Diapause in a tropical oil-collecting bee: molecular basis unveiled by RNA-Seq

Author(s)

Santos, Priscila Karla F. ^[1] ; Araujo, Natalia de Souza ^[2] ; Francoso, Elaine ^[1] ; Zuntini, Alexandre Rizzo ^[3] ; Arias, Maria Cristina ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biociencias, Dept Genet & Biol Evolut, Rua Matao 277, Room 320, BR-05508090 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Liege, Quartier Hop, Unit Anim Genom, GIGA Med Genom, Ave Hop 11, B-4000 Liege - Belgium

^[3] Univ Estadual Campinas, Inst Biol, Dept Biol Vegetal, Rua Monteiro Lobato 255, BR-13083970 Campinas, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: BMC Genomics; v. 19, APR 27 2018.
• Web of Science Citations: 3

Abstract

Background: Diapause is a natural phenomenon characterized by an arrest in development that ensures the survival of organisms under extreme environmental conditions. The process has been well documented in arthropods. However, its molecular basis has been mainly studied in species from temperate zones, leaving a knowledge gap of this phenomenon in tropical species. In the present study, the Neotropical and solitary bee Tetrapedia diversipes was employed as a model for investigating diapause in species from tropical zones. Being a bivoltine insect, Tetrapedia diversipes produce two generations of offspring per year. The first generation, normally born during the wet season, develops faster than individuals from the second generation, born after the dry season. Furthermore, it has been shown that the development of the progeny, of the second generation, is halted at the 5th larval instar, and remains in larval diapause during the dry season. Towards the goal of gaining a better understanding of the diapause phenomenon we compared the global gene expression pattern, in larvae, from both reproductive generations and during diapause. The results demonstrate that there are similarities in the observed gene expression patterns to those already described for temperate climate models, and also identify diapause-related genes that have not been previously reported in the literature. Results: The RNA-Seq analysis identified 2275 differentially expressed transcripts, of which 1167 were annotated. Of these genes, during diapause, 352 were upregulated and 815 were downregulated. According to their biological functions, these genes were categorized into the following groups: cellular detoxification, cytoskeleton, cuticle, sterol and lipid metabolism, cell cycle, heat shock proteins, immune response, circadian clock, and epigenetic control. Conclusion: Many of the identified genes have already been described as being related to diapause; however, new genes were discovered, for the first time, in this study. Among those, we highlight: Niemann-Pick type C1, NPC2 and Acyl-CoA binding protein homolog (all involved in ecdysteroid synthesis); RhoBTB2 and SASH1 (associated with cell cycle regulation) and Histone acetyltransferase KAT7 (related to epigenetic transcriptional regulation). The results presented here add important findings to the understanding of diapause in tropical species, thus increasing the comprehension of diapause-related molecular mechanisms. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 12/18531-0 - Expression of Genes Involved in Social Behavior in Bees with Different Levels of Eusociality
• Grantee: Natália de Souza Araujo
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 13/12530-4 - Population, evolutionary and genomic studies in bees
• Grantee: Maria Cristina Arias
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants