A member of the short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase (SDR) superfamily is a target of the ecdysone response in honey bee (Apis mellifera) caste development

Abstract

-Many aspects in caste polyphenism result from hormonally controlled differential gene expression. A DDRT-PCR screen for ecdysteroid-regulated genes in ovaries revealed a set of ESTs coding for metabolic enzymes. For a cDNA encoding a short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase (SDR) we obtained the complete coding sequence (246 amino acids), revealing the protein motifs typical of insect SDRs. Its initially high expression in early fifth-instar larvae vanished in prepupae. Expression levels in worker larvae were higher than in queen larvae, suggesting negative regulation by the caste-specific ecdysteroid titer. This finding was confirmed by in vitro exposure of competent worker ovaries to makisterone A. In contrast to whole body RNA extracts, two SDR transcripts were detected in the ovaries. Both had their expression downregulated by makisterone A. Hormonal regulation and tissue-specific expression pattern makes this SDR an interesting enzyme for comparative molecular studies on social insect caste polyphenisms.Apis mellifera / differential display PCR / ecdysteroid / alcohol dehydrogenase / caste polyphenism

Caste-specific gene expression in the stingless bee Melipona quadrifasciata ? Are there common patterns in highly eusocial bees?

“…The results from studies on hormonally controlled tissuespecific differentiation Hartfelder, 1998, 2002) integrate with the data on differential gene expression during postembryonic development (Corona et al, 1999;Wheeler, 1999, 2000;Hepperle and Hartfelder, 2001;Guidugli et al, 2004). These studies together with those on gene expression in the context of behavioral development (Kucharski and Maleszka, 2002;Takeuchi et al, 2002;Whitfield et al, 2002) and in task performance switch in adult bees (Grozinger et al, 2003;Whitfield et al, 2003) now funnel into a genome analysis effort (http://hgsc.bcm.tmc.edu/projects/honeybee), which should further solidify the honey bee's status as champion of insect polyphenism studies.…”

Physiological and genetic mechanisms underlying caste development, reproduction and division of labor in stingless bees

“…Since both JH and ecdysteroids exert their effects through nuclear hormone receptors (Barchuk et al, 2004) that impact directly on gene expression, the progress on differential gene expression analysis in honey bee caste development (Corona et al, 1999;Wheeler, 1999, 2000;Hepperle and Hartfelder, 2001;Guidugli et al, 2004) and in bumble bees (Pereboom et al, 2005) has prompted us to investigate differential gene expression in caste development of stingless bees. These studies were performed on the genus Melipona due to its distinct mode of caste determination.…”

“…Interestingly, the two transcriptional regulators overexpressed in workers are both putatively involved in repression and silencing of gene expression, and the structural genes encode muscle-specific proteins, indicating structural differences in queen and worker flight muscle. The metabolic enzyme overexpressed in workers represents a member of the cytochrome-P450 family, and thus, reflects a general pattern apparent in caste development of social bees, namely, the prominent role of energy metabolism in the caste syndrome (Corona et al, 1999;Guidugli et al, 2004;Pereboom et al, 2005).…”

RNA-Seq reveals that mitochondrial genes and long non-coding RNAs may play important roles in the bivoltine generations of the non-social Neotropical bee Tetrapedia diversipes

“…Genes from this superfamily are known to be involved in the metabolism of lipids, carbohydrates, vitamins, drugs, and xenobiotics (Endo et al 2016). Specifically in honeybees, DHRS11 has been found to play a role in host resistance against the varroa mite (Parker et al 2012), and in larval caste differentiation, it appears as one of the genes possibly necessary for worker ovary differentiation (Guidugli et al 2004;Lago et al 2016). Furthermore, the DHRS11 product is one of the proteins present in bee venom ).…”