Integration of transcriptome and chromatin accessibility data to reconstruct the cis-regulatory network of honeybee ovary development

• Grant number: 24/22812-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: March 01, 2025
• End date: February 28, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry - Molecular Biology
• Principal Investigator: Flávia Cristina de Paula Freitas
• Grantee: Sarah Calado Galvão de Melo
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 20/13719-7 - Genomic signatures of plasticity and diversity in the phenotypic development, AP.JP

Abstract

The development of honeybees offers a unique opportunity to understand the mechanisms of phenotypic plasticity in which the same genome is capable of guiding the formation of a fertile queen or a worker incapable of mating. The division of reproductive labor between queen and worker is one of the characteristics of eusocial bees, such as honeybees (Apini) and stingless bees (Meliponini). Adult honeybee workers have inactive ovaries, but they have the potential to become active under special conditions. Stingless bee workers, on the other hand, present great diversity in reproductive capacity, ranging from permanent sterility (Frieseomelitta varia) to complete activation of the ovaries (Melipona quadrifasciata). This project aims to understand the molecular bases of the formation of the ovaries of Apis mellifera workers that have the potential to become active in the adult phase. For this purpose, the transcriptome (RNA-seq) and accessible chromatin regions of the ovaries of worker larvae will be characterized. The accessible chromatin regions will be subjected to a search for transcription factor binding elements. The integration of different levels of regulation, such as regulatory genomic sequences (obtained through ATAC-seq) and the transcriptome (RNA-seq) will allow the reconstruction of the regulatory network of the formation of the ovaries of worker larvae.