A
            <i>piggyBac</i>
            route to transgenic honeybees

Ben‐Shahar, Yehuda

doi:10.1073/pnas.1407876111

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…It is not yet feasible to knockdown individual olfactory receptor genes in the sensory tissues of the bee itself. This technology is being developed2223 and we predict individual or collective knockdown of these eight bee receptors in a native context will inhibit the worker’s altruistic response to queen pheromone.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A novel screen for genes associated with pheromone-induced sterility

Camiletti

Percival‐Smith

Croft

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

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For honey bee and other social insect colonies the ‘queen substance’ regulates colony reproduction rendering workers functionally sterile. The evolution of worker reproductive altruism is explained by inclusive fitness theory, but little is known of the genes involved or how they regulate the phenotypic expression of altruism. We previously showed that application of honeybee queen pheromone to virgin fruit flies suppresses fecundity. Here we exploit this finding to identify genes associated with the perception of an ovary-inhibiting social pheromone. Mutational and RNAi approaches in Drosophila reveal that the olfactory co-factor Orco together with receptors Or49b, Or56a and Or98a are potentially involved in the perception of queen pheromone and the suppression of fecundity. One of these, Or98a, is known to mediate female fly mating behaviour, and its predicted ligand is structurally similar to a methyl component of the queen pheromone. Our novel approach to finding genes associated with pheromone-induced sterility implies conserved reproductive regulation between social and pre-social orders, and further helps to identify candidate orthologues from the pheromone-responsive pathway that may regulate honeybee worker sterility.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A novel screen for genes associated with pheromone-induced sterility

Camiletti

Percival‐Smith

Croft

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

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“…Furthermore, the specific molecular targets and neuronal signalling pathways modulated by for activity across the evolutionary, developmental, and physiological timescales remain a mystery. Nevertheless, recent developments in transposonmediated transgenesis and Cas9/CRISPR-dependent genome editing in several social insect species (Ben-Shahar, 2014;Chen et al, 2021;Kohno et al, 2016;McAfee et al, 2019;Schulte et al, 2014;Trible et al, 2017) will likely yield new insights into the molecular and cellular pathways that underlie the role of for, and other important signalling pathways, in the "social" brain.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As the most dominant domesticated insect, the long tradition of beekeeping has provided investigators with a rich knowledge of its behaviour and physiology, including well-established techniques for manipulating colony demography and colony genetics via artificial inseminations (Page et al, 2002;Vanengelsdorp & Meixner, 2010). Not surprisingly, the economic importance of the honey bee has led to the development of diverse molecular and genetic resources, including a relatively well-annotated genome, high-resolution population genetics, and successful genome transformations (Ament et al, 2010;Ben-Shahar, 2014;Ben-Shahar et al, 2004;Chen et al, 2021;Foret et al, 2009;Sinha et al, 2006;Y. Wang et al, 2006;Weinstock et al, 2006;Whitfield et al, 2006;Whitfield et al, 2003).…”

Section: The Study Of Sociality In the Era Of Molecular Geneticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Theforaginggene as a modulator of division of labour in social insects

Lucas

Ben‐Shahar

2021

Journal of Neurogenetics

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The social ants, bees, wasps, and termites include some of the most ecologically-successful groups of animal species. Their dominance in most terrestrial environments is attributed to their social lifestyle, which enable their colonies to exploit environmental resources with remarkable efficiency. One key attribute of social insect colonies is the division of labour that emerges among the sterile workers, which represent the majority of colony members. Studies of the mechanisms that drive division of labour systems across diverse social species have provided fundamental insights into the developmental, physiological, molecular, and genomic processes that regulate sociality, and the possible genetic routes that may have led to its evolution from a solitary ancestor. Here we specifically discuss the conserved role of the foraging gene, which encodes a cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG). Originally identified as a behaviourally polymorphic gene that drives alternative foraging strategies in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, changes in foraging expression and kinase activity were later shown to play a key role in the division of labour in diverse social insect species as well. In particular, foraging appears to regulate worker transitions between behavioural tasks and specific behavioural traits associated with morphological castes. Although the specific neuroethological role of foraging in the insect brain remains mostly unknown, studies in genetically tractable insect species indicate that PKG signalling plays a conserved role in the neuronal plasticity of sensory, cognitive and motor functions, which underlie behaviours relevant to division of labour, including appetitive learning, aggression, stress response, phototaxis, and the response to pheromones.

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“…Furthermore, to establish causation between the action of specific miRNAs and eusocial traits, new in vivo genetic and molecular techniques to manipulate social insects are required. Recent advances in molecular genetics of social insects ( Yan et al, 2014 ), and the successful generation of transgenic honey bees ( Ben-Shahar, 2014 ; Schulte et al, 2014 ), suggest that such studies might be possible in the near future. Furthermore, the development of pharmacological reagents that can block or mimic the action of specific miRNAs (e.g., antagomirs), would represent another important step in that direction ( Cristino et al, 2014 ).…”

Section: A Look To the Futurementioning

confidence: 99%

Function and evolution of microRNAs in eusocial Hymenoptera

2015

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The emergence of eusociality (“true sociality”) in several insect lineages represents one of the most successful evolutionary adaptations in the animal kingdom in terms of species richness and global biomass. In contrast to solitary insects, eusocial insects evolved a set of unique behavioral and physiological traits such as reproductive division of labor and cooperative brood care, which likely played a major role in their ecological success. The molecular mechanisms that support the social regulation of behavior in eusocial insects, and their evolution, are mostly unknown. The recent whole-genome sequencing of several eusocial insect species set the stage for deciphering the molecular and genetic bases of eusociality, and the possible evolutionary modifications that led to it. Studies of mRNA expression patterns in the brains of diverse eusocial insect species have indicated that specific social behavioral states of individual workers and queens are often associated with particular tissue-specific transcriptional profiles. Here, we discuss recent findings that highlight the role of non-coding microRNAs (miRNAs) in modulating traits associated with reproductive and behavioral divisions of labor in eusocial insects. We provide bioinformatic and phylogenetic data, which suggest that some Hymenoptera-specific miRNA may have contributed to the evolution of traits important for the evolution of eusociality in this group.

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A piggyBac route to transgenic honeybees

Cited by 8 publications

References 19 publications

A novel screen for genes associated with pheromone-induced sterility

A novel screen for genes associated with pheromone-induced sterility

Theforaginggene as a modulator of division of labour in social insects

Function and evolution of microRNAs in eusocial Hymenoptera

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