olecular underpinnings of the early brain developmental response to differential feeding in the honey bee Apis mellifer

Author(s)

Vieira, Joseana ^[1] ; de Paula Freitas, Flavia Cristina ^{[2, 1]} ; Cristino, Alexandre Santos ^[3] ; Pinheiro, Daniel Guariz ^[4] ; Aguiar, Luiz Roberto ^[2] ; Framartino Bezerra Laure, Marcela Aparecida ^[2] ; Rosatto Moda, Livia Maria ^[1] ; Paulino Simoes, Zila Luz ^{[5, 2]} ; Barchuk, Angel Roberto ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Fed Alfenas, Dept Biol Celular & Desenvolvimento, Inst Ciencias Biomed, UNIFAL MG, Alfenas, MG - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Dept Genet, Fac Med Ribeirao Preto, Ribeirao Preto, SP - Brazil

^[3] Griffith Univ, Griffith Inst Drug Discovery, Southport, Qld - Australia

^[4] UNESP Univ Estadual Paulista, Fac Ciencias Agr & Vet, Jaboticabal, SP - Brazil

^[5] Univ Sao Paulo, Dept Biol, Fac Filosofia Ciencias & Letras Ribeirao Preto, Ribeirao Preto, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-GENE REGULATORY MECHANISMS; v. 1864, n. 9 SEP 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 1

Abstract

Brain differential morphogenesis in females is one of the major phenotypic manifestations of caste development in honey bees. Brain diphenism appears at the fourth larval phase as a result of the differential feeding regime developing females are submitted during early phases of larval development. Here, we used a forward genetics approach to test the early brain molecular response to differential feeding leading to the brain diphenism observed at later developmental phases. Using RNA sequencing analysis, we identified 53 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the brains of queens and workers at the third larval phase. Since miRNAs have been suggested to play a role in caste differentiation after horizontal and vertical transmission, we tested their potential participation in regulating the DEGs. The miRNA-mRNA interaction network, including the DEGs and the royal- and worker-jelly enriched miRNA populations, revealed a subset of miRNAs potentially involved in regulating the expression of DEGs. The interaction of miR-34, miR-210, and miR-317 with Takeout, Neurotrophin1, Forked, and Masquerade genes was experimentally confirmed using a luciferase reporter system. Taken together, our results reconstruct the regulatory network that governs the development of the early brain diphenism in honey bees. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 11/03171-5 - Causal analysis of Apis mellifera development: regulatory genes and hierachical networks of gene expression in the specification of tissue and organs
• Grantee: Zilá Luz Paulino Simões
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 05/03926-5 - Functional genomics of Apis mellifera: search for new genes and functional networks in the context of development, different castes and reproduction
• Grantee: Zilá Luz Paulino Simões
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants