Role of the DNA methyltransferase 3 in the life cycle of adult honey bee workers, Apis mellifera L (Apidae, Hymenoptera)

• Grant number: 19/07264-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: July 01, 2019
• End date: March 31, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Animal Genetics
• Principal Investigator: Klaus Hartmann Hartfelder
• Grantee: Marina Carvalho Peruzzolo
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (FMRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Sequencing of Apis mellifera genome revealed in this highly eusocial bee a complete DNA methylation machinery. This potential of epigenetic regulation in the life cycle of the bees was investigated, the RNAi silencing by the DNA methyltransferase 3 (DNMT3) encoding gene, responsible for de novo DNA methylation, showed this epigenetic mechanism as a critical factor in the differentiation of caste queen v. workers. Studies evidenced a possible relationship between the expression of DNA methyltransferases in the life cycle of adult workers with their transition from the behavior of feeders to fodder and, implicitly, in the aging process of these. DNA methylation (DNAm) may be an important epigenetic factor related to the evolution of the social life style in hymenoptera. However, mDNA in these invertebrates presents a different pattern of vertebrates, since it occurs predominantly in CpG bases of gene exons and not in regulatory regions, thus more related to alternative splicing and histone modifications than to the regulation of gene expression via methylation of CpGs in promoters. Knowledge about mRNA in the life cycle of social bees and, specifically, new DNA mDNA via DNMT3, is still quite controversial and requires larger experimental approaches. In this project it is proposed to perform DNMT3 RNAi experiments in workers in order to understand how the reduction of their activity affects the longevity, transition between tasks during the adult life and metabolic aspects, especially related to the behavioral transition during the age polyietism. (AU)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

PERUZZOLO, Marina Carvalho. Transcriptional analysis of candidate genes for honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) caste determination. 2022. Master's Dissertation - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (PCARP/BC) Ribeirão Preto.