Recipe for a busy bee: MicroRNAs in honey bee caste determination
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Apis mellifera
PROVIDER: GSE44853 | GEO | 2014/01/06
SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA192195
REPOSITORIES: GEO
Similar Datasets
Project description:Social caste determination in the honey bee is assumed to be determined by the dietary status of the young larvae and translated into physiological and epigenetic changes through nutrient-sensing pathways. We have employed microRNA gene-microarray, and observed that both worker jelly and royal jelly showed dynamic changes in miRNA content during the 4th to 6th day of larval development . Adding specific miRNAs to royal jelly elicited significant changes in queen larval mRNA expression and in morphological characters of the emerging adult queen bee. We propose that miRNAs in the nurse bee secretions constitute an additional element in the regulatory control of caste determination in the honey bee.
2013-12-31 | GSE50457 | GEO
Project description:Social caste determination in the honey bee is assumed to be determined by the dietary status of the young larvae and translated into physiological and epigenetic changes through nutrient-sensing pathways. We have employed Illumina/Solexa sequencing to examine the small RNA content in the bee larval food source, and show that worker jelly is enriched in miRNA complexity and abundance relative to royal jelly. The miRNA levels in worker jelly were 7-215 fold higher than in royal jelly, and both jellies showed dynamic changes in miRNA content during the 4th to 6th day of larval development. Adding specific miRNAs to royal jelly elicited significant changes in queen larval mRNA expression and in morphological characters of the emerging adult queen bee. We propose that miRNAs in the nurse bee secretions constitute an additional element in the regulatory control of caste determination in the honey bee. We collected worker and royal jelly of the Italian honeybee (ZND No.1, Apis mellifera ligustica) at 73~90 hours (4th-day larvae), 97~114 hours (5th-day larvae), and 121~138 hours (6th-day larvae) after hatching. After total RNA was extractedM-BM- and quantified , relative equal amounts of total RNAs from each of the three sampling days were pooled into respectively worker and royal jelly samples, and the fraction of small RNAs less than 30nt long was retained and sequenced on the Illumina/Solexa high-throughput platform (HTP).
2014-01-06 | E-GEOD-44853 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Social caste determination in the honey bee is assumed to be determined by the dietary status of the young larvae and translated into physiological and epigenetic changes through nutrient-sensing pathways. We have employed microRNA gene-microarray, and observed that both worker jelly and royal jelly showed dynamic changes in miRNA content during the 4th to 6th day of larval development . Adding specific miRNAs to royal jelly elicited significant changes in queen larval mRNA expression and in morphological characters of the emerging adult queen bee. We propose that miRNAs in the nurse bee secretions constitute an additional element in the regulatory control of caste determination in the honey bee. We collected worker and royal jelly of the Italian honeybee (ZND No.1, Apis mellifera ligustica) at 73~90 hours (4th-day larvae), 97~114 hours (5th-day larvae), and 121~138 hours (6th-day larvae) after hatching. After total RNA was extractedM-BM- and quantified , equal amounts of total RNAs from each of the three sampling days were analyzed on the LC Science miRNA-array to observe the expression variation of miRNAs between worker jelly and royal jelly along with the development time points (4th-day, 5th-day and 6th-day).
2013-12-31 | E-GEOD-50457 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Transcriptome sequencing has become the main methodology for analyzing the relationship between genes and characteristics of interests, particularly those associated with diseases and economic traits. Because of its functional superiority, commercial royal jelly (RJ) and its production are major areas of focus in the field of apiculture. Multiple lines of evidence have demonstrated that many factors affect RJ output by activating or inhibiting various target genes and signaling pathways to augment their efficient replication. The coding sequences made available by the Honey Bee Genome Sequencing Consortium have permitted a pathway-based approach for investigating the development of the hypopharyngeal glands (HGs). In the present study, 3573941, 3562730, 3551541, 3524453, and 3615558 clean reads were obtained from the HGs of five full-sister honey bee samples using Solexa RNA sequencing technology. These reads were then assembled into 18378, 17785, 17065, 17105, and 17995 unigenes, respectively, and aligned to the DFCI Honey Bee Gene Index database. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) data were also correlated with detailed morphological data for HGs acini. The results identify areas that warrant further study, including those that can be used to improve honey bee breeding techniques and help ensure stable yields of RJ with high quality traits. The 5 samples at given time (d3, d6, d9, d12, d16 after adult worker bees emergence from the comb) are in the critical stage of the RJ secretion and HGs developments indicated (triggered) the further caste differentiation (worker bees and queen) and task switch (nurse bees and foragers). 30 pooled heads of each samples were
2014-05-20 | E-GEOD-47136 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:The major environmental determinants of honeybee caste development come from larval nutrients: royal jelly stimulates the differentiation of larvae into queens, whereas beebread leads to worker bee fate. However, these determinants are not fully characterized. Here we report that plant RNAs, particularly miRNAs, which are more enriched in beebread than in royal jelly, delay development and decrease body and ovary size in honeybees, thereby preventing larval differentiation into queens and inducing development into worker bees. Mechanistic studies reveal that amTOR, a stimulatory gene in caste differentiation, is the direct target of miR162a. Interestingly, the same effect also exists in non-social Drosophila. When such plant RNAs and miRNAs are fed to Drosophila larvae, they cause extended developmental times and reductions in body weight and length, ovary size and fecundity. This study identifies an uncharacterized function of plant miRNAs that fine-tunes honeybee caste development, offering hints for understanding cross-kingdom interaction and coevolution.
2017-08-01 | GSE76286 | GEO
Project description:Characterization of naturally-occurring RNAs (up to 200nt) in the honey bee worker and royal jelly
2018-11-29 | E-MTAB-6557 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Honeybees are very important eusocial insects and are involved in the pollination of many plants. Queen bees and worker bees develop from the same fertilized eggs, and are thus genetically identical despite their substantial behavioural and physiological differences. The mechanism governing developmental differences between worker and queen bees has always attracted much interest. While there are several reports on mRNA expression related to caste differentiation, no systematic investigation of small RNAs has thus far been carried out. Results: Using deep sequencing we systematically profiled small RNA expression in 4th-6th day worker larvae and queen larvae (the critical stages at which the fates of workers and queens are determined), and found that 38 miRNAs were differentially expressed between worker and queen larvae. In addition, 639 mature miRNA candidates were identified in our work for the first time, of which, 526 were expressed only in workers (318) or queens (208). Conclusion: We present the first profile of honeybee small RNAs and explore the mechanism of caste differentiation between worker and queen bees. Caste-specific expression patterns and large discrepancies in small RNA profiles between worker and queen bees indicate that small RNAs may be related to the differential development of worker and queen bee larvae. Results presented here will make a valuable contribution to understanding the caste switch between worker and queen bees. Three healthy 10-frame colonies of ‘Zhenongda No.1’- a high-yielding royal jelly breed of Apis mellifera ligustica , were maintained at the Huajiachi campus of Zhejiang University. In each colony, the queen laid eggs over a period of 24 hours in one empty frame which was subsequently moved to an egg-free super-chamber. After 66 hours (less than 18 hours after hatching), we transferred 150 larvae into queen cups to rear queens in each colony and put the queen cup frames into their corresponding colonies. 40-60 worker larvae and queen larvae were collected from each colony after 4 days (73~90 h after hatching), 5 days (97~114 h after hatching) and 6 days (121~138 h after hatching). The larval samples were collected into 50 ml tubes, immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at -80C until being used for RNA extraction. After total RNA was extracted and quantified , relative equal amounts of total RNAs from each of the three sampling days were pooled into respectively worker and queen samples, and the fraction of small RNAs less than 30nt long was retained and sequenced on the Illumina/Solexa high-throughput platform (HTP).
2014-07-28 | E-GEOD-52630 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Adult honey bee queens and workers drastically differ in ovary size. This adult ovary phenotype difference becomes established during the last two larval instars, when massive programmed cell death in the ovaries of worker larvae leads to the degeneration and removal of 95-99% of the ovariole anlagen. The higher juvenile hormone (JH) levels in queen larvae protect their ovaries against such degeneration. To gain insights into the molecular architecture underlying this divergence critical for adult caste fate we performed a microarray analysis contrasting RNA extracts from fourth and early fifth instar queen and worker ovaries. While for the fourth instar we found differential expression (log2FC > 1.0) for only nine genes, the number of differentially represented transcripts (DRTs) increased to 56 in early fifth instar ovaries. From these, 18 had their expression levels further analyzed by real-time PCR (RT-qPCR). For 13 of these the expression differed significantly between queen and worker ovaries at least one time point in development, and interestingly, genes with enzyme functions were overexpressed in workers, while genes related to transcription and signaling were so in queens. For the RT-qPCR confirmed genes we further analyzed their response to JH, revealing a significant up-regulation for two genes, one encoding a short chain dehydrogenase (SDR) and the other heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90). Five other genes, including Hsp60 and hexamerin 70b, were significantly down-regulated by JH. As SDR genes have previously come up as differentially expressed in different transcriptome assays in honey bee larvae, and heat shock proteins are involved in hormone responses, these are interesting candidates for further functional assays.
2016-10-06 | GSE81118 | GEO
Project description:Honeybees are very important eusocial insects and are involved in the pollination of many plants. Queen bees and worker bees develop from the same fertilized eggs, and are thus genetically identical despite their substantial behavioural and physiological differences. The mechanism governing developmental differences between worker and queen bees has always attracted much interest. While there are several reports on mRNA expression related to caste differentiation, no systematic investigation of small RNAs has thus far been carried out. Results: Using deep sequencing we systematically profiled small RNA expression in 4th-6th day worker larvae and queen larvae (the critical stages at which the fates of workers and queens are determined), and found that 38 miRNAs were differentially expressed between worker and queen larvae. In addition, 639 mature miRNA candidates were identified in our work for the first time, of which, 526 were expressed only in workers (318) or queens (208). Conclusion: We present the first profile of honeybee small RNAs and explore the mechanism of caste differentiation between worker and queen bees. Caste-specific expression patterns and large discrepancies in small RNA profiles between worker and queen bees indicate that small RNAs may be related to the differential development of worker and queen bee larvae. Results presented here will make a valuable contribution to understanding the caste switch between worker and queen bees.
2014-07-28 | GSE52630 | GEO
Project description:The timing and amplitude of reproductive effort are central life history variables for all organisms. In social insects, reproductive effort is collectively controlled at the colony level but little is known about the mechanisms that determine how much colonies invest in reproduction. As part of their female reproductive investment, honey bee colonies raise multiple new queens by feeding royal jelly to female larvae. Artificial selection for commercial royal jelly production in China has generated over the past 40 years a stock of royal jelly bees that raises an order of magnitude more queens and provisions each queen with >3x more royal jelly than unselected stock. Here we establish in a reciprocal cross-fostering experiment that this dramatic shift in social phenotype is due to changes in the nurse bees that care for the brood. We demonstrate higher electrophysiological responsiveness to brood pheromones in royal jelly bees than in unselected bees. Comparing the antennal proteome of unselected and royal jelly bees, we identify proteins involved in chemosensation and energy metabolism as candidates for the observed differences. We confirm several candidates, most prominently OBP16 and CSP4, with quantitative differences of corresponding mRNA levels and functional binding assays between the brood pheromones and the chemosensory proteins. Furthermore, we complement analyses of brood volatiles and electrophysiological recordings with behavioral attraction assays to confirm the presumed biological function of one newly discovered and two existing larval pheromones. Together, these findings help our understanding of pheromonal communication in honey bees and explain how sensory changes in nurse honey bees as alloparental caregivers have evolved in response to artificial selection, leading to a profound shift in colony-level resource allocation to sexual reproduction.
2019-08-01 | PXD011149 | Pride