Molecular and cellular basis of caste differentiation in the honey bee (Apis melli...
| Full text | |
| Author(s): |
Mackert, Aline
;
Nascimento, Adriana Mendes do
;
Bitondi, Márcia Maria Gentile
;
Hartfelder, Klaus
;
Simões, Zilá Luz Paulino
[5]
Total Authors: 5
|
| Document type: | Journal article |
| Source: | COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY B-BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY; v. 150, n. 1, p. 33-44, May 2008. |
| Field of knowledge: | Biological Sciences - Genetics |
| Abstract | |
Tight control over circulating juvenile hormone (JH) levels is of prime importance in an insect's life cycle. Consequently, enzymes involved in JH metabolism, especially juvenile hormone esterases (JHEs), play major roles during metamorphosis and reproduction. In the highly eusocial Hymenoptera, JH has been co-opted into additional functions, primarily in the development of the queen and worker castes and in age-related behavioral development of workers. Within a set of 21 carboxylesterases predicted in the honey bee genome we identified one gene (Amjhe-like) that contained the main functional motifs of insect JHEs. Its transcript levels during larval development showed a maximum at the switch from feeding to spinning behavior, coinciding with a JH titer minimum. In adult workers, the highest levels were observed in nurse bees, where a low JH titer is required to prevent the switch to foraging. Functional assays showed that Amjhe-like expression is induced by JH-III and suppressed by 20-hydroxyecdysone. RNAi-mediated silencing of Amjhe-like gene function resulted in a six-fold increase in the JH titer in adult worker bees. The temporal profile of Amjhe-like expression in larval and adult workers, the pattern of hormonal regulation and the knockdown phenotype are consistent with the function of this gene as an authentic JHE. (AU) | |
| 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 type: | Research Projects - Thematic Grants |