Identification of a juvenile hormone esterase-like gene in the honey bee, Apis mellifera L. - Expression analysis and functional assays

Autor(es)

Mackert, Aline ; Nascimento, Adriana Mendes do ; Bitondi, Márcia Maria Gentile ; Hartfelder, Klaus ; Simões, Zilá Luz Paulino ^[5]

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY B-BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY; v. 150, n. 1, p. 33-44, May 2008.
• Área do conhecimento: Ciências Biológicas - Genética
• Assunto(s): Metamorfose biológica Hormônios juvenis Esterases Insetos Abelhas

Resumo

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)

• 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