{"title":"Transcriptome analysis of Apis mellifera antennae reveals molecular divergence underlying the division of labour in worker bees","authors":"Bairu Liu, Yicong Xu, Weixing Zhang","doi":"10.1111/imb.12882","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>The olfactory system plays a fundamental role in mediating insect behaviour. Worker bees exhibit an age-dependent division of labour, performing discrete sets of behaviours throughout their lifespan. The behavioural states of bees rely on their sense of the environment and chemical communication via their olfactory system, the antennae. However, the olfactory adaptation mechanism of worker bees during their behavioural development remains unclear. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive and quantitative analysis of antennal gene expression in the <i>Apis mellifera</i> of newly emerged workers, nurses, foragers and defenders using RNA-seq. We found that the antenna tissues of honey bees continued developing after transformation from newly emerged workers to adults. Additionally, we identified differentially expressed genes associated with bee development and division of labour. We validated that major royal jelly protein genes are highly and specifically expressed in nurse honey bee workers. Furthermore, we identified and validated significant alternative splicing events correlated with the development and division of labour. These findings provide a comprehensive transcriptome profile and a new perspective on the molecular mechanisms that may underlie the worker honey bee division of labour.</p>","PeriodicalId":13526,"journal":{"name":"Insect Molecular Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.3000,"publicationDate":"2023-10-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Insect Molecular Biology","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/imb.12882","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The olfactory system plays a fundamental role in mediating insect behaviour. Worker bees exhibit an age-dependent division of labour, performing discrete sets of behaviours throughout their lifespan. The behavioural states of bees rely on their sense of the environment and chemical communication via their olfactory system, the antennae. However, the olfactory adaptation mechanism of worker bees during their behavioural development remains unclear. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive and quantitative analysis of antennal gene expression in the Apis mellifera of newly emerged workers, nurses, foragers and defenders using RNA-seq. We found that the antenna tissues of honey bees continued developing after transformation from newly emerged workers to adults. Additionally, we identified differentially expressed genes associated with bee development and division of labour. We validated that major royal jelly protein genes are highly and specifically expressed in nurse honey bee workers. Furthermore, we identified and validated significant alternative splicing events correlated with the development and division of labour. These findings provide a comprehensive transcriptome profile and a new perspective on the molecular mechanisms that may underlie the worker honey bee division of labour.
期刊介绍:
Insect Molecular Biology has been dedicated to providing researchers with the opportunity to publish high quality original research on topics broadly related to insect molecular biology since 1992. IMB is particularly interested in publishing research in insect genomics/genes and proteomics/proteins.
This includes research related to:
• insect gene structure
• control of gene expression
• localisation and function/activity of proteins
• interactions of proteins and ligands/substrates
• effect of mutations on gene/protein function
• evolution of insect genes/genomes, especially where principles relevant to insects in general are established
• molecular population genetics where data are used to identify genes (or regions of genomes) involved in specific adaptations
• gene mapping using molecular tools
• molecular interactions of insects with microorganisms including Wolbachia, symbionts and viruses or other pathogens transmitted by insects
Papers can include large data sets e.g.from micro-array or proteomic experiments or analyses of genome sequences done in silico (subject to the data being placed in the context of hypothesis testing).