Differential gene expression between developing queens and workers in the honey bee, Apis mellifera
Differential gene expression between developing queens and workers in the honey bee, Apis mellifera
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DOI：
10.1073/pnas.96.10.5575
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发表时间：
1999-05-11
影响因子：
11.1
通讯作者：
Wheeler, DE
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Evans, JD;Wheeler, DE
许多昆虫都表现出基于差异基因表达而不是遗传多态性的多态性或替代形态。皇后和工人是成年雌性蜂蜜蜜蜂的替代形式，是昆虫多态性最著名的例子之一。详细研究了蜜蜂种姓测定的激素调节，但对这一过程或任何其他此类多态性的基础的近端分子机制知之甚少。我们报告了一种分子遗传学方法在蜜蜂发展中研究皇后和工人特异性基因表达的成功（APISMellifera）。在两个种姓之间似乎有许多基因表达。此处描述的七个差异表达的基因座属于至少五个截然不同的进化组和官能团。作为种姓分化的潜在调节剂，两个人特别有前途，其中一个与结合脂质和其他疏水配体（包括视黄酸）的广泛类别的蛋白质同源。第二个基因座显示了与转录因子的ETS家族中与DNA结合结构域的序列相似性。其余的基因座似乎与女王或特定工人的发育途径固有的下游变化有关。蜜蜂中种姓的决心通常被认为主要是女王的决心。我们的结果清楚地表明，该过程涉及工人和皇后中基因的特定激活。
Many insects show polyphenisms, or alternative morphologies, which are based on differential gene expression rather than genetic polymorphism. Queens and workers are alternative forms of the adult female honey bee and represent one of the best known examples of insect polyphenism. Hormonal regulation of caste determination in honey bees has been studied in detail, but little is known about the proximate molecular mechanisms underlying this process, or any other such polyphenism. we report the success of a molecular-genetic approach for studying queen- and worker-specific gene expression in the development of the honey bee (Apis mellifera). Numerous genes appear to be differentially expressed between the two castes. Seven differentially expressed loci described here belong to at least five distinctly different evolutionary and functional groups. Two are particularly promising as potential regulators of caste differentiation, One is homologous to a widespread class of proteins that bind lipids and other hydrophobic ligands, including retinoic acid. The second locus shows sequence similarity to a DNA-binding domain in the Ets family of transcription factors. The remaining loci appear to be involved with downstream changes inherent to queen- or worker-specific developmental pathways. Caste determination in honey bees is typically thought of as primarily queen determination; our results make it clear that the process involves specific activation of genes in workers as well as in queens.