reads were produced from a single haploid black bee drone. Scaffolding contigs into chromosomes was done using a high-density genetic map. This allowed for re-estimation of the recombination rate, which was over-estimated in some previous studies due to mis-assemblies, which resulted in spurious inversions in the older reference genomes. The sequence continuity obtained was very high and the only limit towards continuous chromosome-wide sequences seemed to be due to tandem repeat arrays that were usually longer than 10 kb and that belonged to two main families, the 371 and 91 bp repeats, causing problems in the assembly process due to high internal sequence similarity. Our assembly was used together with the reference genome to genotype two structural variants by a pangenome graph approach with Graphtyper2. Genotypes obtained were either correct or missing, when compared to an approach based on sequencing depth analysis, and genotyping rates were 89 and 76% for the two variants. CONCLUSIONS Our new assembly for the Apis mellifera mellifera honey bee subspecies demonstrates the utility of multiple high-quality genomes for the genotyping of structural variants, with a test case on two insertions and deletions. It will therefore be an invaluable resource for future studies, for instance by including structural variants in GWAS. Having used a single haploid drone for sequencing allowed a refined analysis of very large tandem repeat arrays, raising the question of their function in the genome. High quality genome assemblies for multiple subspecies such as presented here, are crucial for emerging projects using pangenomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia E Eynard
- GenPhySE, Université de Toulouse, INRAE, INPT, INP-ENVT, Castanet Tolosan, France
| | | | - Kamila Canale-Tabet
- GenPhySE, Université de Toulouse, INRAE, INPT, INP-ENVT, Castanet Tolosan, France
| | | | | | - Céline Roques
- INRAE, US 1426, GeT-PlaGe, Genotoul, Castanet-Tolosan, France
| | | | - Quentin Boone
- GenPhySE, Université de Toulouse, INRAE, INPT, INP-ENVT, Castanet Tolosan, France
- Sigenae, MIAT, INRAE, Castanet Tolosan, France
| | - Bertrand Servin
- GenPhySE, Université de Toulouse, INRAE, INPT, INP-ENVT, Castanet Tolosan, France
| | - Alain Vignal
- GenPhySE, Université de Toulouse, INRAE, INPT, INP-ENVT, Castanet Tolosan, France.
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Peng T, Kennedy A, Wu Y, Foitzik S, Grüter C. Early life exposure to queen mandibular pheromone mediates persistent transcriptional changes in the brain of honey bee foragers. J Exp Biol 2024; 227:jeb247516. [PMID: 38725404 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.247516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2024] [Accepted: 04/28/2024] [Indexed: 06/25/2024]
Abstract
Behavioural regulation in insect societies remains a fundamental question in sociobiology. In hymenopteran societies, the queen plays a crucial role in regulating group behaviour by affecting individual behaviour and physiology through modulation of worker gene expression. Honey bee (Apis mellifera) queens signal their presence via queen mandibular pheromone (QMP). While QMP has been shown to influence behaviour and gene expression of young workers, we know little about how these changes translate in older workers. The effects of the queen pheromone could have prolonged molecular impacts on workers that depend on an early sensitive period. We demonstrate that removal of QMP impacts long-term gene expression in the brain and antennae in foragers that were treated early in life (1 day post emergence), but not when treated later in life. Genes important for division of labour, learning, chemosensory perception and ageing were among those differentially expressed in the antennae and brain tissues, suggesting that QMP influences diverse physiological and behavioural processes in workers. Surprisingly, removal of QMP did not have an impact on foraging behaviour. Overall, our study suggests a sensitive period early in the life of workers, where the presence or absence of a queen has potentially life-long effects on transcriptional activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianfei Peng
- Institute of Molecular and Organismic Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Biozentrum I, Hanns Dieter Hüsch Weg 15, 55128 Mainz, Germany
- College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, PR China
| | - Anissa Kennedy
- Institute of Molecular and Organismic Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Biozentrum I, Hanns Dieter Hüsch Weg 15, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Yongqiang Wu
- Institute of Molecular and Organismic Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Biozentrum I, Hanns Dieter Hüsch Weg 15, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Susanne Foitzik
- Institute of Molecular and Organismic Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Biozentrum I, Hanns Dieter Hüsch Weg 15, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Christoph Grüter
- Institute of Molecular and Organismic Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Biozentrum I, Hanns Dieter Hüsch Weg 15, 55128 Mainz, Germany
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Zang H, Guo S, Dong S, Song Y, Li K, Fan X, Qiu J, Zheng Y, Jiang H, Wu Y, Lü Y, Chen D, Guo R. Construction of a Full-Length Transcriptome of Western Honeybee Midgut Tissue and Improved Genome Annotation. Genes (Basel) 2024; 15:728. [PMID: 38927663 PMCID: PMC11202838 DOI: 10.3390/genes15060728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2024] [Revised: 05/22/2024] [Accepted: 05/26/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Honeybees are an indispensable pollinator in nature with pivotal ecological, economic, and scientific value. However, a full-length transcriptome for Apis mellifera, assembled with the advanced third-generation nanopore sequencing technology, has yet to be reported. Here, nanopore sequencing of the midgut tissues of uninoculated and Nosema ceranae-inoculated A. mellifera workers was conducted, and the full-length transcriptome was then constructed and annotated based on high-quality long reads. Next followed improvement of sequences and annotations of the current reference genome of A. mellifera. A total of 5,942,745 and 6,664,923 raw reads were produced from midguts of workers at 7 days post-inoculation (dpi) with N. ceranae and 10 dpi, while 7,100,161 and 6,506,665 raw reads were generated from the midguts of corresponding uninoculated workers. After strict quality control, 6,928,170, 6,353,066, 5,745,048, and 6,416,987 clean reads were obtained, with a length distribution ranging from 1 kb to 10 kb. Additionally, 16,824, 17,708, 15,744, and 18,246 full-length transcripts were respectively detected, including 28,019 nonredundant ones. Among these, 43,666, 30,945, 41,771, 26,442, and 24,532 full-length transcripts could be annotated to the Nr, KOG, eggNOG, GO, and KEGG databases, respectively. Additionally, 501 novel genes (20,326 novel transcripts) were identified for the first time, among which 401 (20,255), 193 (13,365), 414 (19,186), 228 (12,093), and 202 (11,703) were respectively annotated to each of the aforementioned five databases. The expression and sequences of three randomly selected novel transcripts were confirmed by RT-PCR and Sanger sequencing. The 5' UTR of 2082 genes, the 3' UTR of 2029 genes, and both the 5' and 3' UTRs of 730 genes were extended. Moreover, 17,345 SSRs, 14,789 complete ORFs, 1224 long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and 650 transcription factors (TFs) from 37 families were detected. Findings from this work not only refine the annotation of the A. mellifera reference genome, but also provide a valuable resource and basis for relevant molecular and -omics studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- He Zang
- College of Bee Science and Biomedicine, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; (H.Z.); (S.G.); (S.D.); (Y.S.); (K.L.); (X.F.); (J.Q.); (Y.Z.); (D.C.)
- National & Local United Engineering Laboratory of Natural Biotoxin, Fuzhou 350002, China
- Apitherapy Research Institute of Fujian Province, Fuzhou 350002, China
| | - Sijia Guo
- College of Bee Science and Biomedicine, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; (H.Z.); (S.G.); (S.D.); (Y.S.); (K.L.); (X.F.); (J.Q.); (Y.Z.); (D.C.)
| | - Shunan Dong
- College of Bee Science and Biomedicine, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; (H.Z.); (S.G.); (S.D.); (Y.S.); (K.L.); (X.F.); (J.Q.); (Y.Z.); (D.C.)
| | - Yuxuan Song
- College of Bee Science and Biomedicine, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; (H.Z.); (S.G.); (S.D.); (Y.S.); (K.L.); (X.F.); (J.Q.); (Y.Z.); (D.C.)
| | - Kunze Li
- College of Bee Science and Biomedicine, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; (H.Z.); (S.G.); (S.D.); (Y.S.); (K.L.); (X.F.); (J.Q.); (Y.Z.); (D.C.)
| | - Xiaoxue Fan
- College of Bee Science and Biomedicine, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; (H.Z.); (S.G.); (S.D.); (Y.S.); (K.L.); (X.F.); (J.Q.); (Y.Z.); (D.C.)
- National & Local United Engineering Laboratory of Natural Biotoxin, Fuzhou 350002, China
- Apitherapy Research Institute of Fujian Province, Fuzhou 350002, China
| | - Jianfeng Qiu
- College of Bee Science and Biomedicine, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; (H.Z.); (S.G.); (S.D.); (Y.S.); (K.L.); (X.F.); (J.Q.); (Y.Z.); (D.C.)
- National & Local United Engineering Laboratory of Natural Biotoxin, Fuzhou 350002, China
- Apitherapy Research Institute of Fujian Province, Fuzhou 350002, China
| | - Yidi Zheng
- College of Bee Science and Biomedicine, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; (H.Z.); (S.G.); (S.D.); (Y.S.); (K.L.); (X.F.); (J.Q.); (Y.Z.); (D.C.)
| | - Haibin Jiang
- Apiculture Science Institute of Jilin Province, Jilin 132000, China; (H.J.); (Y.W.)
| | - Ying Wu
- Apiculture Science Institute of Jilin Province, Jilin 132000, China; (H.J.); (Y.W.)
| | - Yang Lü
- Mudanjiang Branch of Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Mudanjiang 157000, China;
| | - Dafu Chen
- College of Bee Science and Biomedicine, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; (H.Z.); (S.G.); (S.D.); (Y.S.); (K.L.); (X.F.); (J.Q.); (Y.Z.); (D.C.)
- National & Local United Engineering Laboratory of Natural Biotoxin, Fuzhou 350002, China
- Apitherapy Research Institute of Fujian Province, Fuzhou 350002, China
| | - Rui Guo
- College of Bee Science and Biomedicine, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; (H.Z.); (S.G.); (S.D.); (Y.S.); (K.L.); (X.F.); (J.Q.); (Y.Z.); (D.C.)
- National & Local United Engineering Laboratory of Natural Biotoxin, Fuzhou 350002, China
- Apitherapy Research Institute of Fujian Province, Fuzhou 350002, China
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Garambois C, Boulesteix M, Fablet M. Effects of Arboviral Infections on Transposable Element Transcript Levels in Aedes aegypti. Genome Biol Evol 2024; 16:evae092. [PMID: 38695057 PMCID: PMC11110940 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evae092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Transposable elements are mobile repeated sequences found in all genomes. Transposable elements are controlled by RNA interference pathways in most organisms, and this control involves the PIWI-interacting RNA pathway and the small interfering RNA pathway, which is also known to be the first line of antiviral defense in invertebrates. Using Drosophila, we recently showed that viral infections result in the modulation of transposable element transcript levels through modulation of the small RNA repertoire. The Aedes aegypti mosquito is of particular interest because almost half of its genome is made of transposable elements, and it is described as a major vector of viruses (such as the dengue [DENV], Zika [ZIKV], and chikungunya [CHIKV] arboviruses). Moreover, Aedes mosquitoes are unique among insects in that the PIWI-interacting RNA pathway is also involved in the somatic antiviral response, in addition to the transposable element control and PIWI-interacting RNA pathway genes expanded in the mosquito genome. For these reasons, we studied the impacts of viral infections on transposable element transcript levels in A. aegypti samples. We retrieved public datasets corresponding to RNA-seq data obtained from viral infections by DENV, ZIKV, and CHIKV in various tissues. We found that transposable element transcripts are moderately modulated following viral infection and that the direction of the modulation varies greatly across tissues and viruses. These results highlight the need for an in-depth investigation of the tightly intertwined interactions between transposable elements and viruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chloé Garambois
- Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive (LBBE), UMR 5558, CNRS, VAS, Villeurbanne 69622, France
| | - Matthieu Boulesteix
- Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive (LBBE), UMR 5558, CNRS, VAS, Villeurbanne 69622, France
| | - Marie Fablet
- Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive (LBBE), UMR 5558, CNRS, VAS, Villeurbanne 69622, France
- Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France
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6
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Fan X, Gao X, Zang H, Liu Z, Jing X, Liu X, Guo S, Jiang H, Wu Y, Huang Z, Chen D, Guo R. Transcriptional dynamics and regulatory function of milRNAs in Ascosphaera apis invading Apis mellifera larvae. Front Microbiol 2024; 15:1355035. [PMID: 38650880 PMCID: PMC11033319 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1355035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2024] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024] Open
Abstract
In the present study, small RNA (sRNA) data from Ascosphaera apis were filtered from sRNA-seq datasets from the gut tissues of A. apis-infected Apis mellifera ligustica worker larvae, which were combined with the previously gained sRNA-seq data from A. apis spores to screen differentially expressed milRNAs (DEmilRNAs), followed by trend analysis and investigation of the DEmilRNAs in relation to significant trends. Additionally, the interactions between the DEmilRNAs and their target mRNAs were verified using a dual-luciferase reporter assay. In total, 974 A. apis milRNAs were identified. The first base of these milRNAs was biased toward U. The expression of six milRNAs was confirmed by stem-loop RT-PCR, and the sequences of milR-3245-y and milR-10285-y were validated using Sanger sequencing. These miRNAs grouped into four significant trends, with the target mRNAs of DEmilRNAs involving 42 GO terms and 120 KEGG pathways, such as the fungal-type cell wall and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. Further investigation demonstrated that 299 DEmilRNAs (novel-m0011-3p, milR-10048-y, bantam-y, etc.) potentially targeted nine genes encoding secondary metabolite-associated enzymes, while 258 (milR-25-y, milR-14-y, milR-932-x, etc.) and 419 (milR-4561-y, milR-10125-y, let-7-x, etc.) DEmilRNAs putatively targeted virulence factor-encoded genes and nine genes involved in the MAPK signaling pathway, respectively. Additionally, the interaction between ADM-B and milR-6882-x, as well as between PKIA and milR-7009-x were verified. Together, these results not only offer a basis for clarifying the mechanisms underlying DEmilRNA-regulated pathogenesis of A. apis and a novel insight into the interaction between A. apis and honey bee larvae, but also provide candidate DEmilRNA-gene axis for further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoxue Fan
- College of Bee Science and Biomedicine, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Xuze Gao
- College of Bee Science and Biomedicine, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
| | - He Zang
- College of Bee Science and Biomedicine, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Zhitan Liu
- College of Bee Science and Biomedicine, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Xin Jing
- College of Bee Science and Biomedicine, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Xiaoyu Liu
- College of Bee Science and Biomedicine, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Sijia Guo
- College of Bee Science and Biomedicine, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Haibin Jiang
- Jilin Apicultural Research Institute, Jilin, China
| | - Ying Wu
- Jilin Apicultural Research Institute, Jilin, China
| | - Zhijian Huang
- Animal Husbandry Terminus of Sichuan Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Chengdu, China
| | - Dafu Chen
- College of Bee Science and Biomedicine, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
- National and Local United Engineering Laboratory of Natural Biotoxin, Fuzhou, China
- Apitherapy Research Institute of Fujian Province, Fuzhou, China
| | - Rui Guo
- College of Bee Science and Biomedicine, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
- National and Local United Engineering Laboratory of Natural Biotoxin, Fuzhou, China
- Apitherapy Research Institute of Fujian Province, Fuzhou, China
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7
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Kyriacou RG, Mulhair PO, Holland PWH. GC Content Across Insect Genomes: Phylogenetic Patterns, Causes and Consequences. J Mol Evol 2024; 92:138-152. [PMID: 38491221 PMCID: PMC10978632 DOI: 10.1007/s00239-024-10160-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/18/2024]
Abstract
The proportions of A:T and G:C nucleotide pairs are often unequal and can vary greatly between animal species and along chromosomes. The causes and consequences of this variation are incompletely understood. The recent release of high-quality genome sequences from the Darwin Tree of Life and other large-scale genome projects provides an opportunity for GC heterogeneity to be compared across a large number of insect species. Here we analyse GC content along chromosomes, and within protein-coding genes and codons, of 150 insect species from four holometabolous orders: Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, and Lepidoptera. We find that protein-coding sequences have higher GC content than the genome average, and that Lepidoptera generally have higher GC content than the other three insect orders examined. GC content is higher in small chromosomes in most Lepidoptera species, but this pattern is less consistent in other orders. GC content also increases towards subtelomeric regions within protein-coding genes in Diptera, Coleoptera and Lepidoptera. Two species of Diptera, Bombylius major and B. discolor, have very atypical genomes with ubiquitous increase in AT content, especially at third codon positions. Despite dramatic AT-biased codon usage, we find no evidence that this has driven divergent protein evolution. We argue that the GC landscape of Lepidoptera, Diptera and Coleoptera genomes is influenced by GC-biased gene conversion, strongest in Lepidoptera, with some outlier taxa affected drastically by counteracting processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Riccardo G Kyriacou
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3SZ, UK
| | - Peter O Mulhair
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3SZ, UK
| | - Peter W H Holland
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3SZ, UK.
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Kojima KK. Helenus and Ajax, Two Groups of Non-Autonomous LTR Retrotransposons, Represent a New Type of Small RNA Gene-Derived Mobile Elements. BIOLOGY 2024; 13:119. [PMID: 38392337 PMCID: PMC10886601 DOI: 10.3390/biology13020119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2023] [Revised: 02/06/2024] [Accepted: 02/10/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
Terminal repeat retrotransposons in miniature (TRIMs) are short non-autonomous long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons found from various eukaryotes. Cassandra is a unique TRIM lineage which contains a 5S rRNA-derived sequence in its LTRs. Here, two new groups of TRIMs, designated Helenus and Ajax, are reported based on bioinformatics analysis and the usage of Repbase. Helenus is found from fungi, animals, and plants, and its LTRs contain a tRNA-like sequence. It includes two LTRs and between them, a primer-binding site (PBS) and polypurine tract (PPT) exist. Fungal and plant Helenus generate 5 bp target site duplications (TSDs) upon integration, while animal Helenus generates 4 bp TSDs. Ajax includes a 5S rRNA-derived sequence in its LTR and is found from two nemertean genomes. Ajax generates 5 bp TSDs upon integration. These results suggest that despite their unique promoters, Helenus and Ajax are TRIMs whose transposition is dependent on autonomous LTR retrotransposon. These TRIMs can originate through an insertion of SINE in an LTR of TRIM. The discovery of Helenus and Ajax suggests the presence of TRIMs with a promoter for RNA polymerase III derived from a small RNA gene, which is here collectively termed TRIMp3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenji K Kojima
- Genetic Information Research Institute, Cupertino, CA 95014, USA
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Panyushev N, Selitskiy M, Melnichenko V, Lebedev E, Okorokova L, Adonin L. Dynamic Evolution of Repetitive Elements and Chromatin States in Apis mellifera Subspecies. Genes (Basel) 2024; 15:89. [PMID: 38254978 PMCID: PMC10815273 DOI: 10.3390/genes15010089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2023] [Revised: 01/07/2024] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
In this study, we elucidate the contribution of repetitive DNA sequences to the establishment of social structures in honeybees (Apis mellifera). Despite recent advancements in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the formation of honeybee castes, primarily associated with Notch signaling, the comprehensive identification of specific genomic cis-regulatory sequences remains elusive. Our objective is to characterize the repetitive landscape within the genomes of two honeybee subspecies, namely A. m. mellifera and A. m. ligustica. An observed recent burst of repeats in A. m. mellifera highlights a notable distinction between the two subspecies. After that, we transitioned to identifying differentially expressed DNA elements that may function as cis-regulatory elements. Nevertheless, the expression of these sequences showed minimal disparity in the transcriptome during caste differentiation, a pivotal process in honeybee eusocial organization. Despite this, chromatin segmentation, facilitated by ATAC-seq, ChIP-seq, and RNA-seq data, revealed a distinct chromatin state associated with repeats. Lastly, an analysis of sequence divergence among elements indicates successive changes in repeat states, correlating with their respective time of origin. Collectively, these findings propose a potential role of repeats in acquiring novel regulatory functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nick Panyushev
- Institute of Environmental and Agricultural Biology (X-BIO), Tyumen State University, 625003 Tyumen, Russia; (N.P.); (M.S.)
- Bioinformatics Institute, 197342 St. Petersburg, Russia;
| | - Max Selitskiy
- Institute of Environmental and Agricultural Biology (X-BIO), Tyumen State University, 625003 Tyumen, Russia; (N.P.); (M.S.)
| | - Vasilina Melnichenko
- International Scientific and Research Institute of Bioengineering, ITMO University, 197101 St. Petersburg, Russia;
| | - Egor Lebedev
- Institute of Environmental and Agricultural Biology (X-BIO), Tyumen State University, 625003 Tyumen, Russia; (N.P.); (M.S.)
| | | | - Leonid Adonin
- Institute of Environmental and Agricultural Biology (X-BIO), Tyumen State University, 625003 Tyumen, Russia; (N.P.); (M.S.)
- Institute of Biomedical Chemistry, Group of Mechanisms for Nanosystems Targeted Delivery, 119121 Moscow, Russia
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10
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Maleszka R. Reminiscences on the honeybee genome project and the rise of epigenetic concepts in insect science. INSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2024. [PMID: 38196200 DOI: 10.1111/imb.12888] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024]
Abstract
The sequencing of the honeybee genome in 2006 was an important technological and logistic achievement experience. But what benefits have flown from the honeybee genome project? What does the annotated genomic assembly mean for the study of behavioural complexity and organismal function in honeybees? Here, I discuss several lines of research that have arisen from this project and highlight the rapidly expanding studies on insect epigenomics, emergent properties of royal jelly, the mechanism of nutritional control of development and the contribution of epigenomic regulation to the evolution of sociality. I also argue that the term 'insect epigenetics' needs to be carefully redefined to reflect the diversity of epigenomic toolkits in insects and the impact of lineage-specific innovations on organismal outcomes. The honeybee genome project helped pioneer advances in social insect molecular biology, and fuelled breakthrough research into the role of flexible epigenomic control systems in linking genotype to phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryszard Maleszka
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
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11
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Abou-Shaara HF. The response of heat shock proteins in honey bees to abiotic and biotic stressors. J Therm Biol 2024; 119:103784. [PMID: 38232472 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2024.103784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2023] [Revised: 01/01/2024] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 01/19/2024]
Abstract
Honey bees, Apis mellifera, are the most important managed pollinators worldwide. They are highly impacted by various abiotic and biotic stressors, especially temperature extremes, which can lead to cellular damage and death. The induction of heat shock proteins (HSPs) has been recorded in honey bees as a response to various types of stressors. HSPs are classified into different gene families according to their molecular weights. HSPs play an important role in maintaining cellular protein homeostasis due to their contribution as molecular chaperones or co-chaperones. HSPs in honey bees have complex functions with induction even under normal colony conditions. Previous studies have suggested various functions of HSPs to protect cells from damage under exposure to environmental stressors, pollutants, and pathogens. Surprisingly, HSPs have also been found to play roles in larval development and age-related tasks. The expression of HSPs varies depending on tissue type, developmental stage, age, and stress period. This article reviews studies on HSPs (sHSPs, HSP40, HSP60, HSP70, and HSP90) in honey bees and highlights gaps in the available knowledge. This review is crucial for honey bee research, particularly in the face of climate change challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hossam F Abou-Shaara
- Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Damanhour University, Damanhour, 22516, Egypt.
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12
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Nachtweide S, Romoth L, Stanke M. Comparative Genome Annotation. Methods Mol Biol 2024; 2802:165-187. [PMID: 38819560 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3838-5_7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2024]
Abstract
Newly sequenced genomes are being added to the tree of life at an unprecedented fast pace. A large proportion of such new genomes are phylogenetically close to previously sequenced and annotated genomes. In other cases, whole clades of closely related species or strains ought to be annotated simultaneously. Often, in subsequent studies, differences between the closely related species or strains are in the focus of research when the shared gene structures prevail. We here review methods for comparative structural genome annotation. The reviewed methods include classical approaches such as the alignment of protein sequences or protein profiles against the genome and comparative gene prediction methods that exploit a genome alignment to annotate either a single target genome or all input genomes simultaneously. We discuss how the methods depend on the phylogenetic placement of genomes, give advice on the choice of methods, and examine the consistency between gene structure annotations in an example. Furthermore, we provide practical advice on genome annotation in general.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Mario Stanke
- Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science, Greifswald, Germany.
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13
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Zhang W, Sun C, Lang H, Wang J, Li X, Guo J, Zhang Z, Zheng H. Toll receptor ligand Spätzle 4 responses to the highly pathogenic Enterococcus faecalis from Varroa mites in honeybees. PLoS Pathog 2023; 19:e1011897. [PMID: 38150483 PMCID: PMC10775982 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2023] [Revised: 01/09/2024] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 12/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Honeybees play a major role in crop pollination, which supports the agricultural economy and international food supply. The colony health of honeybees is threatened by the parasitic mite Varroa destructor, which inflicts physical injury on the hosts and serves as the vector for variable viruses. Recently, it shows that V. destructor may also transmit bacteria through the feeding wound, yet it remains unclear whether the invading bacteria can exhibit pathogenicity to the honeybees. Here, we incidentally isolate Enterococcus faecalis, one of the most abundant bacteria in Varroa mites, from dead bees during our routine generation of microbiota-free bees in the lab. In vivo tests show that E. faecalis is only pathogenic in Apis mellifera but not in Apis cerana. The expression of antimicrobial peptide genes is elevated following infection in A. cerana. The gene-based molecular evolution analysis identifies positive selection of genes encoding Späetzle 4 (Spz4) in A. cerana, a signaling protein in the Toll pathway. The amino acid sites under positive selection are related to structural changes in Spz4 protein, suggesting improvement of immunity in A. cerana. The knock-down of Spz4 in A. cerana significantly reduces the survival rates under E. faecalis challenge and the expression of antimicrobial peptide genes. Our results indicate that bacteria associated with Varroa mites are pathogenic to adult bees, and the positively selected gene Spz4 in A. cerana is crucial in response to this mite-related pathogen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenhao Zhang
- Faculty of Food Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, China
| | - Cheng Sun
- College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Haoyu Lang
- College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Jieni Wang
- College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Xinyu Li
- Faculty of Food Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, China
| | - Jun Guo
- Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, China
| | - Zijing Zhang
- Hebei Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Hebei Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Environment, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Hao Zheng
- Faculty of Food Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, China
- College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
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14
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Yin Z, Ding G, Xue Y, Yu X, Dong J, Huang J, Ma J, He F. A postmeiotically bifurcated roadmap of honeybee spermatogenesis marked by phylogenetically restricted genes. PLoS Genet 2023; 19:e1011081. [PMID: 38048317 PMCID: PMC10721206 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1011081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2023] [Revised: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 11/22/2023] [Indexed: 12/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Haploid males of hymenopteran species produce gametes through an abortive meiosis I followed by meiosis II that can either be symmetric or asymmetric in different species. Thus, one spermatocyte could give rise to two spermatids with either equal or unequal amounts of cytoplasm. It is currently unknown what molecular features accompany these postmeiotic sperm cells especially in species with asymmetric meiosis II such as bees. Here we present testis single-cell RNA sequencing datasets from the honeybee (Apis mellifera) drones of 3 and 14 days after emergence (3d and 14d). We show that, while 3d testes exhibit active, ongoing spermatogenesis, 14d testes only have late-stage spermatids. We identify a postmeiotic bifurcation in the transcriptional roadmap during spermatogenesis, with cells progressing toward the annotated spermatids (SPT) and small spermatids (sSPT), respectively. Despite an overall similarity in their transcriptomic profiles, sSPTs express the fewest genes and the least RNA content among all the sperm cell types. Intriguingly, sSPTs exhibit a relatively high expression level for Hymenoptera-restricted genes and a high mutation load, suggesting that the special meiosis II during spermatogenesis in the honeybee is accompanied by phylogenetically young gene activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiyong Yin
- Center for Genetic Medicine, the Fourth Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Guiling Ding
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
- Key Laboratory for Insect-Pollinator Biology of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yingdi Xue
- Center for Genetic Medicine, the Fourth Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Xianghui Yu
- Center for Genetic Medicine, the Fourth Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Jie Dong
- Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jiaxing Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
- Key Laboratory for Insect-Pollinator Biology of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jun Ma
- Center for Genetic Medicine, the Fourth Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Women’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Institute of Genetics, Zhejiang University International School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Genetic and Developmental Disorder, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Feng He
- Center for Genetic Medicine, the Fourth Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Women’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Institute of Genetics, Zhejiang University International School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Genetic and Developmental Disorder, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
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15
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Zhang Y, Fan X, Zang H, Liu X, Feng P, Ye D, Zhu L, Wu Y, Jiang H, Chen D, Guo R. Novel Insights into the circRNA-Modulated Developmental Mechanism of Western Honey Bee Larval Guts. INSECTS 2023; 14:897. [PMID: 37999096 PMCID: PMC10671861 DOI: 10.3390/insects14110897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2023] [Revised: 11/10/2023] [Accepted: 11/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023]
Abstract
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a class of novel non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) that play essential roles in the development and growth of vertebrates through multiple manners. However, the mechanism by which circRNAs modulate the honey bee gut development is currently poorly understood. Utilizing the transcriptome data we obtained earlier, the highly expressed circRNAs in the Apis mellifera worker 4-, 5-, and 6-day-old larval guts were analyzed, which was followed by an in-depth investigation of the expression pattern of circRNAs during the process of larval guts development and the potential regulatory roles of differentially expressed circRNAs (DEcircRNAs). In total, 1728 expressed circRNAs were detected in the A. mellifera larval guts. Among the most highly expressed 10 circRNAs, seven (novel_circ_000069, novel_circ_000027, novel_circ_000438, etc.) were shared by the 4-, 5-, and 6-day-old larval guts. In addition, 21 (46) up-regulated and 22 (27) down-regulated circRNAs were, respectively, screened in the Am4 vs. Am5 (Am5 vs. Am6) comparison groups. Additionally, nine DEcircRNAs, such as novel_circ_000340, novel_circ_000758 and novel_circ_001116, were shared by these two comparison groups. These DEcircRNAs were predicted to be transcribed from 14 and 29 parental genes; these were respectively annotated to 15 and 22 GO terms such as biological regulation and catalytic activity as well as 16 and 21 KEGG pathways such as dorsoventral axis formation and apoptosis. Moreover, a complicated competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network was observed; novel_circ_000838 in the Am4 vs. Am5 comparison group potentially targeted ame-miR-6000a-3p, further targeting 518 mRNAs engaged in several developmental signaling pathways (e.g., TGF-beta, hedgehog, and wnt signaling pathway) and immune pathways (e.g., phagosome, lysosome, and MAPK signaling pathway). The results demonstrated that the novel_circ_000838-ame-miR-6000a-3p axis may plays a critical regulatory part in the larval gut development and immunity. Furthermore, back-splicing sites of six randomly selected DEcircRNAs were amplified and verified by PCR; an RT-qPCR assay of these six DEcircRNAs confirmed the reliability of the used high-throughput sequencing data. Our findings provide a novel insight into the honey bee gut development and pave a way for illustration of the circRNA-modulated developmental mechanisms underlying the A. mellifera worker larval guts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiqiong Zhang
- College of Animal Sciences (College of Bee Science), Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; (Y.Z.); (X.F.); (H.Z.); (X.L.); (P.F.); (D.Y.); (L.Z.); (D.C.)
| | - Xiaoxue Fan
- College of Animal Sciences (College of Bee Science), Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; (Y.Z.); (X.F.); (H.Z.); (X.L.); (P.F.); (D.Y.); (L.Z.); (D.C.)
- National & Local United Engineering Laboratory of Natural Biotoxin, Fuzhou 350002, China
- Apitherapy Research Institute of Fujian Province, Fuzhou 350002, China
| | - He Zang
- College of Animal Sciences (College of Bee Science), Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; (Y.Z.); (X.F.); (H.Z.); (X.L.); (P.F.); (D.Y.); (L.Z.); (D.C.)
- National & Local United Engineering Laboratory of Natural Biotoxin, Fuzhou 350002, China
- Apitherapy Research Institute of Fujian Province, Fuzhou 350002, China
| | - Xiaoyu Liu
- College of Animal Sciences (College of Bee Science), Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; (Y.Z.); (X.F.); (H.Z.); (X.L.); (P.F.); (D.Y.); (L.Z.); (D.C.)
| | - Peilin Feng
- College of Animal Sciences (College of Bee Science), Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; (Y.Z.); (X.F.); (H.Z.); (X.L.); (P.F.); (D.Y.); (L.Z.); (D.C.)
| | - Daoyou Ye
- College of Animal Sciences (College of Bee Science), Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; (Y.Z.); (X.F.); (H.Z.); (X.L.); (P.F.); (D.Y.); (L.Z.); (D.C.)
| | - Leran Zhu
- College of Animal Sciences (College of Bee Science), Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; (Y.Z.); (X.F.); (H.Z.); (X.L.); (P.F.); (D.Y.); (L.Z.); (D.C.)
| | - Ying Wu
- Jilin Institute of Apicultural Research, Jilin 132013, China; (Y.W.); (H.J.)
| | - Haibin Jiang
- Jilin Institute of Apicultural Research, Jilin 132013, China; (Y.W.); (H.J.)
| | - Dafu Chen
- College of Animal Sciences (College of Bee Science), Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; (Y.Z.); (X.F.); (H.Z.); (X.L.); (P.F.); (D.Y.); (L.Z.); (D.C.)
- National & Local United Engineering Laboratory of Natural Biotoxin, Fuzhou 350002, China
- Apitherapy Research Institute of Fujian Province, Fuzhou 350002, China
| | - Rui Guo
- College of Animal Sciences (College of Bee Science), Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; (Y.Z.); (X.F.); (H.Z.); (X.L.); (P.F.); (D.Y.); (L.Z.); (D.C.)
- National & Local United Engineering Laboratory of Natural Biotoxin, Fuzhou 350002, China
- Apitherapy Research Institute of Fujian Province, Fuzhou 350002, China
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16
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Vertacnik KL, Herrig DK, Godfrey RK, Hill T, Geib SM, Unckless RL, Nelson DR, Linnen CR. Evolution of five environmentally responsive gene families in a pine-feeding sawfly, Neodiprion lecontei (Hymenoptera: Diprionidae). Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10506. [PMID: 37791292 PMCID: PMC10542623 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2023] [Revised: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 07/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/05/2023] Open
Abstract
A central goal in evolutionary biology is to determine the predictability of adaptive genetic changes. Despite many documented cases of convergent evolution at individual loci, little is known about the repeatability of gene family expansions and contractions. To address this void, we examined gene family evolution in the redheaded pine sawfly Neodiprion lecontei, a noneusocial hymenopteran and exemplar of a pine-specialized lineage evolved from angiosperm-feeding ancestors. After assembling and annotating a draft genome, we manually annotated multiple gene families with chemosensory, detoxification, or immunity functions before characterizing their genomic distributions and molecular evolution. We find evidence of recent expansions of bitter gustatory receptor, clan 3 cytochrome P450, olfactory receptor, and antimicrobial peptide subfamilies, with strong evidence of positive selection among paralogs in a clade of gustatory receptors possibly involved in the detection of bitter compounds. In contrast, these gene families had little evidence of recent contraction via pseudogenization. Overall, our results are consistent with the hypothesis that in response to novel selection pressures, gene families that mediate ecological interactions may expand and contract predictably. Testing this hypothesis will require the comparative analysis of high-quality annotation data from phylogenetically and ecologically diverse insect species and functionally diverse gene families. To this end, increasing sampling in under-sampled hymenopteran lineages and environmentally responsive gene families and standardizing manual annotation methods should be prioritized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kim L. Vertacnik
- Department of EntomologyUniversity of KentuckyLexingtonKentuckyUSA
| | | | - R. Keating Godfrey
- McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, University of FloridaGainesvilleFloridaUSA
| | - Tom Hill
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious DiseasesBethesdaMarylandUSA
| | - Scott M. Geib
- Tropical Crop and Commodity Protection Research UnitUnited States Department of Agriculture: Agriculture Research Service Pacific Basin Agricultural Research CenterHiloHawaiiUSA
| | - Robert L. Unckless
- Department of Molecular BiosciencesUniversity of KansasLawrenceKansasUSA
| | - David R. Nelson
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and BiochemistryUniversity of Tennessee Health Science CenterMemphisTennesseeUSA
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17
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Patir A, Raper A, Fleming R, Henderson BEP, Murphy L, Henderson NC, Clark EL, Freeman TC, Barnett MW. Cellular heterogeneity of the developing worker honey bee (Apis mellifera) pupa: a single cell transcriptomics analysis. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2023; 13:jkad178. [PMID: 37548242 PMCID: PMC10542211 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkad178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 08/08/2023]
Abstract
It is estimated that animals pollinate 87.5% of flowering plants worldwide and that managed honey bees (Apis mellifera) account for 30-50% of this ecosystem service to agriculture. In addition to their important role as pollinators, honey bees are well-established insect models for studying learning and memory, behavior, caste differentiation, epigenetic mechanisms, olfactory biology, sex determination, and eusociality. Despite their importance to agriculture, knowledge of honey bee biology lags behind many other livestock species. In this study, we have used scRNA-Seq to map cell types to different developmental stages of the worker honey bee (prepupa at day 11 and pupa at day 15) and sought to determine their gene expression signatures. To identify cell-type populations, we examined the cell-to-cell network based on the similarity of the single-cells transcriptomic profiles. Grouping similar cells together we identified 63 different cell clusters of which 17 clusters were identifiable at both stages. To determine genes associated with specific cell populations or with a particular biological process involved in honey bee development, we used gene coexpression analysis. We combined this analysis with literature mining, the honey bee protein atlas, and gene ontology analysis to determine cell cluster identity. Of the cell clusters identified, 17 were related to the nervous system and sensory organs, 7 to the fat body, 19 to the cuticle, 5 to muscle, 4 to compound eye, 2 to midgut, 2 to hemocytes, and 1 to malpighian tubule/pericardial nephrocyte. To our knowledge, this is the first whole single-cell atlas of honey bees at any stage of development and demonstrates the potential for further work to investigate their biology at the cellular level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anirudh Patir
- The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Anna Raper
- The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Robert Fleming
- The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Beth E P Henderson
- The Queen's Medical Research Institute, Centre for Inflammation Research, University of Edinburgh,Edinburgh BioQuarter, Edinburgh EH16 4TJ, UK
| | - Lee Murphy
- Edinburgh Clinical Research Facility, Western General Hospital, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Neil C Henderson
- The Queen's Medical Research Institute, Centre for Inflammation Research, University of Edinburgh,Edinburgh BioQuarter, Edinburgh EH16 4TJ, UK
- Institute of Genetics and Cancer, Western General Hospital, University of Edinburgh,Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Emily L Clark
- The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Tom C Freeman
- The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Mark W Barnett
- The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian EH25 9RG, UK
- Beebytes Analytics CIC, The Roslin Innovation Centre, University of Edinburgh, The Charnock Bradley Building, Easter Bush, Midlothian EH25 9RG, UK
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18
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Bornstein K, Gryan G, Chang ES, Marchler-Bauer A, Schneider VA. The NIH Comparative Genomics Resource: addressing the promises and challenges of comparative genomics on human health. BMC Genomics 2023; 24:575. [PMID: 37759191 PMCID: PMC10523801 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-023-09643-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2023] [Accepted: 08/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Comparative genomics is the comparison of genetic information within and across organisms to understand the evolution, structure, and function of genes, proteins, and non-coding regions (Sivashankari and Shanmughavel, Bioinformation 1:376-8, 2007). Advances in sequencing technology and assembly algorithms have resulted in the ability to sequence large genomes and provided a wealth of data that are being used in comparative genomic analyses. Comparative analysis can be leveraged to systematically explore and evaluate the biological relationships and evolution between species, aid in understanding the structure and function of genes, and gain a better understanding of disease and potential drug targets. As our knowledge of genetics expands, comparative genomics can help identify emerging model organisms among a broader span of the tree of life, positively impacting human health. This impact includes, but is not limited to, zoonotic disease research, therapeutics development, microbiome research, xenotransplantation, oncology, and toxicology. Despite advancements in comparative genomics, new challenges have arisen around the quantity, quality assurance, annotation, and interoperability of genomic data and metadata. New tools and approaches are required to meet these challenges and fulfill the needs of researchers. This paper focuses on how the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Comparative Genomics Resource (CGR) can address both the opportunities for comparative genomics to further impact human health and confront an increasingly complex set of challenges facing researchers.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Gary Gryan
- The MITRE Corporation, 7525 Colshire Dr, McLean, VA, USA
| | - E Sally Chang
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20894, USA
| | - Aron Marchler-Bauer
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20894, USA
| | - Valerie A Schneider
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20894, USA.
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19
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Almeida EAB, Bossert S, Danforth BN, Porto DS, Freitas FV, Davis CC, Murray EA, Blaimer BB, Spasojevic T, Ströher PR, Orr MC, Packer L, Brady SG, Kuhlmann M, Branstetter MG, Pie MR. The evolutionary history of bees in time and space. Curr Biol 2023; 33:3409-3422.e6. [PMID: 37506702 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2023] [Revised: 07/04/2023] [Accepted: 07/04/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023]
Abstract
Bees are the most significant pollinators of flowering plants. This partnership began ca. 120 million years ago, but the uncertainty of how and when bees spread across the planet has greatly obscured investigations of this key mutualism. We present a novel analysis of bee biogeography using extensive new genomic and fossil data to demonstrate that bees originated in Western Gondwana (Africa and South America). Bees likely originated in the Early Cretaceous, shortly before the breakup of Western Gondwana, and the early evolution of any major bee lineage is associated with either the South American or African land masses. Subsequently, bees colonized northern continents via a complex history of vicariance and dispersal. The notable early absences from large landmasses, particularly in Australia and India, have important implications for understanding the assembly of local floras and diverse modes of pollination. How bees spread around the world from their hypothesized Southern Hemisphere origin parallels the histories of numerous flowering plant clades, providing an essential step to studying the evolution of angiosperm pollination syndromes in space and time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduardo A B Almeida
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo 14040-901, Brazil.
| | - Silas Bossert
- Department of Entomology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA; Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA.
| | - Bryan N Danforth
- Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Comstock Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Diego S Porto
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo 14040-901, Brazil; Finnish Museum of Natural History - LUOMUS, University of Helsinki, Helsinki 00014, Finland
| | - Felipe V Freitas
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo 14040-901, Brazil; Department of Entomology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA
| | - Charles C Davis
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University Herbaria, 22 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Elizabeth A Murray
- Department of Entomology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA; Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA
| | - Bonnie B Blaimer
- Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA; Center for Integrative Biodiversity Discovery, Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Tamara Spasojevic
- Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA; Life Sciences, Natural History Museum Basel, 4051 Basel, Switzerland; Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Patrícia R Ströher
- Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná 81531-990, Brazil; Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Michael C Orr
- Entomologie, Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart, 70191 Stuttgart, Germany; Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Laurence Packer
- Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada
| | - Seán G Brady
- Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA
| | - Michael Kuhlmann
- Zoological Museum, University of Kiel, Hegewischstr. 3, 24105 Kiel, Germany
| | - Michael G Branstetter
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Pollinating Insects Research Unit, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USA
| | - Marcio R Pie
- Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná 81531-990, Brazil; Department of Biology, Edge Hill University, St Helens Rd, Ormskirk, Lancashire L39 4QP, UK
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Ryabov EV, Nearman AJ, Nessa A, Grubbs K, Sallmann B, Fahey R, Wilson ME, Rennich KD, Steinhauer N, Fauvel AM, Chen Y, Evans JD, vanEngelsdorp D. Apis mellifera Solinvivirus-1, a Novel Honey Bee Virus That Remained Undetected for over a Decade, Is Widespread in the USA. Viruses 2023; 15:1597. [PMID: 37515283 PMCID: PMC10384192 DOI: 10.3390/v15071597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2023] [Revised: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 07/18/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
A metagenomic analysis of the virome of honey bees (Apis mellifera) from an apiary with high rates of unexplained colony losses identified a novel RNA virus. The virus, which was named Apis mellifera solinvivirus 1 (AmSV1), contains a 10.6 kb positive-strand genomic RNA with a single ORF coding for a polyprotein with the protease, helicase, and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase domains, as well as a single jelly-roll structural protein domain, showing highest similarity with viruses in the family Solinviviridae. The injection of honey bee pupae with AmSV1 preparation showed an increase in virus titer and the accumulation of the negative-strand of AmSV1 RNA 3 days after injection, indicating the replication of AmSV1. In the infected worker bees, AmSV1 was present in heads, thoraxes, and abdomens, indicating that this virus causes systemic infection. An analysis of the geographic and historic distribution of AmSV1, using over 900 apiary samples collected across the United States, showed AmSV1 presence since at least 2010. In the year 2021, AmSV1 was detected in 10.45% of apiaries (95%CI: 8.41-12.79%), mostly sampled in June and July in Northwestern and Northeastern United States. The diagnostic methods and information on the AmSV1 distribution will be used to investigate the connection of AmSV1 to honey bee colony losses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eugene V Ryabov
- Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Bee Research Laboratory, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA
| | - Anthony J Nearman
- Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Ashrafun Nessa
- Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Kyle Grubbs
- Bee Research Laboratory, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA
| | - Benjamin Sallmann
- Bee Informed Partnership, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Department of Horticulture, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
- Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Rachel Fahey
- Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Mikayla E Wilson
- Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Karen D Rennich
- Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Nathalie Steinhauer
- Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Bee Informed Partnership, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Anne Marie Fauvel
- Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Bee Informed Partnership, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Yanping Chen
- Bee Research Laboratory, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA
| | - Jay D Evans
- Bee Research Laboratory, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA
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21
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Bell AR, Grainger MNC. Accelerated loss of diastase in mānuka honey: Investigation of mānuka specific compounds. Food Chem 2023; 426:136614. [PMID: 37329801 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.136614] [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: 12/01/2022] [Revised: 04/19/2023] [Accepted: 06/10/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Diastase is used internationally as a quality monitor for excessive heat treatment and prolonged storage of honey; honey must contain an activity of at least 8 diastase numbers (DN) for it to be considered export quality. Freshly harvested mānuka honey can have diastase activity close to the export threshold of 8 DN without excess heating, increasing susceptibility for export failure. This research investigated the effect of compounds unique to or high in concentration in mānuka honey on diastase activity. Investigation of the effect of methylglyoxal, dihydroxyacetone, 2-methoxybenzoic acid, 3-phenyllatic acid, 4-hydroxyphenyllactic acid and 2'-methoxyacetophenone on diastase activity was carried out. Mānuka honey was stored at 20 and 27 °C and clover honey spiked with compounds of interest were stored at 20, 27 and 34 °C and monitored overtime. Methylglyoxal and 3-phenyllactic acid were found to accelerate the loss of diastase above the loss normally observed with time and elevated temperature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amber R Bell
- School of Science, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand
| | - Megan N C Grainger
- School of Science, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand.
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22
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Maiwald F, Haas J, Hertlein G, Lueke B, Roesner J, Nauen R. Expression profile of the entire detoxification gene inventory of the western honeybee, Apis mellifera across life stages. PESTICIDE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY 2023; 192:105410. [PMID: 37105637 DOI: 10.1016/j.pestbp.2023.105410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2023] [Revised: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 03/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
The western honeybee, Apis mellifera, is a managed pollinator of many crops and potentially exposed to a wide range of foreign compounds, including pesticides throughout its life cycle. Honeybees as well as other insects recruit molecular defense mechanisms to facilitate the detoxification of xenobiotic compounds. The inventory of detoxification genes (DETOXome) is comprised of five protein superfamilies: cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450), carboxylesterases, glutathione S-transferases (GST), UDP-glycosyl transferases (UGT) and ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters. Here we characterized the gene expression profile of the entire honeybee DETOXome by analyzing 47 transcriptomes across the honeybee life cycle, including different larval instars, pupae, and adults. All life stages were well separated by principal component analysis, and K-means clustering revealed distinct temporal patterns of gene expression. Indeed, >50% of the honeybee detoxification gene inventory is found in one cluster and follows strikingly similar expression profiles, i.e., increased expression during larval development, followed by a sharp decline after pupation and a steep increase again in adults. This cluster includes 29 P450 genes dominated by CYP3 and CYP4 clan members, 15 ABC transporter genes mostly belonging to the ABCC subfamily and 13 carboxylesterase genes including almost all members involved in dietary/detox and hormone/semiochemical processing. RT-qPCR analysis of selected detoxification genes from all families revealed high expression levels in various tissues, especially Malpighian tubules, fatbody and midgut, supporting the view that these tissues are essential for metabolic clearance of environmental toxins and pollutants in honeybees. Our study is meant to spark further research on the molecular basis of detoxification in this critical pollinator to better understand and evaluate negative impacts from potentially toxic substances. Additionally, the entire gene set of 47 transcriptomes collected and analyzed provides a valuable resource for future honeybee research across different disciplines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank Maiwald
- Bayer AG, Crop Science Division, R&D, Pest Control, 40789 Monheim am Rhein, Germany
| | - Julian Haas
- Bayer AG, Crop Science Division, R&D, Pest Control, 40789 Monheim am Rhein, Germany
| | - Gillian Hertlein
- Bayer AG, Crop Science Division, R&D, Pest Control, 40789 Monheim am Rhein, Germany
| | - Bettina Lueke
- Bayer AG, Crop Science Division, R&D, Pest Control, 40789 Monheim am Rhein, Germany
| | - Janin Roesner
- Bayer AG, Crop Science Division, R&D, Pest Control, 40789 Monheim am Rhein, Germany
| | - Ralf Nauen
- Bayer AG, Crop Science Division, R&D, Pest Control, 40789 Monheim am Rhein, Germany.
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23
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Sun H, Lin X, Zhang H, Zhang Y, Liu Z. A consensus phosphoserine within the large cytoplasmic loop of insect nAChR α8 subunits modulated interaction between 14-3-3ε and nAChRs to regulate neonicotinoid efficacy. PESTICIDE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY 2023; 192:105384. [PMID: 37105614 DOI: 10.1016/j.pestbp.2023.105384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2022] [Revised: 02/19/2023] [Accepted: 03/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Neonicotinoids are insect-selective nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) agonists that are used extensively for plant protection and animal health care. Some chaperone proteins, such as 14-3-3 proteins, importantly modulate nAChRs to display the physiological and pharmacological properties. Here we found that there is a 14-3-3 binding motif RSPSTH within the cytoplasmic loop of most insect α8 subunits. In the motif, a potential phosphorylated serine residue, serine 337, was a putative protein kinase A (PKA) substrate. Using Locusta migratoria α8 subunit as a representative, here we demonstrated that Loc14-3-3ε interacted with the unique phosphoserine (α8S337) of Locα8 subunit to regulate agonist efficacy on hybrid Locα8/β2 nAChRs in Xenopus oocytes. Co-expression of Loc14-3-3ε caused a dramatic rise of maximal inward currents (Imax) of Locα8/β2 for acetylcholine and imidacloprid to 2.9-fold and 3.1-fold of that of Locα8/β2 alone. The S337A substitution of Locα8 reduced the Imax rise when Locα8S337A/β2 and Loc14-3-3ε were co-expressed. The increased agonist currents by exogenous Loc14-3-3ε on Locα8/β2 could be almost abolished by either PKA inhibitor KT5720 or 14-3-3 inhibitor difopein. The findings revealed that serine 337 within motif RSPSTH was important for the interaction between insect nAChRs and 14-3-3ε, and inhibiting the interaction would change the pharmacological property of insect nAChRs to agonist such as neonicotinoids which may provide insights to develop new targets for insecticide design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huahua Sun
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Diseases and Pests (Ministry of Education), College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Weigang 1, Nanjing 210095, China; State Key Laboratory of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 30071, China
| | - Xumin Lin
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Diseases and Pests (Ministry of Education), College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Weigang 1, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Huihui Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Diseases and Pests (Ministry of Education), College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Weigang 1, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Yixi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Diseases and Pests (Ministry of Education), College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Weigang 1, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Zewen Liu
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Diseases and Pests (Ministry of Education), College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Weigang 1, Nanjing 210095, China.
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24
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Lago DC, Nora LC, Hasselmann M, Hartfelder K. Positive selection in cytochrome P450 genes is associated with gonad phenotype and mating strategy in social bees. Sci Rep 2023; 13:5921. [PMID: 37041178 PMCID: PMC10090045 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-32898-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2022] [Accepted: 04/04/2023] [Indexed: 04/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The honey bee, Apis mellifera differs from all other social bees in its gonad phenotype and mating strategy. Honey bee queens and drones have tremendously enlarged gonads, and virgin queens mate with several males. In contrast, in all the other bees, the male and female gonads are small, and the females mate with only one or very few males, thus, suggesting an evolutionary and developmental link between gonad phenotype and mating strategy. RNA-seq comparisons of A. mellifera larval gonads revealed 870 genes as differentially expressed in queens versus workers and drones. Based on Gene Ontology enrichment we selected 45 genes for comparing the expression levels of their orthologs in the larval gonads of the bumble bee Bombus terrestris and the stingless bee, Melipona quadrifasciata, which revealed 24 genes as differentially represented. An evolutionary analysis of their orthologs in 13 solitary and social bee genomes revealed four genes with evidence of positive selection. Two of these encode cytochrome P450 proteins, and their gene trees indicated a lineage-specific evolution in the genus Apis, indicating that cytochrome P450 genes may be involved in the evolutionary association of polyandry and the exaggerated gonad phenotype in social bees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denyse Cavalcante Lago
- Department of Genetics, Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine (FMRP), University of São Paulo (USP), Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Luísa Czamanski Nora
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology and Pathogenic Bioagents, Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine (FMRP), University of São Paulo (USP), Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Martin Hasselmann
- Department of Livestock Population Genomics, Institute of Animal Science, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Klaus Hartfelder
- Department of Genetics, Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine (FMRP), University of São Paulo (USP), Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology and Pathogenic Bioagents, Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine (FMRP), University of São Paulo (USP), Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
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25
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Nazemi-Rafie J, Fatehi F, Hasrak S. A comparative transcriptome analysis of the head of 1 and 9 days old worker honeybees ( Apis mellifera). BULLETIN OF ENTOMOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2023; 113:253-270. [PMID: 36511774 DOI: 10.1017/s0007485322000554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The role of bees in the environment, economic, biodiversity and pharmaceutical industries is due to its social behavior, which is oriented from the brain and hypopharyngeal gland that is the center of royal jelly (RJ) production. Limited studies have been performed on the head gene expression profile at the RJ production stage. The aim of this study was to compare the gene expressions in 9 and 1-day-old (DO) honeybee workers in order to achieve better understanding about head gene expression pattern. After sequencing of RNAs, transcriptome and their networks were compared. The head expression profile undergoes various changes. 1662 gene transcripts had differential expressions which 1125 and 537 were up and down regulated, respectively, in 9_DO compared with 1_DO honey bees. The day 1th had more significant role in the expression of genes related to RJ production as major RJ protein 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 9 encoding genes, but their maximum secretion occurred at day 9th. All process related to hypopharyngeal glands activities as CYP450 gene, fatty acid synthase gene, vitamin B6 metabolism and some of genes involved in fatty acid elongation and degradation process had an upward trend from 1_DO and were age-dependent. By increasing the age, the activity of pathways related to immune system increased for keeping the health of bees against the chemical compound. The expression of aromatic amino acid genes involved in Phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis pathway are essential for early stage of life. In 9_DO honeybees, the energy supplying, reducing stress, protein production and export pathways have a crucial role for support the body development and the social duties. It can be stated that the activity of honeybee head is focused on energy supply instead of storage, while actively trying to improve the level of cell dynamics for increasing the immunity and reducing stress. Results of current study identified key genes of certain behaviors of honeybee workers. Deeper considering of some pathways will be evaluated in future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javad Nazemi-Rafie
- Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Kurdistan, Iran
| | - Foad Fatehi
- Department of Agriculture, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Shabnam Hasrak
- Genome Center, National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Tehran, Iran
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26
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Sokół R, Michalczyk M. A Preliminary Study on “Personalised Treatment” against Varroa destructor Infestations in Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) Colonies. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:ani13060987. [PMID: 36978527 PMCID: PMC10044234 DOI: 10.3390/ani13060987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2023] [Revised: 03/04/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 03/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The requirement for the protection of bee colonies against Varroa destructor invasions has been noted by many breeders and is included as an aspect of the development of beekeeping. This research aimed to check the effect of the development of a colony exposed to laying eggs (brood surface) by queen bees with similar chemical potential (sisters) on the effect of a preparation combating V. destructor depending on the number of mites found in a given colony. We chose this as a standard model of conduct that treats each bee colony as one organism subjected to individual parasite control. For this purpose, we created a bee colony with a mother-of-one breeding line and fertilised drones from one colony. Infection with V. destructor occurred naturally and uncontrollably. Without interfering with the colony’s development, the frame insulator helped each colony’s brood (mothers’ reproductive potential) and the initial and final individuals from the mites themselves. The study was carried out in four species (two control species and two species with up to 20 and over 21 mites, respectively). Treatments with amitraz to combat damage were divided into four treatment subgroups: two treatments every four days or four treatments every two days. We observed the number of individuals that were protected in all subgroups in the average brood area. The reproductive potential of the sisters’ mothers did not change after the treatments with amitraz, which indicated that amitraz did not affect the delegation of egg laying. The invasion rate was also tracked relative to the control group, which allowed us to conclude that a two-time treatment with amitraz reduced the frequency of mites and a four-time treatment checked the effectiveness. Tailoring the control of V. destructor in bee colonies may be an effective measure in the fight against this parasite.
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27
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Santos D, Feng M, Kolliopoulou A, Taning CNT, Sun J, Swevers L. What Are the Functional Roles of Piwi Proteins and piRNAs in Insects? INSECTS 2023; 14:insects14020187. [PMID: 36835756 PMCID: PMC9962485 DOI: 10.3390/insects14020187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2023] [Revised: 02/09/2023] [Accepted: 02/11/2023] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Research on Piwi proteins and piRNAs in insects has focused on three experimental models: oogenesis and spermatogenesis in Drosophila melanogaster, the antiviral response in Aedes mosquitoes and the molecular analysis of primary and secondary piRNA biogenesis in Bombyx mori-derived BmN4 cells. Significant unique and complementary information has been acquired and has led to a greater appreciation of the complexity of piRNA biogenesis and Piwi protein function. Studies performed in other insect species are emerging and promise to add to the current state of the art on the roles of piRNAs and Piwi proteins. Although the primary role of the piRNA pathway is genome defense against transposons, particularly in the germline, recent findings also indicate an expansion of its functions. In this review, an extensive overview is presented of the knowledge of the piRNA pathway that so far has accumulated in insects. Following a presentation of the three major models, data from other insects were also discussed. Finally, the mechanisms for the expansion of the function of the piRNA pathway from transposon control to gene regulation were considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dulce Santos
- Research Group of Molecular Developmental Physiology and Signal Transduction, Division of Animal Physiology and Neurobiology, Department of Biology, KU Leuven, Naamsestraat 59, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Min Feng
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Anna Kolliopoulou
- Insect Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology, Institute of Biosciences & Applications, National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos”, Aghia Paraskevi, 15341 Athens, Greece
| | - Clauvis N. T. Taning
- Department of Plants and Crops, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Jingchen Sun
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Luc Swevers
- Insect Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology, Institute of Biosciences & Applications, National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos”, Aghia Paraskevi, 15341 Athens, Greece
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28
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Analysis of the Toll and Spaetzle Genes Involved in Toll Pathway-Dependent Antimicrobial Gene Induction in the Red Flour Beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera; Tenebrionidae). Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24021523. [PMID: 36675034 PMCID: PMC9861120 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24021523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2022] [Revised: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Insects rely only on their innate immune system to protect themselves from pathogens. Antimicrobial peptide (AMP) production is the main immune reaction in insects. In Drosophila melanogaster, the reaction is regulated mainly by the Toll and immune deficiency (IMD) pathways. Spaetzle proteins, activated by immune signals from upstream components, bind to Toll proteins, thus, activating the Toll pathway, which in turn, induces AMP genes. Previous studies have shown the difference in immune systems related to Toll and IMD pathways between D. melanogaster and Tribolium castaneum. In T. castaneum, nine Toll and seven spaetzle (spz) genes were identified. To extend our understanding of AMP production by T. castaneum, we conducted functional assays of Toll and spaetzle genes related to Toll-pathway-dependent AMP gene expression in T. castaneum under challenge with bacteria or budding yeast. The results revealed that Toll3 and Toll4 double-knockdown and spz7 knockdown strongly and moderately reduced the Toll-pathway-dependent expression of AMP genes, respectively. Moreover, Toll3 and Toll4 double-knockdown pupae more rapidly succumbed to entomopathogenic bacteria than the control pupae, but spz7 knockdown pupae did not. The results suggest that Toll3 and Toll4 play a large role in Toll-pathway-dependent immune reactions, whereas spz7 plays a small part.
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29
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Zhao X, Liu Y. Current Knowledge on Bee Innate Immunity Based on Genomics and Transcriptomics. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms232214278. [PMID: 36430757 PMCID: PMC9692672 DOI: 10.3390/ijms232214278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2022] [Revised: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 11/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
As important pollinators, bees play a critical role in maintaining the balance of the ecosystem and improving the yield and quality of crops. However, in recent years, the bee population has significantly declined due to various pathogens and environmental stressors including viruses, bacteria, parasites, and increased pesticide application. The above threats trigger or suppress the innate immunity of bees, their only immune defense system, which is essential to maintaining individual health and that of the colony. In addition, bees can be divided into solitary and eusocial bees based on their life traits, and eusocial bees possess special social immunities, such as grooming behavior, which cooperate with innate immunity to maintain the health of the colony. The omics approach gives us an opportunity to recognize the distinctive innate immunity of bees. In this regard, we summarize innate bee immunity from a genomic and transcriptomic perspective. The genetic characteristics of innate immunity were revealed by the multiple genomes of bees with different kinds of sociality, including honeybees, bumblebees, wasps, leaf-cutter bees, and so on. Further substantial transcriptomic data of different tissues from diverse bees directly present the activation or suppression of immune genes under the infestation of pathogens or toxicity of pesticides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaomeng Zhao
- College of Engineering, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050024, China
| | - Yanjie Liu
- Key Laboratory for Insect-Pollinator Biology of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
- Correspondence:
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30
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Bovo S, Utzeri VJ, Ribani A, Taurisano V, Schiavo G, Fontanesi L. A genotyping by sequencing approach can disclose Apis mellifera population genomic information contained in honey environmental DNA. Sci Rep 2022; 12:19541. [PMID: 36379985 PMCID: PMC9666642 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-24101-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2022] [Accepted: 11/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Awareness has been raised over the last years on the genetic integrity of autochthonous honey bee subspecies. Genomic tools available in Apis mellifera can make it possible to measure this information by targeting individual honey bee DNA. Honey contains DNA traces from all organisms that contributed or were involved in its production steps, including the honey bees of the colony. In this study, we designed and tested a genotyping by sequencing (GBS) assay to analyse single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of A. mellifera nuclear genome using environmental DNA extracted from honey. A total of 121 SNPs (97 SNPs informative for honey bee subspecies identification and 24 SNPs associated with relevant traits of the colonies) were used in the assay to genotype honey DNA, which derives from thousands of honey bees. Results were integrated with information derived from previous studies and whole genome resequencing datasets. This GBS method is highly reliable in estimating honey bee SNP allele frequencies of the whole colony from which the honey derived. This assay can be used to identify the honey bee subspecies of the colony that produced the honey and, in turn, to authenticate the entomological origin of the honey.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuele Bovo
- grid.6292.f0000 0004 1757 1758Division of Animal Sciences, Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, Viale Giuseppe Fanin 46, 40127 Bologna, Italy
| | - Valerio Joe Utzeri
- grid.6292.f0000 0004 1757 1758Division of Animal Sciences, Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, Viale Giuseppe Fanin 46, 40127 Bologna, Italy
| | - Anisa Ribani
- grid.6292.f0000 0004 1757 1758Division of Animal Sciences, Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, Viale Giuseppe Fanin 46, 40127 Bologna, Italy
| | - Valeria Taurisano
- grid.6292.f0000 0004 1757 1758Division of Animal Sciences, Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, Viale Giuseppe Fanin 46, 40127 Bologna, Italy
| | - Giuseppina Schiavo
- grid.6292.f0000 0004 1757 1758Division of Animal Sciences, Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, Viale Giuseppe Fanin 46, 40127 Bologna, Italy
| | - Luca Fontanesi
- grid.6292.f0000 0004 1757 1758Division of Animal Sciences, Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, Viale Giuseppe Fanin 46, 40127 Bologna, Italy
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Wang X, Xie Y, Hu W, Wei Z, Wei X, Yuan H, Yao H, Dunxue C. Transcriptome characterization and SSR discovery in the giant spiny frog Quasipaa spinosa. Gene 2022; 842:146793. [PMID: 35952842 DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2022.146793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2021] [Revised: 07/31/2022] [Accepted: 08/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
The giant spiny frog Quasipaa spinosa (Amphibia: Ranidae) is a large unique frog species found mainly in southern China with a low amount of fat and high protein, and it has become one of the most important aquaculture animal species in China. To better understand its genetic background and screen potential molecular markers for artificial breeding and species conservation, we constructed an expression profile of Q. spinosa with high-throughput RNA sequencing and acquired potential SSR markers. Approximately 81.7 Gb of data and 93,887 unigenes were generated. The transcriptome contains 2085 (80.7 %) complete BUSCOs, suggesting that our assembly methods were effective and accurate.These unigenes were functionally classified using 7 functional databases, yielding 17,482 Pfam-, 12,752 Sting-, 17,526 KEGG-, 24,341 Swiss-Prot-, 28,604 Nr-, 16,287 GO- and 12,752 COG-annotated unigenes. Among several amphibian species, Q. spinosa unigenes had the highest number of hits to Xenopus tropicalis (35.25 %), followed by Xenopus laevis (12.68 %). 1417 unigenes were assigned to the immune system. In addition, a total of 33,019 candidate SSR markers were identified from the constructed library. Further tests with 20 loci and 118 large-scale breeding specimens gathered from four culture farms in China showed that 15 (75 %) loci were polymorphic, with the number of alleles per locus varying from 3 to 9 (mean of 4.3). The PIC values for the SSR markers ranged from 0.19 to 0.82, with an average value of 0.43, indicating moderate polymorphism in Q. spinosa. The transcriptomic profile and SSR repertoire obtained in the present study will facilitate population genetic studies and the selective breeding of amphibian species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaodong Wang
- College of Animal Science/Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding and Reproduction of Plateau and Mountain Animals of Guizhou University, Guiyang, China; Hunan Engineering Technology Research Center of Featured Aquatic Resources Utilization, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
| | - Yongguang Xie
- College of Animal Science/Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding and Reproduction of Plateau and Mountain Animals of Guizhou University, Guiyang, China
| | - Wei Hu
- School of Animal Science, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434020, China
| | - Zhaoyu Wei
- College of Animal Science/Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding and Reproduction of Plateau and Mountain Animals of Guizhou University, Guiyang, China
| | - Xiuying Wei
- College of Animal Science/Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding and Reproduction of Plateau and Mountain Animals of Guizhou University, Guiyang, China
| | - Hong Yuan
- College of Animal Science/Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding and Reproduction of Plateau and Mountain Animals of Guizhou University, Guiyang, China
| | - Hongyan Yao
- College of Animal Science/Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding and Reproduction of Plateau and Mountain Animals of Guizhou University, Guiyang, China
| | - Chen Dunxue
- College of Animal Science/Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding and Reproduction of Plateau and Mountain Animals of Guizhou University, Guiyang, China.
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Chang Y, Yang B, Zhang Y, Dong C, Liu L, Zhao X, Wang G. Identification of sex-biased and neurodevelopment genes via brain transcriptome in Ostrinia furnacalis. Front Physiol 2022; 13:953538. [PMID: 36003649 PMCID: PMC9393524 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2022.953538] [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: 05/26/2022] [Accepted: 07/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Insect brains play important roles in the regulation of sex-biased behaviors such as mating and oviposition. The neural structure and function of brain differences between males and females have been identified, in which the antenna lobes (AL) showed the most discrepancy, however, the whole repertoire of the genes expressed in the brains and the molecular mechanism of neural signaling and structural development are still unclear. In this study, high-throughput transcriptome analysis of male and female brains was carried on in the Asia corn borer, Ostrinia furnacalis, and a total of 39.23 Gb data and 34,092 unigenes were obtained. Among them, 276 genes displayed sex-biased expression by DEG analysis, of which 125 genes were highly expressed in the males and 151 genes were highly expressed in the females. Besides, by homology analysis against genes that have been confirmed to be related to brain neurodevelopment, a total of 24 candidate genes were identified in O. furnacalis. In addition, to further screen the core genes that may be important for sex-biased nerve signaling and neurodevelopment, protein-protein interaction networks were constructed for the sex-biased genes and neurodevelopment genes. We identified 10 (Mhc, Mlc1, Mlc2, Prm, Mf, wupA, TpnC25D, fln, l(2)efl, and Act5C), 11 (PPO2, GNBP3, Spn77Ba, Ppn, yellow-d2, PGRP-LB, PGRP-SD, PGRP-SC2, Hml, Cg25C, and vkg) and 8 (dac, wg, hh, ci, run, Lim1, Rbp9, and Bx) core hub genes that may be related to brain neural development from male-biased, female-biased, and neurodevelopment gene groups. Our results provide a reference for further analysis of the dimorphism of male and female brain structures in agricultural pests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yajun Chang
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Bin Yang
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
- *Correspondence: Guirong Wang, ; Bin Yang,
| | - Yu Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Biohazard Monitoring, Green Prevention and Control for Artificial Grassland, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Grassland Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hohhot, China
| | - Chenxi Dong
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Lei Liu
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xincheng Zhao
- Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Guirong Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
- *Correspondence: Guirong Wang, ; Bin Yang,
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Yokoi K, Kimura K, Bono H. Revealing Landscapes of Transposable Elements in Apis Species by Meta-Analysis. INSECTS 2022; 13:insects13080698. [PMID: 36005323 PMCID: PMC9408917 DOI: 10.3390/insects13080698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2022] [Revised: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
Transposable elements (TEs) are grouped into several families with diverse sequences. Owing to their diversity, studies involving the detection, classification, and annotation of TEs are difficult tasks. Moreover, simple comparisons of TEs among different species with different methods can lead to misinterpretations. The genome data of several honey bee (Apis) species are available in public databases. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis of TEs, using 11 sets of genome data for Apis species, in order to establish data of “landscape of TEs”. Consensus TE sequences were constructed and their distributions in the Apis genomes were determined. Our results showed that TEs belonged to four to seven TE families among 13 and 15 families of TEs detected in classes I and II respectively mainly consisted of Apis TEs and that more DNA/TcMar-Mariner consensus sequences and copies were present in all Apis genomes tested. In addition, more consensus sequences and copy numbers of DNA/TcMar-Mariner were detected in Apis mellifera than in other Apis species. These results suggest that TcMar-Mariner might exert A. mellifera-specific effects on the host A. mellifera species. In conclusion, our unified approach enabled comparison of Apis genome sequences to determine the TE landscape, which provide novel evolutionary insights into Apis species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kakeru Yokoi
- Insect Design Technology Group, Division of Insect Advanced Technology, Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), 1-2 Owashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8634, Japan
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +81-29-838-6129
| | - Kiyoshi Kimura
- Smart Livestock Facilities Group, Division of Advanced Feeding Technology Research, National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science (NILGS), National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), Tsukuba, 2 Ikenodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0901, Japan;
| | - Hidemasa Bono
- Laboratory of BioDX, Genome Editing Innovation Center, Hiroshima University, 3-10-23 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima City, Hiroshima 739-0046, Japan;
- Laboratory of Genome Informatics, Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life, Hiroshima University, 3-10-23 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima City, Hiroshima 739-0046, Japan
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Ma Y, Guo Z, Wang L, Wang B, Huang T, Tang B, Zhang G, Zhou Q. The genome of the rice planthopper egg parasitoid wasps Anagrus nilaparvatae casts light on the chemo- and mechanosensation in parasitism. BMC Genomics 2022; 23:541. [PMID: 35902811 PMCID: PMC9331105 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-022-08656-9] [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: 02/25/2022] [Accepted: 05/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Mymaridae is an ancient insect group and is a basal lineage of the superfamily Chalcidoidea. Species of Mymaridae have great potential for biological control. Anagrus nilaparvatae, a representative species of Mymaridae, is ideal for controlling rice planthopper due to its high rate of parasitism and ability to find hosts efficiently in paddy ridges and fields. RESULTS Using both PacBio single-molecule real-time and Illumina sequencing, we sequenced and assembled the whole genome of A. nilaparvatae, a first for the family Mymaridae. The assembly consists of 394 scaffolds, totaling 488.8 Mb. The assembly is of high continuity and completeness, indicated by the N50 value of 25.4 Mb and 98.2% mapping rate of Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Orthologs. In total, 16,894 protein-coding genes in the genome were annotated. A phylogenomic tree constructed for A. nilaparvatae and other 12 species of Hymenoptera confirmed that the family Mymaridae is sister to all remaining chalcidoids. The divergence time between A. nilaparvatae and the other seven Chalcidoidea species was dated at ~ 126.9 Mya. Chemoreceptor and mechanoreceptor genes are important in explaining parasitic behavior. We identified 17 odorant binding proteins, 11 chemosensory proteins, four Niemann-Pick type C2 proteins, 88 olfactory receptors, 12 gustatory receptors, 22 ionotropic receptors and 13 sensory neuron membrane proteins in the genome of A. nilaparvatae, which are associated with the chemosensory functions. Strikingly, there is only one pickpocket receptors and nine transient receptor potential genes in the genome that have a mechanosensory function. CONCLUSIONS We obtained a high-quality genome assembly for A. nilaparvatae using PacBio single-molecule real-time sequencing, which provides phylogenomic insights for its evolutionary history. The small numbers of chemo- and mechanosensory genes in A. nilaparvatae indicate the species-specific host detection and oviposition behavior of A. nilaparvatae might be regulated by relatively simple molecular pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Ma
- State Key Laboratory for Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China.,School of Agriculture, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China
| | - Zixiao Guo
- State Key Laboratory for Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China
| | - Liyang Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China
| | - Bingyang Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China
| | - Tingfa Huang
- State Key Laboratory for Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China
| | - Bingjie Tang
- State Key Laboratory for Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China
| | - Guren Zhang
- State Key Laboratory for Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China
| | - Qiang Zhou
- State Key Laboratory for Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China.
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Abstract
The question of the heritability of behavior has been of long fascination to scientists and the broader public. It is now widely accepted that most behavioral variation has a genetic component, although the degree of genetic influence differs widely across behaviors. Starting with Mendel's remarkable discovery of "inheritance factors," it has become increasingly clear that specific genetic variants that influence behavior can be identified. This goal is not without its challenges: Unlike pea morphology, most natural behavioral variation has a complex genetic architecture. However, we can now apply powerful genome-wide approaches to connect variation in DNA to variation in behavior as well as analyses of behaviorally related variation in brain gene expression, which together have provided insights into both the genetic mechanisms underlying behavior and the dynamic relationship between genes and behavior, respectively, in a wide range of species and for a diversity of behaviors. Here, we focus on two systems to illustrate both of these approaches: the genetic basis of burrowing in deer mice and transcriptomic analyses of division of labor in honey bees. Finally, we discuss the troubled relationship between the field of behavioral genetics and eugenics, which reminds us that we must be cautious about how we discuss and contextualize the connections between genes and behavior, especially in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hopi E. Hoekstra
- Department of Organismic & Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
- Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
- Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
- HHMI, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | - Gene E. Robinson
- Department of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801
- Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801
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36
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Saleh NW, Henske J, Ramírez SR. Experimental disruption of social structure reveals totipotency in the orchid bee, Euglossa dilemma. Evolution 2022; 76:1529-1545. [PMID: 35589274 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2022] [Revised: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 04/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Eusociality has evolved multiple times across the insect phylogeny. Social insects with greater levels of social complexity tend to exhibit specialized castes with low levels of individual phenotypic plasticity. In contrast, species with simple social groups may consist of totipotent individuals that transition among behavioral and reproductive states. However, recent work has shown that in simple social groups, there can still be constraint on individual plasticity, caused by differences in maternal nourishment or social interaction. It is not well understood how these constraints arise, ultimately leading to the evolution of nonreproductive workers. Some species of orchid bees form social groups of a dominant and-one to two subordinate helpers where all individuals are reproductive. Females can also disperse to start their own nest as a solitary foundress, which includes a nonreproductive phase characterized by ovary inactivation, not typically expressed by subordinates. Little is known about individual flexibility across these trajectories. Here, using the orchid bee Euglossa dilemma, we assess the plasticity of subordinate helpers, finding that they are capable of the same behavioral, physiological, transcriptomic, and chemical changes seen in foundresses. Our results suggest that the lack of nonreproductive workers in E. dilemma is not due to a lack of subordinate plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas W Saleh
- Entomology and Nematology Department, Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Davie, Florida, USA.,Center for Population Biology, University of California, Davis, California, USA
| | - Jonas Henske
- Department of Animal Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Santiago R Ramírez
- Center for Population Biology, University of California, Davis, California, USA
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37
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Martelli F, Falcon T, Pinheiro DG, Simões ZLP, Nunes FMF. Worker bees (Apis mellifera) deprived of pollen in the first week of adulthood exhibit signs of premature aging. INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2022; 146:103774. [PMID: 35470035 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2022.103774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2021] [Revised: 04/18/2022] [Accepted: 04/18/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Pollinator populations, including bees, are in rapid decline in many parts of the world, raising concerns over the future of ecosystems and food production. Among the factors involved in these declines, poor nutrition deserves attention. The diet consumed by adult worker honeybees (Apis mellifera) is crucial for their behavioral maturation, i.e., the progressive division of labor they perform, such as nurse bees initially and later in life as foragers. Poor pollen nutrition is known to reduce the workers' lifespan, but the underlying physiological and genetic mechanisms are not fully understood. Here we investigate how the lack of pollen in the diet of workers during their first week of adult life can affect age-related phenotypes. During the first seven days of adult life, newly emerged workers were fed either a pollen-deprived (PD) diet mimicking that of an older bee, or a control pollen-rich (PR) diet, as typically consumed by young bees. The PD-fed bees showed alterations in their fat body transcriptome, such as a switch from a protein-lipid based metabolism to a carbohydrate-based metabolism, and a reduced expression of genes involved with immune response. The absence of pollen in the diet also led to an accumulation of oxidative stress markers in fat body tissue and alterations in the cuticular hydrocarbon profiles, which became similar to those of chronologically older bees. Together, our data indicate that the absence of pollen during first week of adulthood triggers the premature onset of an aging-related worker phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felipe Martelli
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Bandeirantes 3900, 14049-900, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Tiago Falcon
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Bandeirantes 3900, 14049-900, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Daniel G Pinheiro
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Bandeirantes 3900, 14049-900, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Zilá L P Simões
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Bandeirantes 3900, 14049-900, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil; Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Bandeirantes 3900, 14049-900, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Francis M F Nunes
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Bandeirantes 3900, 14049-900, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil; Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Rod. Washington Luís - km 235, 13565-905, São Carlos, SP, Brazil.
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38
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Kim DH, Park JC, Lee JS. G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) in rotifers and cladocerans: Potential applications in ecotoxicology, ecophysiology, comparative endocrinology, and pharmacology. Comp Biochem Physiol C Toxicol Pharmacol 2022; 256:109297. [PMID: 35183764 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpc.2022.109297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2022] [Revised: 02/01/2022] [Accepted: 02/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) superfamily plays a fundamental role in both sensory functions and the regulation of homeostasis, and is highly conserved across the eukaryote taxa. Its functional diversity is related to a conserved seven-transmembrane core and invariant set of intracellular signaling mechanisms. The interplay between these properties is key to the evolutionary success of GPCR. As this superfamily originated from a common ancestor, GPCR genes have evolved via lineage-specific duplications through the process of adaptation. Here we summarized information on GPCR gene families in rotifers and cladocerans based on their evolutionary position in aquatic invertebrates and their potential application in ecotoxicology, ecophysiology, comparative endocrinology, and pharmacology. Phylogenetic analyses were conducted to examine the evolutionary significance of GPCR gene families and to provide structural insight on their role in aquatic invertebrates. In particular, most GPCR gene families have undergone sporadic evolutionary processes, but some GPCRs are highly conserved across species despite the dynamics of GPCR evolution. Overall, this review provides a better understanding of GPCR evolution in aquatic invertebrates and expand our knowledge of the potential application of these receptors in various fields.
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Affiliation(s)
- Duck-Hyun Kim
- Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, South Korea
| | - Jun Chul Park
- Département des Sciences, Université Sainte-Anne, Church Point, NS B0W 1M0, Canada
| | - Jae-Seong Lee
- Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, South Korea.
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39
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Nakajima Y, Ogura A. Genomics and effective trait candidates of edible insects. FOOD BIOSCI 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fbio.2022.101793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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40
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Watson OT, Buchmann G, Young P, Lo K, Remnant EJ, Yagound B, Shambrook M, Hill AF, Oldroyd BP, Ashe A. Abundant small RNAs in the reproductive tissues and eggs of the honey bee, Apis mellifera. BMC Genomics 2022; 23:257. [PMID: 35379185 PMCID: PMC8978429 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-022-08478-9] [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: 09/09/2021] [Accepted: 03/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Polyandrous social insects such as the honey bee are prime candidates for parental manipulation of gene expression in offspring. Although there is good evidence for parent-of-origin effects in honey bees the epigenetic mechanisms that underlie these effects remain a mystery. Small RNA molecules such as miRNAs, piRNAs and siRNAs play important roles in transgenerational epigenetic inheritance and in the regulation of gene expression during development. Results Here we present the first characterisation of small RNAs present in honey bee reproductive tissues: ovaries, spermatheca, semen, fertilised and unfertilised eggs, and testes. We show that semen contains fewer piRNAs relative to eggs and ovaries, and that piRNAs and miRNAs which map antisense to genes involved in DNA regulation and developmental processes are differentially expressed between tissues. tRNA fragments are highly abundant in semen and have a similar profile to those seen in the semen of other animals. Intriguingly we also find abundant piRNAs that target the sex determination locus, suggesting that piRNAs may play a role in honey bee sex determination. Conclusions We conclude that small RNAs may play a fundamental role in honey bee gametogenesis and reproduction and provide a plausible mechanism for parent-of-origin effects on gene expression and reproductive physiology. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12864-022-08478-9.
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Affiliation(s)
- Owen T Watson
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Gabriele Buchmann
- BEE Laboratory, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Paul Young
- Molecular Cardiology and Biophysics Division, Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute NSW 2010, Darlinghurst, Australia
| | - Kitty Lo
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Emily J Remnant
- BEE Laboratory, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Boris Yagound
- BEE Laboratory, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Mitch Shambrook
- Department of Biochemistry and Chemistry, School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, 3086, Australia
| | - Andrew F Hill
- Department of Biochemistry and Chemistry, School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, 3086, Australia.,Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University, Footscray, VIC, Australia
| | - Benjamin P Oldroyd
- BEE Laboratory, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia. .,Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, Wallotstrasse 19, 14193, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Alyson Ashe
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.
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41
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Paten AM, Colin T, Coppin CW, Court LN, Barron AB, Oakeshott JG, Morgan MJ. Non-additive gene interactions underpin molecular and phenotypic responses in honey bee larvae exposed to imidacloprid and thymol. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 814:152614. [PMID: 34963587 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152614] [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: 11/09/2021] [Revised: 12/17/2021] [Accepted: 12/18/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the cumulative risk of chemical mixtures at environmentally realistic concentrations is a key challenge in honey bee ecotoxicology. Ecotoxicogenomics, including transcriptomics, measures responses in individual organisms at the molecular level which can provide insights into the mechanisms underlying phenotypic responses induced by one or more stressors and link impacts on individuals to populations. Here, fifth instar honey bee larvae were sampled from a previously reported field experiment exploring the phenotypic impacts of environmentally realistic chronic exposures of the pesticide imidacloprid (5 μg.kg-1 for six weeks) and the acaricide thymol (250 g.kg-1 applied via Apiguard gel in-hive for four weeks), both separately and in combination. RNA-seq was used to discover individual and interactive chemical effects on larval gene expression and to uncover molecular mechanisms linked to reported adult and colony phenotypes. The separate and combined treatments had distinct gene expression profiles which represented differentially affected signaling and metabolic pathways. The molecular signature of the mixture was characterised by additive interactions in canonical stress responses associated with oxidative stress and detoxification, and non-additive interactions in secondary responses including developmental, neurological, and immune pathways. Novel emergent impacts on eye development genes correlated with long-term defects in visual learning performance as adults. This is consistent with these chemicals working through independent modes of action that combine to impact common downstream pathways, and highlights the importance of establishing mechanistic links between molecular and phenotypic responses when predicting effects of chemical mixtures on ecologically relevant population outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy M Paten
- Land and Water, CSIRO, Black Mountain, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
| | - Théotime Colin
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia
| | - Chris W Coppin
- Land and Water, CSIRO, Black Mountain, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
| | - Leon N Court
- Land and Water, CSIRO, Black Mountain, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
| | - Andrew B Barron
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia.
| | - John G Oakeshott
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia; Applied Biosciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia
| | - Matthew J Morgan
- Land and Water, CSIRO, Black Mountain, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
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42
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Standage DS, Lai T, Brendel VP. iLoci: robust evaluation of genome content and organization for provisional and mature genome assemblies. NAR Genom Bioinform 2022; 4:lqac013. [PMID: 35211671 PMCID: PMC8862717 DOI: 10.1093/nargab/lqac013] [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: 10/29/2021] [Revised: 12/23/2021] [Accepted: 02/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
We introduce a new framework for genome analyses based on parsing an annotated genome assembly into distinct interval loci (iLoci), available as open-source software as part of the AEGeAn Toolkit (https://github.com/BrendelGroup/AEGeAn). We demonstrate that iLoci provide an alternative coordinate system that is robust to changes in assembly and annotation versions and facilitates granular quality control of genome data. We discuss how statistics computed on iLoci reflect various characteristics of genome content and organization and illustrate how these statistics can be used to establish a baseline for assessment of the completeness and accuracy of the data. We also introduce a well-defined measure of relative genome compactness and compute other iLocus statistics that reveal genome-wide characteristics of gene arrangements in the whole genome context. Given the fast pace of assembly/annotation updates, our AEGeAn Toolkit fills a niche in computational genomics based on deriving persistent and species-specific genome statistics. Gene structure model-centric iLoci provide a precisely defined coordinate system that can be used to store assembly/annotation updates that reflect either stable or changed assessments. Large-scale application of the approach revealed species- and clade-specific genome organization in precisely defined computational terms, promising intriguing forays into the forces of shaping genome structure as more and more genome assemblies are being deposited.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel S Standage
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Tim Lai
- Department of Mathematics, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Volker P Brendel
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
- Department of Computer Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
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43
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Tamayo B, Kercher K, Vosburg C, Massimino C, Jernigan MR, Hasan DL, Harper D, Mathew A, Adkins S, Shippy T, Hosmani PS, Flores-Gonzalez M, Panitz N, Mueller LA, Hunter WB, Benoit JB, Brown SJ, D’Elia T, Saha S. Annotation of glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, and trehaloneogenesis pathways provide insight into carbohydrate metabolism in the Asian citrus psyllid. GIGABYTE 2022; 2022:gigabyte41. [PMID: 36824510 PMCID: PMC9933520 DOI: 10.46471/gigabyte.41] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 02/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Citrus greening disease is caused by the pathogen Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus and transmitted by the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri. No curative treatment or significant prevention mechanism exists for this disease, which causes economic losses from reduced citrus production. A high-quality genome of D. citri is being manually annotated to provide accurate gene models to identify novel control targets and increase understanding of this pest. Here, we annotated 25 D. citri genes involved in glycolysis and gluconeogenesis, and seven in trehaloneogenesis. Comparative analysis showed that glycolysis genes in D. citri are highly conserved but copy numbers vary. Analysis of expression levels revealed upregulation of several enzymes in the glycolysis pathway in the thorax, consistent with the primary use of glucose by thoracic flight muscles. Manually annotating these core metabolic pathways provides accurate genomic foundation for developing gene-targeting therapeutics to control D. citri.
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Affiliation(s)
- Blessy Tamayo
- Indian River State College, Fort Pierce, FL 34981, USA
| | - Kyle Kercher
- Indian River State College, Fort Pierce, FL 34981, USA
| | - Chad Vosburg
- Indian River State College, Fort Pierce, FL 34981, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Anuja Mathew
- Indian River State College, Fort Pierce, FL 34981, USA
| | - Samuel Adkins
- Indian River State College, Fort Pierce, FL 34981, USA
| | - Teresa Shippy
- Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Wayne B. Hunter
- US Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), US Horticultural Research Laboratory, Fort Pierce, FL 34945, USA
| | - Joshua B. Benoit
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA
| | - Susan J. Brown
- Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
| | - Tom D’Elia
- Indian River State College, Fort Pierce, FL 34981, USA
| | - Surya Saha
- Boyce Thompson InstituteIthaca, NY 14853, USA,Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA, Corresponding author. E-mail:
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44
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Grace R, Massimino C, Shippy TD, Tank W, Hosmani PS, Flores-Gonzalez M, Mueller LA, Hunter WB, Benoit JB, Brown SJ, D’Elia T, Saha S. Genomic identification, annotation, and comparative analysis of Vacuolar-type ATP synthase subunits in Diaphorina citri. GIGABYTE 2022; 2022:gigabyte39. [PMID: 36824519 PMCID: PMC9933544 DOI: 10.46471/gigabyte.39] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2021] [Accepted: 02/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The hemipteran insect Diaphorina citri, or Asian citrus psyllid, is a vector for Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas), the bacterium causing citrus greening disease, or Huanglongbing (HLB). Millions of citrus trees have been destroyed, and every grove in Florida, USA, has been directly affected by this disease. In eukaryotes, vacuolar-type ATP synthase (V-ATPase) is an abundant heterodimeric enzyme that serves the cell with essential compartment acidification through the active processes that transport protons across the membrane. Fifteen putative V-ATPase genes in the D. citri genome were manually curated. Comparative genomic analysis revealed that D. citri V-ATPase subunits share domains and motifs with other insects, including the V-ATPase-A superfamily domain. Phylogenetic analysis separates D. citri V-ATPase subunits into expected clades with orthologous sequences. Annotation of the D. citri genome is a critical step towards developing directed pest management strategies to reduce the spread of HLB throughout the citrus industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Grace
- Indian River State College, Fort Pierce, FL 34981, USA
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | | | - Teresa D. Shippy
- Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
| | - Will Tank
- Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
| | | | | | | | - Wayne B. Hunter
- USDA-ARS, US Horticultural Research Laboratory, Fort Pierce, FL 34945, USA
| | - Joshua B. Benoit
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA
| | - Susan J. Brown
- Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
| | - Tom D’Elia
- Indian River State College, Fort Pierce, FL 34981, USA
| | - Surya Saha
- Boyce Thompson Institute, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
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45
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Chen C, Parejo M, Momeni J, Langa J, Nielsen RO, Shi W, Vingborg R, Kryger P, Bouga M, Estonba A, Meixner M. Population Structure and Diversity in European Honey Bees (Apis mellifera L.)—An Empirical Comparison of Pool and Individual Whole-Genome Sequencing. Genes (Basel) 2022; 13:genes13020182. [PMID: 35205227 PMCID: PMC8872436 DOI: 10.3390/genes13020182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Revised: 12/27/2021] [Accepted: 12/30/2021] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Whole-genome sequencing has become routine for population genetic studies. Sequencing of individuals provides maximal data but is rather expensive and fewer samples can be studied. In contrast, sequencing a pool of samples (pool-seq) can provide sufficient data, while presenting less of an economic challenge. Few studies have compared the two approaches to infer population genetic structure and diversity in real datasets. Here, we apply individual sequencing (ind-seq) and pool-seq to the study of Western honey bees (Apis mellifera). Methods: We collected honey bee workers that belonged to 14 populations, including 13 subspecies, totaling 1347 colonies, who were individually (139 individuals) and pool-sequenced (14 pools). We compared allele frequencies, genetic diversity estimates, and population structure as inferred by the two approaches. Results: Pool-seq and ind-seq revealed near identical population structure and genetic diversities, albeit at different costs. While pool-seq provides genome-wide polymorphism data at considerably lower costs, ind-seq can provide additional information, including the identification of population substructures, hybridization, or individual outliers. Conclusions: If costs are not the limiting factor, we recommend using ind-seq, as population genetic structure can be inferred similarly well, with the advantage gained from individual genetic information. Not least, it also significantly reduces the effort required for the collection of numerous samples and their further processing in the laboratory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Chen
- Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100093, China;
- Key Laboratory of Pollinating Insect Biology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing 100093, China
- Correspondence: (C.C.); (M.P.)
| | - Melanie Parejo
- Department of Genetics, Physical Anthropology and Animal Physiology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), 48940 Leioa, Spain; (J.L.); (A.E.)
- Swiss Bee Research Center, Agroscope, 3003 Bern, Switzerland
- Correspondence: (C.C.); (M.P.)
| | - Jamal Momeni
- Eurofins Genomics, 8200 Aarhus, Denmark; (J.M.); (R.O.N.); (R.V.)
| | - Jorge Langa
- Department of Genetics, Physical Anthropology and Animal Physiology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), 48940 Leioa, Spain; (J.L.); (A.E.)
| | | | - Wei Shi
- Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100093, China;
- Key Laboratory of Pollinating Insect Biology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing 100093, China
| | | | - Rikke Vingborg
- Eurofins Genomics, 8200 Aarhus, Denmark; (J.M.); (R.O.N.); (R.V.)
| | - Per Kryger
- Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, 4200 Slagelse, Denmark;
| | - Maria Bouga
- Lab of Agricultural Zoology and Entomology, Agricultural University of Athens, 11855 Athens, Greece;
| | - Andone Estonba
- Department of Genetics, Physical Anthropology and Animal Physiology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), 48940 Leioa, Spain; (J.L.); (A.E.)
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46
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Wedd L, Kucharski R, Maleszka R. DNA Methylation in Honey Bees and the Unresolved Questions in Insect Methylomics. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2022; 1389:159-176. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-11454-0_7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
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47
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Vargas-Chavez C, Longo Pendy NM, Nsango SE, Aguilera L, Ayala D, González J. Transposable element variants and their potential adaptive impact in urban populations of the malaria vector Anopheles coluzzii. Genome Res 2021; 32:189-202. [PMID: 34965939 PMCID: PMC8744685 DOI: 10.1101/gr.275761.121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Anopheles coluzzii is one of the primary vectors of human malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. Recently, it has spread into the main cities of Central Africa threatening vector control programs. The adaptation of An. coluzzii to urban environments partly results from an increased tolerance to organic pollution and insecticides. Some of the molecular mechanisms for ecological adaptation are known, but the role of transposable elements (TEs) in the adaptive processes of this species has not been studied yet. As a first step toward assessing the role of TEs in rapid urban adaptation, we sequenced using long reads six An. coluzzii genomes from natural breeding sites in two major Central Africa cities. We de novo annotated TEs in these genomes and in an additional high-quality An. coluzzii genome, and we identified 64 new TE families. TEs were nonrandomly distributed throughout the genome with significant differences in the number of insertions of several superfamilies across the studied genomes. We identified seven putatively active families with insertions near genes with functions related to vectorial capacity, and several TEs that may provide promoter and transcription factor binding sites to insecticide resistance and immune-related genes. Overall, the analysis of multiple high-quality genomes allowed us to generate the most comprehensive TE annotation in this species to date and identify several TE insertions that could potentially impact both genome architecture and the regulation of functionally relevant genes. These results provide a basis for future studies of the impact of TEs on the biology of An. coluzzii.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Vargas-Chavez
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), 08003 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Neil Michel Longo Pendy
- Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherches Médicales de Franceville (CIRMF), BP 769, Franceville, Gabon.,École Doctorale Régional (EDR) en Infectiologie Tropicale d'Afrique Centrale, BP 876, Franceville, Gabon
| | - Sandrine E Nsango
- Faculté de Médecine et des Sciences Pharmaceutiques, Université de Douala, BP 2701, Douala, Cameroun
| | - Laura Aguilera
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), 08003 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Diego Ayala
- Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherches Médicales de Franceville (CIRMF), BP 769, Franceville, Gabon.,Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs: Ecologie, Génétique, Evolution et Contrôle (MIVEGEC), Université Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, 64501 Montpellier, France
| | - Josefa González
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), 08003 Barcelona, Spain
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48
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Dogantzis KA, Tiwari T, Conflitti IM, Dey A, Patch HM, Muli EM, Garnery L, Whitfield CW, Stolle E, Alqarni AS, Allsopp MH, Zayed A. Thrice out of Asia and the adaptive radiation of the western honey bee. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:eabj2151. [PMID: 34860547 PMCID: PMC8641936 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abj2151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
The origin of the western honey bee Apis mellifera has been intensely debated. Addressing this knowledge gap is essential for understanding the evolution and genetics of one of the world’s most important pollinators. By analyzing 251 genomes from 18 native subspecies, we found support for an Asian origin of honey bees with at least three expansions leading to African and European lineages. The adaptive radiation of honey bees involved selection on a few genomic “hotspots.” We found 145 genes with independent signatures of selection across all bee lineages, and these genes were highly associated with worker traits. Our results indicate that a core set of genes associated with worker and colony traits facilitated the adaptive radiation of honey bees across their vast distribution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen A. Dogantzis
- Department of Biology, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, M3J 1P3 Ontario, Canada
| | - Tanushree Tiwari
- Department of Biology, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, M3J 1P3 Ontario, Canada
| | - Ida M. Conflitti
- Department of Biology, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, M3J 1P3 Ontario, Canada
| | - Alivia Dey
- Department of Biology, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, M3J 1P3 Ontario, Canada
| | - Harland M. Patch
- Department of Entomology, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, USA
| | - Elliud M. Muli
- Department of Life Science, South Eastern Kenya University (SEKU), P.O. Box 170-90200, Kitui, Kenya
| | - Lionel Garnery
- Laboratoire Evolution Génome Comportement Ecologie (EGCE) UMR 9191, Gif sur-Yvette, France
| | - Charles W. Whitfield
- Department of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Eckart Stolle
- LIB–Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change Museum Koenig, Center of Molecular Biodiversity Research Adenauerallee 160, 53113 Bonn, Germany
| | - Abdulaziz S. Alqarni
- Department of Plant Protection, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Michael H. Allsopp
- Plant Protection Research Institute, Agricultural Research Council, Stellenbosch, South Africa
| | - Amro Zayed
- Department of Biology, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, M3J 1P3 Ontario, Canada
- Corresponding author.
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49
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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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50
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Flores ME, McNamara-Bordewick NK, Lovinger NL, Snow JW. Halofuginone triggers a transcriptional program centered on ribosome biogenesis and function in honey bees. INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2021; 139:103667. [PMID: 34626768 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2021.103667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2021] [Revised: 09/19/2021] [Accepted: 10/03/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
We previously found that pharmacological inhibition of prolyl-tRNA synthetase by halofuginone has potent activity against Nosema ceranae, an important pathogen of honey bees. However, we also observed that prolyl-tRNA synthetase inhibition is toxic to bees, suggesting further work is necessary to make this a feasible therapeutic strategy. As expected, we found that pharmacological inhibition of prolyl-tRNA synthetase activity resulted in robust induction of select canonical ATF4 target genes in honey bees. However, our understanding of this and other cellular stress responses in general in honey bees is incomplete. Thus, we used RNAseq to identify novel changes in gene expression after halofuginone treatment and observed induction of genes involved in ribosome biogenesis, translation, tRNA synthesis, and ribosome-associated quality control (RQC). These results suggest that halofuginone, potentially acting through the Integrated Stress Response (ISR), promotes a transcriptional response to ribosome functional impairment in honey bees rather than the response designed to oppose amino acid limitation, which has been observed in other organisms after ISR induction. In support of this idea, we found that cycloheximide (CHX) administration also induced all tested target genes, indicating that this gene expression program could be induced by ribosome stalling in addition to tRNA synthetase inhibition. Only a subset of halofuginone-induced genes was upregulated by Unfolded Protein Response (UPR) induction, suggesting that mode of activation and cross-talk with other cellular signaling pathways significantly influence ISR function and cellular response to its activation. Future work will focus on understanding how the apparently divergent transcriptional output of the ISR in honey bees impacts the health and disease of this important pollinator species.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Jonathan W Snow
- Biology Department, Barnard College, New York, NY, 10027, USA.
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