miRNA-34 and miRNA-210 target hexamerin genes enhancing their differential expression during early brain development of honeybee (Apis mellifera) castes

Autor(es)

Vieira, J. ^[1] ; Freitas, F. C. P. ^{[2, 1]} ; Cristino, A. S. ^[3] ; Moda, L. M. R. ^[1] ; Martins, J. R. ^[1] ; Bitondi, M. M. G. ^[4] ; Simoes, Z. L. P. ^{[4, 2]} ; Barchuk, A. R. ^[1]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Fed Alfenas, Inst Ciencias Biomed, Dept Biol Celular & Desenvolvimento, UNIFAL MG, 700 Campus Sede, BR-37130000 Alfenas, MG - Brazil

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

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

^[4] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Filosofia Ciencias & Letras Ribeirao Preto, Dept Biol, Ribeirao Preto, SP - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: Insect Molecular Biology; v. 30, n. 6 AUG 2021.
• Citações Web of Science: 1

Resumo

During the honeybee larval stage, queens develop larger brains than workers, with morphological differentiation appearing at the fourth larval phase (L4), just after a boost in nutritional difference both prospective females experience. The molecular promoters of this caste-specific brain development are already ongoing in previous larval phases. Transcriptomic analyses revealed a set of differentially expressed genes in the L3 brains of queens and workers, which represents the early molecular response to differential feeding females receive during larval development. Three genes of this set, hex70b, hex70c and hex110, are more highly transcribed in the brain of workers than in queens. The microRNAs miR-34, miR-210 and miR-317 are in higher levels in the queens' brain at the same phase of larval development. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the brain of workers expresses higher levels of hexamerins than that of queens during key phases of larval development and that this differential hexamerin genes expression is further enhanced by the repressing activity of miR-34, miR-210 and miR-317. Our transcriptional analyses showed that hex70b, hex70c and hex110 genes are differentially expressed in the brain of L3 and L4 larval phases of honeybee queens and workers. In silico reconstructed miRNA-mRNA interaction networks were validated using luciferase assays, which showed miR-34 and miR-210 negatively regulate hex70b and hex110 genes by directly and redundantly binding their 3 ` UTR (untranslated region) sequences. Taken together, our results suggest that miR-34 and miR-210 act together promoting differential brain development in honeybee castes by downregulating the expression of the putative antineurogenic hexamerin genes hex70b and hex110. (AU)

• 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: 05/03926-5 - Genômica funcional de Apis mellifera: busca de novos genes e redes funcionais no contexto do desenvolvimento, da diferenciação de castas e da reprodução
• Beneficiário: Zilá Luz Paulino Simões
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Temático