The effects of the neonicotinoid imidacloprid on gene expression and DNA methylation in the buff-tailed bumblebee
            <i>Bombus terrestris</i>

Bebane, Pshtiwan S.A.; Hunt, Benjamin J.; Pegoraro, Mirko; Jones, Alun R. C.; Marshall, Hollie; Rosato, Ezio; Mallon, Eamonn B.

doi:10.1098/rspb.2019.0718

Cited by 36 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 87 publications

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“…Differentially methylated loci (DML) were extracted from the genome and annotated using a custom-made database [ 62 ]. GO enrichment was conducted against all RNA features in the bumblebee genome using GOStats [ 63 ] to conduct a hypergeometric test, with significant GO terms identified using Benjamini-Hochberg correction (adjusted p -value 0.05).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of DNA methylation on bumblebee colony development

Pozo

Hunt

Kemenade³

et al. 2021

BMC Genomics

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Background Although around 1% of cytosines in bees’ genomes are known to be methylated, less is known about methylation’s effect on bee behavior and fitness. Chemically altered DNA methylation levels have shown clear changes in the dominance and reproductive behavior of workers in queen-less colonies, but the global effect of DNA methylation on caste determination and colony development remains unclear, mainly because of difficulties in controlling for genetic differences among experimental subjects in the parental line. Here, we investigated the effect of the methylation altering agent decitabine on the developmental rate of full bumblebee colonies. Whole genome bisulfite sequencing was used to assess differences in methylation status. Results Our results showed fewer methylated loci in the control group. A total of 22 CpG loci were identified as significantly differentially methylated between treated and control workers with a change in methylation levels of 10% or more. Loci that were methylated differentially between groups participated in pathways including neuron function, oocyte regulation and metabolic processes. Treated colonies tended to develop faster, and therefore more workers were found at a given developmental stage. However, male production followed the opposite trend and it tended to be higher in control colonies. Conclusion Overall, our results indicate that altered methylation patterns resulted in an improved cooperation between workers, while there were no signs of abnormal worker dominance or caste determination.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of DNA methylation on bumblebee colony development

Pozo

Hunt

Kemenade³

et al. 2021

BMC Genomics

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“…Gene ontology (GO) terms for B. terrestris were taken from a custom database made in Bebane et al. (). GO enrichment analysis was carried out using a hypergeometric test with Benjamini–Hochberg multiple‐testing correction (Benjamini and Hochberg ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Methylation and gene expression differences between reproductive and sterile bumblebee workers

2019

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Phenotypic plasticity is the production of multiple phenotypes from a single genome and is notably observed in social insects. Multiple epigenetic mechanisms have been associated with social insect plasticity, with DNA methylation being explored to the greatest extent. DNA methylation is thought to play a role in caste determination in Apis mellifera, and other social insects, but there is limited knowledge on its role in other bee species. In this study, we analyzed whole genome bisulfite sequencing and RNA‐seq data sets from head tissue of reproductive and sterile castes of the eusocial bumblebee Bombus terrestris. We found that genome‐wide methylation in B. terrestris is similar to other holometabolous insects and does not differ between reproductive castes. We did, however, find differentially methylated genes between castes, which are enriched for multiple biological processes including reproduction. However, we found no relationship between differential methylation and differential gene expression or differential exon usage between castes. Our results also indicate high intercolony variation in methylation. These findings suggest that methylation is associated with caste differences but may serve an alternate function, other than direct caste determination in this species. This study provides the first insights into the nature of a bumblebee caste‐specific methylome as well as its interaction with gene expression and caste‐specific alternative splicing, providing greater understanding of the role of methylation in phenotypic plasticity within social bee species. Future experimental work is needed to determine the function of methylation and other epigenetic mechanisms in insects.

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“…It has also been suggested that sublethal exposure to pesticides may pro-duce immune suppression in pollinators [148], increasing their susceptibility to pathogens. Recent evidence regarding epigenetic inheritance has demonstrated that pesticides drive pathological alterations in insect pollinators [149], while in target organisms it has been reported the development of IA promotes epigenetic transgenerational resistance against pesticides [150]. Thus, while pesticide detrimental impact may last several generations on non-target organisms, their efficacy on pest species may be reduced as they became immune to their effects [151].…”

Section: Pesticidesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Agroecological Strategies to Safeguard Insect Pollinators in Biodiversity Hotspots: Chile as a Case Study

et al. 2021

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Industrial agriculture (IA) has been recognized among the main drivers of biodiversity loss, climate change, and native pollinator decline. Here we summarize the known negative effects of IA on pollinator biodiversity and illustrate these problems by considering the case of Chile, a “world biodiversity hotspot” (WBH) where food exports account for a considerable share of the economy in this country. Most of Chile’s WBH area is currently being replaced by IA at a fast pace, threatening local biodiversity. We present an agroecological strategy for sustainable food production and pollinator conservation in food-producing WBHs. In this we recognize native pollinators as internal inputs that cannot be replaced by IA technological packages and support the development of agroecological and biodiversity restorative practices to protect biodiversity. We suggest four fundamental pillars for food production change based on: (1) sharing the land, restoring and protecting; (2) ecological intensification; (3) localized knowledge, research, and technological development; and (4) territorial planning and implementation of socio-agroecological policies. This approach does not need modification of native pollination services that sustain the world with food and basic subsistence goods, but a paradigm changes where the interdependency of nature and human wellbeing must be recognized for ensuring the world’s food security and sovereignty.

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The effects of the neonicotinoid imidacloprid on gene expression and DNA methylation in the buff-tailed bumblebee Bombus terrestris

Cited by 36 publications

References 87 publications

The effect of DNA methylation on bumblebee colony development

The effect of DNA methylation on bumblebee colony development

Methylation and gene expression differences between reproductive and sterile bumblebee workers

Agroecological Strategies to Safeguard Insect Pollinators in Biodiversity Hotspots: Chile as a Case Study

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