The biological clock of stingless bees (Meliponini)

• Grant number: 24/06229-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)
• Start date: March 01, 2025
• End date: January 31, 2029
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Animal Genetics
• Principal Investigator: Klaus Hartmann Hartfelder
• Grantee: Arthur Roque Justino
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (FMRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 20/13296-9 - Molecular basis of behavioral plasticity and reproductive strategies in life histories evolution of Neotropical stingless bees, AP.TEM

Abstract

The circadian rhythms of physiology and behavior, which are based on a highly ubiquitous gene regulatory network, play a crucial role in the age-based division of labor in social insects like Apis mellifera. These, which belong to the Apini tribe, along with the stingless bees (Meliponini), were the only ones to achieve the highest degree of eusociality among corbiculate bees. Despite 70% of the species belonging to the Meliponini tribe, the molecular and physiological basis of their behavior remains poorly understood, primarily due to limited genomic availability, with significant contributions from our group. During the IC-FAPESP Nº. 2022/05723-0 and BEPE-IC 2023/02449-7 projects, we characterized the molecular, neuroanatomical, and behavioral bases of rhythmicity in M. quadrifasciata workers. As a follow-up, we propose investigating the physiological and adaptive bases of circadian rhythms in Meliponini, with a focus on the model species of the FAPESP thematic project Nº 2020/13296-9: M. quadrifasciata, Frieseomelitta varia and Scaptotrigona postica. First, we aim to analyze the endogenous rhythms throughout adult development, and their relationship with the social rhythms of external activity. Physiologically, we will investigate the participation of juvenile hormone and ecdysteroid signaling pathways associated with the rhythmic activities of the reproductive process in the colony (POP). We also aim to perform neuroanatomical characterization of neuronal cell clusters by immunofluorescence and in situ hybridization. Finally, using the transcriptomes generated during the course of the thematic project, we propose the characterization of the expression of circadian clock genes in different species, as well as elucidating their gene regulatory networks.