Analysis of the endocrine system and circadian cycle as modulators of Apis mellifera development

• Grant number: 16/06657-0
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: September 01, 2016
• End date: December 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics
• Principal Investigator: Zilá Luz Paulino Simões
• Grantee: Zilá Luz Paulino Simões
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Flávia Cristina de Paula Freitas

Abstract

The insect endocrine system plays fundamental roles in modulating a range of physiological processes during the development, especially when dealing with transitions that occur in a well-defined space-time. The differential ecdysteroids and juvenile hormone titers found during the larval development and metamorphosis are examples of hormones acting to coordinate the developmental timing. Together with the endocrine system, the circadian clock also has an important role in synchronizing and coordinating several physiological and behavioral processes at specific developmental points, mainly over 24 hours. It is believed that there is a closed crosstalk between endocrine and circadian systems, where the hormonal synthesis and its releasing may be modulated by circadian rhythms generated in the central nervous system. It also seems that some genes involved in the ecdysteroids pathway may act in the modulation of circadian rhythms. However, there is still a lack of evidence indicating how these two systems interact along the insect development and how they are regulated. In bees, most of the available research about ecdysteroids functions is focused on the larval development and metamorphosis, and little is known about this pathway in adult life. Furthermore, it is not known about the interactions of the circadian and endocrine system in both metamorphosis and adult development, especially in the central nervous system signaling. As eusocial bees have a complex behavior along the adult life, we propose here to characterize the expression profiles of genes involved in both endocrine and circadian systems in the central nervous system of Apis mellifera workers, to understand how these systems are integrated. Further, we propose to investigate the correlations between the endocrine and circadian systems during the metamorphic events and the possible effects of a juvenile hormone analog treatment during the pupal phase. Finally, we propose to identify miRNA-target interactions for the miRNAs let-7 and miR-34 with genes involved in both ecdysteroids and circadian systems and investigate in what extend these two miRNAs are potential regulators of these pathways. (AU)

Scientific publications

(10)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

AGOSTINI, JULIA COLOMBELLI; COSTA, CLAUDINEIA PEREIRA; FERREIRA, JAINE TAIS; DIAS, ADRIANA CRISTINA; GUERRA, NATHALIA PRESTES; SIMOES PAULINO, ZILA LUZ; LOURENCO, ANETE PEDRO. Vitellogenin of the solitary bees Centris tarsata and Centris analis (Hymenoptera: Apidae): cDNA structural analysis and gene expression. Apidologie, v. 52, n. 1, SI, NOV 2020. (16/06657-0)

LUNA-LUCENA, DANIELLE; RABICO, FRANCIENE; SIMOES, ZILA L. P.. Reproductive capacity and castes in eusocial stingless bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae). CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE, v. 31, p. 20-28, FEB 2019. (16/06657-0)

BATAGLIA, L.; SIMOES, Z. L. P.; NUNES, F. M. F.. Active genic machinery for epigenetic RNA modifications in bees. Insect Molecular Biology, v. 30, n. 6, AUG 2021. (16/06657-0, 19/02374-1)

NELSON, RONALD M.; WALLBERG, ANDREAS; PAULINO SIMOES, ZILA LUZ; LAWSON, DANIEL J.; WEBSTER, MATTHEW T.. Genomewide analysis of admixture and adaptation in the Africanized honeybee. Molecular Ecology, v. 26, n. 14, p. 3603-3617, JUL 2017. (11/03171-5, 16/06657-0)

AGOSTINI, JULIA COLOMBELLI; COSTA, CLAUDINEIA PEREIRA; FERREIRA, JAINE TAIS; DIAS, ADRIANA CRISTINA; GUERRA, NATHALIA PRESTES; SIMOES PAULINO, ZILA LUZ; LOURENCO, ANETE PEDRO. Vitellogenin of the solitary bees Centris tarsata and Centris analis (Hymenoptera: Apidae): cDNA structural analysis and gene expression. Apidologie, v. 52, n. 1, p. 16-pg., 2020-11-16. (16/06657-0)

DE PAULA FREITAS, FLAVIA CRISTINA; BUCHHOLZ, JOSEPHINE; NUNES, FRANCIS MORAIS FRANCO; CRISTINO, ALEXANDRE SANTOS; SIMOES, ZILA LUZ PAULINO. Characterization of sex-specific variants of doublesex and feminizer genes in stingless bee species. Apidologie, v. 51, n. 4, p. 469-480, AUG 2020. (16/06657-0)

DE CARLI, GABRIEL JOSE; ROTELA, ABDON TROCHE; LUBINI, GREICE; CONTILIANI, DANYEL FERNANDES; CANDIA, NIDIA BENITEZ; DEPINTOR, THIAGO S.; PINTO DE ABREU, FABIANO CARLOS; PAULINO SIMOES, ZILA LUZ; RIOS, DANILO FERNANDEZ; PEREIRA, TIAGO CAMPOS. SSD - a free software for designing multimeric mono-, bi- and trivalent shRNAs. GENETICS AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, v. 43, n. 1, 2020. (16/06657-0)

WAIKER, PRASHANT; PINTO DE ABREU, FABIANO CARLOS; LUNA-LUCENA, DANIELLE; PAULA FREITAS, FLAVIA CRISTINA; PAULINO SIMOES, ZILA LUZ; RUEPPELL, OLAV. Recombination mapping of the Brazilian stingless bee Frieseomelitta varia confirms high recombination rates in social hymenoptera. BMC Genomics, v. 22, n. 1, SEP 18 2021. (16/06657-0)

FREITAS, FLAVIA C. P.; DEPINTOR, THIAGO S.; AGOSTINI, LUCAS T.; LUNA-LUCENA, DANIELLE; NUNES, FRANCIS M. F.; BITONDI, MARCIA M. G.; SIMOES, ZILA L. P.; LOURENCO, ANETE P.. Evaluation of reference genes for gene expression analysis by real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) in three stingless bee species (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini). SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, v. 9, NOV 27 2019. (16/06657-0)

BATAGLIA, LUANA; SIMOES, ZILA LUZ PAULINO; NUNES, FRANCIS MORAIS FRANCO. Transcriptional expression of m(6)A and m(5)C RNA methyltransferase genes in the brain and fat body of honey bee adult workers. FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY, v. 10, p. 9-pg., 2022-08-29. (16/06657-0, 19/02374-1)