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Background Most of our understanding on the social behavior and genomics of bees and other social insects is centered on the Western honey bee, Apis mellifera. The genus Apis, however, is a highly derived branch comprising less than a dozen species, four of which genomically characterized. In contrast, for the equally highly eusocial, yet taxonomically and biologically more diverse Meliponini, a full genome sequence was so far available for a single Melipona species only. We present here the genome sequence of Frieseomelitta varia, a stingless bee that has, as a peculiarity, a completely sterile worker caste. Results The assembly of 243,974,526 high quality Illumina reads resulted in a predicted assembled genome size of 275 Mb composed of 2173 scaffolds. A BUSCO analysis for the 10,526 predicted genes showed that these represent 96.6% of the expected hymenopteran orthologs. We also predicted 169,371 repetitive genomic components, 2083 putative transposable elements, and 1946 genes for non-coding RNAs, largely long non-coding RNAs. The mitochondrial genome comprises 15,144 bp, encoding 13 proteins, 22 tRNAs and 2 rRNAs. We observed considerable rearrangement in the mitochondrial gene order compared to other bees. For an in-depth analysis of genes related to social biology, we manually checked the annotations for 533 automatically predicted gene models, including 127 genes related to reproductive processes, 104 to development, and 174 immunity-related genes. We also performed specific searches for genes containing transcription factor domains and genes related to neurogenesis and chemosensory communication. Conclusions The total genome size for F. varia is similar to the sequenced genomes of other bees. Using specific prediction methods, we identified a large number of repetitive genome components and long non-coding RNAs, which could provide the molecular basis for gene regulatory plasticity, including worker reproduction. The remarkable reshuffling in gene order in the mitochondrial genome suggests that stingless bees may be a hotspot for mtDNA evolution. Hence, while being just the second stingless bee genome sequenced, we expect that subsequent targeting of a selected set of species from this diverse clade of highly eusocial bees will reveal relevant evolutionary signals and trends related to eusociality in these important pollinators.

Currently, therapists have difficulty assessing and describing hand sensory deficits. The gold-standard tool to quantify hand tactile sensitivity is the esthesiometer. The Semmes-Weinstein esthesiometer presents nylon monofilaments of approximately the same length and of varying diameters. The diameter and length are used to control the force applied. The minimal diameter detected is used to classify the sensory function 1 . However, not only tactile sensitivity, but also the ability to detect weight and compressibility variations are involved in hand function.The sensation of touch on skin is provided by mechanoreceptors in the epidermis and dermis skin layers. There are four types of mechanoreceptors: Merkel receptors detect pressure from small objects, on a frequency between 0.3 and 3.0 Hz. Meissner corpuscles detect flutter, e.g. when rubbing objects against the skin or skin movement across a surface, on a frequency between 3.0 to 40.0 Hz. Ruffini cylinders detect pressure and stretching of the skin, on higher frequencies, between 15.0 and 400.0 Hz 2 . Merkel disks and Ruffini cylinders are associated with slowly adapting fibers that respond as long as the stimulus is present. Meissner corpuscles respond to stimulation with a burst of firing at the beginning and end of stimulation, therefore, they are called rapidly adapting fibers AbstrACtObjective: Hand sensory tests do not consider distinct physiological receptors, nor detect normal range variations concerning developmental or pathological changes. We developed an instrument with a set of tests with timing and scoring for assessing haptic perception, which is the interaction between sensory and motor systems, in surfaces exploration, by moving hands. Method: Firstly, group meetings were set for test/manual conception and materials testing. The test/manual were submitted to 30 reviewers in 3 stages (10 reviewers on each stage). Results: The Hand Haptic Perception Instrument (HHPI) evaluates hand sensorimotor performance on six domains: depression, elevation, texture, compressibility, weight (barognosis) and form perception. Each domain requires specific materials. Score ranges from 0 to 57, being 0 the worst rating. Conclusion: This methodological process allowed the development of six domains and instructions to assess haptic perception. This version of HHPI is a pilot model. Further studies will determine reliability and normality ranges.Keywords: touch perception, form perception, weight perception, evaluation, hands. resumo Objetivo: Testes de sensibilidade manual não consideram receptores fisiológicos distintos, tampouco variações do desenvolvimento normal ou patológico. Desenvolvemos um instrumento, com pontuação e tempo de desempenho, para avaliar percepção háptica, que é a interação sensório-motora na exploração de superfícies, pelo movimento das mãos. Método: Reuniões de grupo foram estabelecidas para desenvolver os testes/manual e testar materiais. O instrumento e seu manual foram submetidos a 30 revisores, em 3 estágios (com 10 revisores em cad...

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