The juvenile hormone (JH) plays a key role in the development of honeybee larvae and the alteration of adult behavior. Verification methods of types and stereoisomers of JHs in honeybees were established in this study. The regulatory modes of different stereoisomers of JH III on the social behaviors of honeybees were revealed by the disparity of interaction and RNA-seq. This result represented the first assessment of the effects of R-JH III and S-JH III in honeybee interactions; the former (367 times in total) was significantly higher than the latter (235 times in total); honeybees with high JH titers are always welcome in the colony because the effect of JH III on bees involves the sensing and signaling of hormones, and R-JH III is much more active than S-JH III in this regulation. Efficient R-JH III may be the insurance for bees to establish their social system advantages.

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Background Starch hydrolysates are energy sources for plant growth and development, regulate osmotic pressure and transmit signals in response to both biological and abiotic stresses. The α-amylase (AMY) and the β-amylase (BAM) are important enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of plant starch. Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is treated as one of the most drought-tolerant crops. However, the mechanisms of how AMY and BAM respond to drought in cassava are still unknown. Results Six MeAMY genes and ten MeBAM genes were identified and characterized in the cassava genome. Both MeAMY and MeBAM gene families contain four genes with alternative splicing. Tandem and fragment replications play important roles in the amplification of MeAMY and MeBAM genes. Both MeBAM5 and MeBAM10 have a BZR1/BES1 domain at the N-terminus, which may have transcription factor functions. The promoter regions of MeAMY and MeBAM genes contain a large number of cis-acting elements related to abiotic stress. MeAMY1, MeAMY2, MeAMY5, and MeBAM3 are proven as critical genes in response to drought stress according to their expression patterns under drought. The starch content, soluble sugar content, and amylase activity were significantly altered in cassava under different levels of drought stress. Conclusions These results provide fundamental knowledge for not only further exploring the starch metabolism functions of cassava under drought stress but also offering new perspectives for understanding the mechanism of how cassava survives and develops under drought.

Juvenile hormones (JHs) play a crucial role in the development of honey bee (Apis mellifera) worker larvae. Juvenile hormone analogs (JHAs), insecticides widely used in pest control, have been reported to affect the health and survival of honey bee worker larvae. However, the molecular mechanisms of JHAs in the honey bee remain unclear. In this study, we treated honey bee worker larvae with pyriproxyfen, fenoxycarb, and methoprene, three different JHAs. We monitored the changes in the transcription of genes encoding major JH response enzymes (CYP15A1, CYP6AS5, JHAMT, and CHT1) using RT-qPCR and analyzed the transcriptome changes in worker larvae under JHA stress using RNA-seq. We found that the enrichment pathways differed among the treatment groups, but the classification of each pathway was generally the same, and fenoxycarb affected more genes and more pathways than did the other two JHAs. Notably, treatment with different JHAs in the honey bee changed the JH titers in the insect to various extents. These results represent the first assessment of the effects of three different JHAs on honey bee larvae and provide a new perspective and molecular basis for the research of JH regulation and JHA toxicity in the honey bee.

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