MicroRNA signatures characterizing caste-independent ovarian activity in queen and worker honeybees (Apis mellifera L.)

Autor(es)

Macedo, L. M. F. ^[1] ; Nunes, F. M. F. ^[2] ; Freitas, F. C. P. ^[1] ; Pires, C. V. ^[1] ; Tanaka, E. D. ^[1] ; Martins, J. R. ^[1] ; Piulachs, M. -D. ^[3] ; Cristino, A. S. ^[4] ; Pinheiro, D. G. ^[5] ; Simoes, Z. L. P. ^[6]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Dept Genet, Fac Med Ribeirao Preto, BR-14040901 Ribeirao Preto - Brazil

^[2] Univ Fed Sao Carlos, Dept Genet & Evolucao, Ctr Ciencias Biol & Saude, BR-13560 Sao Carlos, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Pompeu Fabra, CSIC, Inst Evolutionary Biol, Barcelona - Spain

^[4] Univ Queensland, Diamantina Inst, Translat Res Inst, Brisbane, Qld - Australia

^[5] Univ Estadual Paulista, Dept Technol, Fac Ciencias Agr & Vet, Jaboticabal - Brazil

^[6] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Filosofia Ciencias & Letras Ribeirao Preto, Dept Biol, Av Bandeirantes 3900, BR-14040901 Ribeirao Preto, SP - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: Insect Molecular Biology; v. 25, n. 3, p. 216-226, JUN 2016.
• Citações Web of Science: 10

Resumo

Queen and worker honeybees differ profoundly in reproductive capacity. The queen of this complex society, with 200 highly active ovarioles in each ovary, is the fertile caste, whereas the workers have approximately 20 ovarioles as a result of receiving a different diet during larval development. In a regular queen-right colony, the workers have inactive ovaries and do not reproduce. However, if the queen is sensed to be absent, some of the workers activate their ovaries, producing viable haploid eggs that develop into males. Here, a deep-sequenced ovary transcriptome library of reproductive workers was used as supporting data to assess the dynamic expression of the regulatory molecules and microRNAs (miRNAs) of reproductive and nonreproductive honeybee females. In this library, most of the differentially expressed miRNAs are related to ovary physiology or oogenesis. When we quantified the dynamic expression of 19 miRNAs in the active and inactive worker ovaries and compared their expression in the ovaries of virgin and mated queens, we noted that some miRNAs (miR-1, miR-31a, miR-13b, miR-125, let-7 RNA, miR100, miR-276, miR-12, miR-263a, miR-306, miR-317, miR-92a and miR-9a) could be used to identify reproductive and nonreproductive statuses independent of caste. Furthermore, integrative gene networks suggested that some candidate miRNAs function in the process of ovary activation in worker bees. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 10/08150-3 - Perfil de expressão gênica da via de regulação do desenvolvimento embrionário em machos Apis mellifera
• Beneficiário: Camilla Valente Pires
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado
• Processo FAPESP: 11/03171-5 - Análise causal do desenvolvimento de Apis mellifera: genes reguladores e redes hierárquicas de expressão gênica na especificação de tecidos e órgãos
• Beneficiário: Zilá Luz Paulino Simões
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Temático
• Processo FAPESP: 10/06336-2 - Moléculas reguladoras da ovogênese em operárias Apis mellifera
• Beneficiário: Liliane Maria Fróes de Macedo
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado