MicroRNAs Associated with Caste Determination and Differentiation in a Primitively Eusocial Insect.
MicroRNAs Associated with Caste Determination and Differentiation in a Primitively Eusocial Insect.
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DOI：
10.1038/srep45674
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发表时间：
2017-03-31
影响因子：
4.6
通讯作者：
Bourke AF
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Collins DH;Mohorianu I;Beckers M;Moulton V;Dalmay T;Bourke AF
在真社会性的水蜂目（Hyattera）（蚂蚁、蜜蜂和黄蜂）中，蚁后和工蜂的成年种姓通常是通过环境的影响而产生的。一个根本挑战是了解单个基因组如何产生替代表型。一个强有力的方法是比较种姓决定和分化的分子基础沿着进化轨迹之间的进化和先进的真社会性物种，这分别有，相对未分化和强烈分化的成年种姓。在高等真社会性蜜蜂中，研究表明microRNA（miRNAs）在等级决定和分化的分子基础中起着重要作用。为了研究miRNAs如何影响真社会进化中的种姓，我们使用深度测序和北方印迹分离出具有真社会性的熊蜂Bombus terrestris中与种姓相关的miRNAs。我们发现miRNAs Bte-miR-6001- 5 p和-3p在蜂王中的表达比在工蜂中的表达更高。这些是第一个等级相关的miRNAs从外部先进的真社会性Hyattera，因此提供了证据，等级相关的miRNAs发生在真社会性进化相对较早。此外，我们发现很少有证据表明先前显示的miRNAs与A.在B种性途径中，意大利产的差异表达。terrestris，这表明，在真社会进化中，个别miRNA的种姓相关的作用是不保守的。
In eusocial Hymenoptera (ants, bees and wasps), queen and worker adult castes typically arise via environmental influences. A fundamental challenge is to understand how a single genome can thereby produce alternative phenotypes. A powerful approach is to compare the molecular basis of caste determination and differentiation along the evolutionary trajectory between primitively and advanced eusocial species, which have, respectively, relatively undifferentiated and strongly differentiated adult castes. In the advanced eusocial honeybee, Apis mellifera, studies suggest that microRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in the molecular basis of caste determination and differentiation. To investigate how miRNAs affect caste in eusocial evolution, we used deep sequencing and Northern blots to isolate caste-associated miRNAs in the primitively eusocial bumblebee Bombus terrestris. We found that the miRNAs Bte-miR-6001-5p and -3p are more highly expressed in queen- than in worker-destined late-instar larvae. These are the first caste-associated miRNAs from outside advanced eusocial Hymenoptera, so providing evidence for caste-associated miRNAs occurring relatively early in eusocial evolution. Moreover, we found little evidence that miRNAs previously shown to be associated with caste in A. mellifera were differentially expressed across caste pathways in B. terrestris, suggesting that, in eusocial evolution, the caste-associated role of individual miRNAs is not conserved.