ORCID Profile
0000-0002-1708-1877
Current Organisation
Australian National University
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Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-09-2015
DOI: 10.1038/SREP14070
Abstract: The 2011 highly publicised Nature paper by Kamakura on honeybee phenotypic dimorphism, (also using Drosophila as an experimental surrogate), claims that a single protein in royal jelly, Royalactin, essentially acts as a master “on-off” switch in development via the epidermal growth factor receptor (AmEGFR), to seal the fate of queen or worker. One mechanism proposed in that study as important for the action of Royalactin is differential amegfr methylation in alternate organismal outcomes. According to the author differential methylation of amegfr was experimentally confirmed and shown in a supportive figure. Here we have conducted an extensive analysis of the honeybee egfr locus and show that this gene is never methylated. We discuss several lines of evidence casting serious doubts on the amegfr methylation result in the 2011 paper and consider possible origins of the author’s statement. In a broader context, we discuss the implication of our findings for contrasting context-dependent regulation of EGFR in three insect species, Apis mellifera , D. melanogaster and the carpenter ant, C onotus floridanus and argue that more adequate methylation data scrutiny measures are needed to avoid unwarranted conclusions.
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 13-03-2012
Abstract: In honey bees ( Apis mellifera ), the development of a larva into either a queen or worker depends on differential feeding with royal jelly and involves epigenomic modifications by DNA methyltransferases. To understand the role of DNA methylation in this process we sequenced the larval methylomes in both queens and workers. We show that the number of differentially methylated genes (DMGs) in larval head is significantly increased relative to adult brain (2,399 vs. 560) with more than 80% of DMGs up-methylated in worker larvae. Several highly conserved metabolic and signaling pathways are enriched in methylated genes, underscoring the connection between dietary intake and metabolic flux. This includes genes related to juvenile hormone and insulin, two hormones shown previously to regulate caste determination. We also tie methylation data to expressional profiling and describe a distinct role for one of the DMGs encoding anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), an important regulator of metabolism. We show that alk is not only differentially methylated and alternatively spliced in Apis , but also seems to be regulated by a cis -acting, anti-sense non–protein-coding transcript. The unusually complex regulation of ALK in Apis suggests that this protein could represent a previously unknown node in a process that activates downstream signaling according to a nutritional context. The correlation between methylation and alternative splicing of alk is consistent with the recently described mechanism involving RNA polymerase II pausing. Our study offers insights into diet-controlled development in Apis .
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 11-2019
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 29-06-2016
Abstract: Although gene duplication is seen as the main path to evolution of new functions, molecular mechanisms by which selection favours the gain versus loss of newly duplicated genes and minimizes the fixation of pseudo-genes are not well understood. Here, we investigate in detail a duplicate honeybee gene obp11 belonging to a fast evolving insect gene family encoding odorant binding proteins (OBPs). We report that obp11 is expressed only in female bees in rare antennal sensilla basiconica in contrast to its tandem partner obp10 that is expressed in the brain in both females and males (drones). Unlike all other obp genes in the honeybee, obp11 is methylated suggesting that functional ersification of obp11 and obp10 may have been driven by an epigenetic mechanism. We also show that increased methylation in drones near one donor splice site that correlates with higher abundance of a transcript variant encoding a truncated OBP11 protein is one way of controlling its contrasting expression. Our data suggest that like in mammals and plants, DNA methylation in insects may contribute to functional ersification of proteins produced from duplicated genes, in particular to their subfunctionalization by generating complementary patterns of expression.
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 25-10-2006
DOI: 10.1101/GR.5012006
Abstract: The genomic architecture underlying the evolution of insect social behavior is largely a mystery. Eusociality, defined by overlapping generations, parental brood care, and reproductive ision of labor, has most commonly evolved in the Hymenopteran insects, including the honey bee Apis mellifera . In this species, the Major Royal Jelly Protein (MRJP) family is required for all major aspects of eusocial behavior. Here, using data obtained from the A. mellifera genome sequencing project, we demonstrate that the MRJP family is encoded by nine genes arranged in an ∼60-kb tandem array. Furthermore, the MRJP protein family appears to have evolved from a single progenitor gene that encodes a member of the ancient Yellow protein family. Five genes encoding Yellow-family proteins flank the genomic region containing the genes encoding MRJPs. We describe the molecular evolution of these protein families. We then characterize developmental-stage-specific, sex-specific, and caste-specific expression patterns of the mrjp and yellow genes in the honey bee. We review empirical evidence concerning the functions of Yellow proteins in fruit flies and social ants, in order to shed light on the roles of both Yellow and MRJP proteins in A. mellifera. In total, the available evidence suggests that Yellows and MRJPs are multifunctional proteins with erse, context-dependent physiological and developmental roles. However, many members of the Yellow/MRJP family act as facilitators of reproductive maturation. Finally, it appears that MRJP protein subfamily evolution from the Yellow protein family may have coincided with the evolution of honey bee eusociality.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 2005
DOI: 10.1385/JMN:27:3:269
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 18-06-2007
Abstract: In honeybees, differential feeding of female larvae promotes the occurrence of two different phenotypes, a queen and a worker, from identical genotypes, through incremental alterations, which affect general growth, and character state alterations that result in the presence or absence of specific structures. Although previous studies revealed a link between incremental alterations and differential expression of physiometabolic genes, the molecular changes accompanying character state alterations remain unknown. By using cDNA microarray analyses of ,000 Apis mellifera ESTs, we found 240 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between developing queens and workers. Many genes recorded as up-regulated in prospective workers appear to be unique to A. mellifera , suggesting that the workers' developmental pathway involves the participation of novel genes. Workers up-regulate more developmental genes than queens, whereas queens up-regulate a greater proportion of physiometabolic genes, including genes coding for metabolic enzymes and genes whose products are known to regulate the rate of mass-transforming processes and the general growth of the organism (e.g., tor ). Many DEGs are likely to be involved in processes favoring the development of caste-biased structures, like brain, legs and ovaries, as well as genes that code for cytoskeleton constituents. Treatment of developing worker larvae with juvenile hormone (JH) revealed 52 JH responsive genes, specifically during the critical period of caste development. Using Gibbs s ling and Expectation Maximization algorithms, we discovered eight overrepresented cis -elements from four gene groups. Graph theory and complex networks concepts were adopted to attain powerful graphical representations of the interrelation between cis -elements and genes and objectively quantify the degree of relationship between these entities. We suggest that clusters of functionally related DEGs are co-regulated during caste development in honeybees. This network of interactions is activated by nutrition-driven stimuli in early larval stages. Our data are consistent with the hypothesis that JH is a key component of the developmental determination of queen-like characters. Finally, we propose a conceptual model of caste differentiation in A. mellifera based on gene-regulatory networks.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 24-11-2011
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 13-06-2016
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 08-2014
DOI: 10.1098/RSOB.140110
Abstract: In mammals, a family of TET enzymes producing oxidized forms of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) plays an important role in modulating DNA demethylation dynamics. In contrast, nothing is known about the function of a single TET orthologue present in invertebrates. Here, we show that the honeybee TET (AmTET) catalytic domain has dioxygenase activity and converts 5mC to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) in a HEK293T cell assay. In vivo , the levels of 5hmC are condition-dependent and relatively low, but in testes and ovaries 5hmC is present at approximately 7–10% of the total level of 5mC, which is comparable to that reported for certain mammalian cells types. AmTET is alternatively spliced and highly expressed throughout development and in adult tissues with the highest expression found in adult brains. Our findings reveal an additional level of flexible genomic modifications in the honeybee that may be important for the selection of multiple pathways controlling contrasting phenotypic outcomes in this species. In a broader context, our study extends the current, mammalian-centred attention to TET-driven DNA hydroxymethylation to an easily manageable organism with attractive and unique biology.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 02-11-2010
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 27-10-2015
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 20-03-2007
DOI: 10.1007/S10158-007-0045-3
Abstract: G-protein-coupled metabotropic glutamate receptors (GPC mGluRs) are important constituents of glutamatergic synapses where they contribute to synaptic plasticity and development. Here we characterised a member of this family in the honeybee. We show that the honeybee genome encodes a genuine mGluR (AmGluRA) that is expressed at low to medium levels in both pupal and adult brains. Analysis of honeybee protein sequence places it within the type 3 GPCR family, which includes mGlu receptors, GABA-B receptors, calcium-sensing receptors, and pheromone receptors. Phylogenetic comparisons combined with pharmacological evaluation in HEK 293 cells transiently expressing AmGluRA show that the honeybee protein belongs to the group II mGluRs. With respect to learning and memory AmGluRA appears to be required for memory formation. Both agonists and antagonists selective against the group II mGluRs impair long-term (24 h) associative olfactory memory formation when applied 1 h before training, but have no effect when injected post-training or pre-testing. Our results strengthen the notion that glutamate is a key neurotransmitter in memory processes in the honeybee.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2000
DOI: 10.1016/S0378-1119(99)00503-X
Abstract: We have cloned and characterized a cDNA encoding a putative glutamate transporter, Am-EAAT, from the brain of the honeybee, Apis mellifera. The 543-amino-acid AmEAAT gene product shares the highest sequence identity (54%) with the human EAAT2 subtype. Am-EAAT is expressed predominantly in the brain, and its transcripts are abundant in the optic lobes and inner compact Kenyon cells of the mushroom bodies (MBs), with most other regions of the brain showing lower levels of Am-EAAT expression. High levels of Am-EAAT message are found in pupal stages, possibly indicating a role for glutamate in the developing brain.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 14-10-2009
Abstract: Epigenetic modification of DNA via methylation is one of the key inventions in eukaryotic evolution. It provides a source for the switching of gene activities, the maintenance of stable phenotypes and the integration of environmental and genomic signals. Although this process is widespread among eukaryotes, both the patterns of methylation and their relevant biological roles not only vary noticeably in different lineages, but often are poorly understood. In addition, the evolutionary origins of DNA methylation in multicellular organisms remain enigmatic. Here we used a new 'epigenetic' model, the social honey bee Apis mellifera , to gain insights into the significance of methylated genes. We combined microarray profiling of several tissues with genome-scale bioinformatics and bisulfite sequencing of selected genes to study the honey bee methylome. We find that around 35% of the annotated honey bee genes are expected to be methylated at the CpG dinucleotides by a highly conserved DNA methylation system. We show that one unifying feature of the methylated genes in this species is their broad pattern of expression and the associated 'housekeeping' roles. In contrast, genes involved in more stringently regulated spatial or temporal functions are predicted to be un-methylated. Our data suggest that honey bees use CpG methylation of intragenic regions as an epigenetic mechanism to control the levels of activity of the genes that are broadly expressed and might be needed for conserved core biological processes in virtually every type of cell. We discuss the implications of our findings for genome-scale regulatory network structures and the evolution of the role(s) of DNA methylation in eukaryotes. Our findings are particularly important in the context of the emerging evidence that environmental factors can influence the epigenetic settings of some genes and lead to serious metabolic and behavioural disorders.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-1998
DOI: 10.1016/S0378-1119(98)00114-0
Abstract: We have cloned and sequenced a 1.68-kb cDNA encoding arginine kinase in the honey bee, Apis mellifera. The predicted protein shows a high level of identity to known arginine kinases in invertebrates and to other proteins belonging to the conserved family of ATP: guanidino phospho-transferases. The pattern of expression of arginine kinase has been investigated for the first time in various tissues including the brain, antennae and compound eye. Our results show that three isoforms of arginine kinase, transcribed from a single gene, are expressed in a characteristic pattern in major tissues of the honey bee. Arginine kinase mRNA is relatively abundant in the central nervous system and in the antennae. However, the highest level of expression, that is at least two to three times higher than in the brain, is found in the compound eye of the bee. By contrast, the levels of mRNAs encoding another metabolically important enzyme, alpha-glycerolphosphate dehydrogenase (alpha-GPDH), are low in the eye. These findings suggest that arginine kinase is an important component of the energy releasing mechanism in the visual system that has high and fluctuating energy demands. Furthermore, our results support the role of phosphagen kinases in energy transport in polarised cells and are consistent with the role of arginine kinase as an energy shuttle that delivers ATP generated by mitochondria to high energy-requiring processes, such as massive membrane turnover and pigment regeneration in the retina.
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 28-03-2008
Abstract: Fertile queens and sterile workers are alternative forms of the adult female honeybee that develop from genetically identical larvae following differential feeding with royal jelly. We show that silencing the expression of DNA methyltransferase Dnmt3, a key driver of epigenetic global reprogramming, in newly hatched larvae led to a royal jelly–like effect on the larval developmental trajectory the majority of Dnmt3 small interfering RNA–treated in iduals emerged as queens with fully developed ovaries. Our results suggest that DNA methylation in Apis is used for storing epigenetic information, that the use of that information can be differentially altered by nutritional input, and that the flexibility of epigenetic modifications underpins, profound shifts in developmental fates, with massive implications for reproductive and behavioral status.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2007
DOI: 10.1016/J.IBMB.2006.10.009
Abstract: With the completion of the honey bee genome project, a transition is now occurring from the acquisition of gene sequence to understanding the role and context of gene products within the genome. Here we annotated and characterised a cluster of three genes in a GC-rich 11 kb genomic region on the linkage group 4 encoding highly hydrophobic polypeptides (named apidermins APD 1-3) containing both sequence motifs characteristic of cuticular proteins and distinctly novel features. Five amino acids, Ala, Gly, Leu, Pro and Val, account for 74-86% of their respective sequences with Ala being the most abundant residue (at least 30% of each peptide). A conserved tetra-peptide AAPA/V is found in all three proteins, but none has the 'R and R' signature implicated in chitin binding. Two proteins, APD-1 and APD-2, contain an arginine-rich motif RERR in short non-hydrophobic stretches near the N-terminal of mature proteins and in both proteins tryptophan is the C-terminal residue. All three genes are spliced and highly expressed in a defined spatio-temporal pattern. apd-1 is expressed in the exoskeletal epidermis, but only during a restricted period of a few days of late pupal and early adult life when the cuticle becomes dark. APD2 appears to be a protein of "internal" cuticles and is expressed in the tracheas, oesophagus and stomach, and also in the embryo. The expression of apd-3 partly overlaps with both apd-1 and apd-3, but apd-3 also is uniquely associated with non-pigmented cuticles such as the eye cover and external cuticle of white pupae. This study expands the collection of genes encoding cuticular proteins by three novel and well characterised members.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-11-2008
DOI: 10.1111/J.1365-2583.2008.00838.X
Abstract: A defining characteristic of eusocial animals is their ision of labour into reproductive and nonreproductive specialists. Here, we used a microarray study to identify genes associated with functional sterility in the worker honey bee Apis mellifera. We contrasted gene expression in workers from a functionally sterile wild-type strain with that in a mutant (anarchist) strain selected for high rates of ovary activation. We identified a small set of genes from the brain (n = 7) and from the abdomen (n = 5) that are correlated in their expression with early stages of ovary activation. Sterile wild-type workers up-regulated two unknown genes and a homologue of Drosophila CG6004. By contrast, reproductive anarchist workers up-regulated genes for the yolk protein vitellogenin, venom peptides and a member of the AdoHycase superfamily, among others. The differentially expressed genes identified are likely to be involved in early differentiation into sterile and reproductive worker phenotypes and may therefore form part of the gene networks associated with the regulation of honey bee worker sterility. Our study may have lacked sufficient power to detect all but a minority of biologically relevant changes taking place however, the differential expression of vitellogenin and a putative AdoHycase suggests that our screen has captured core reproductive genes and that ovary activation may involve an epigenetic mechanism.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2013
DOI: 10.1016/J.IBMB.2012.11.003
Abstract: Histone post-translational modifications (PTMs) play a key role in regulating a variety of cellular processes including the establishment, maintenance and reversal of transcriptional programmes in eukaryotes. However, little is known about such modifications in the economically and ecologically important insect pollinator, the honey bee (Apis mellifera). Using mass spectrometry approaches, we show that histone H3.1, H3.3 and H4 of the honey bee are extensively modified by lysine acetylation and lysine methylation. We analysed histones isolated from queen ovaries and 96 hr-old larvae, in toto we quantified 23 specific modification states on 23 distinct peptides. In addition, we have identified and characterised patterns of histone PTMs that reside on the same peptide, generating detailed combinatorial information. Overall, we observed similar profiles of histone PTMs in both s les, with combinatorial patterns of lysine methylations on H3K27 and H3K36 more frequently identified in histones extracted from queen ovaries than from larvae. To our knowledge, this comprehensive dataset represents the first identification and quantitation of histone PTMs in this eusocial insect and emerging epigenetic model.
Publisher: Geological Society of America
Date: 23-01-2023
Abstract: The Neoarchean is generally considered to have been the final era of major crust formation and may have been characterized by the onset of modern plate tectonics. The Neoarchean may also have been the time interval during which subduction processes prevailed and became global. Evidence from in idual cratons around the world suggests that this transition in geodynamic processes may have included diachronous and episodic major changes (i.e., turning points) and a more gradual evolution at the global scale, possibly largely driven by the secular cooling of the mantle and increasing stability of the lithosphere. The Superior craton, Canada, is the largest and best-preserved Archean craton in the world, making it an ideal location in which to investigate the occurrence (or absence) of turning points in the Neoarchean. This contribution examines the changes in geodynamic and magmatic processes that occurred during the Neoarchean, using geochemical data and new insights garnered from isotopic surveys from the southern part of the Superior craton. We summarize current understanding of the evolution of the youngest (southern) part of the Superior craton that led to the stabilization (cratonization) of this continental lithosphere and how this evolution aligns with local and global geodynamic processes.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 18-08-2021
Abstract: Myopia (short‐sightedness), usually caused by excessive elongation of the eye during development, has reached epidemic proportions worldwide. In animal systems including the chicken model, several treatments have been shown to inhibit ocular elongation and experimental myopia. Although erse in their apparent mechanism of action, each one leads to a reduction in the rate of ocular growth. We hypothesize that a defined set of retinal molecular changes may underlie growth inhibition, irrespective of the treatment agent used. Accordingly, across five well‐established but erse methods of inhibiting myopia, significant overlap is seen in the retinal transcriptome profile (transcript levels and alternative splicing events) in chicks when analyzed by RNA‐seq. Within the two major pathway networks enriched during growth inhibition, that of cell signaling and circadian entrainment, transcription factors form the largest functional grouping. Importantly, a large percentage of those genes forming the defined retinal response are downstream targets of the transcription factor EGR1 which itself shows a universal response to all five growth‐inhibitory treatments. This supports EGR1's previously implicated role in ocular growth regulation. Finally, by contrasting our data with human linkage and GWAS studies on refractive error, we confirm the applicability of our study to the human condition. Together, these findings suggest that a universal set of transcriptome changes, which sit within a well‐defined retinal network that cannot be bypassed, is fundamental to growth regulation, thus paving a way for designing novel targets for myopia therapies.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-2006
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.TIG.2022.05.004
Abstract: Insect epigenetics must confront the remarkable ersity of epigenomic systems in various lineages and use mechanistic approaches to move beyond vague functional explanations based on predictions and inferences. To accelerate progress, what is required now is a convergence of genomic data with biochemical and single-cell-type analyses in selected species representing contrasting evolutionary solutions in epigenetics.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-2006
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2000
DOI: 10.1016/S0166-4328(00)00235-7
Abstract: The role of glutamate in the central nervous system of invertebrates is poorly understood. In the present study we examined the effects of a glutamate transporter inhibitor, L-trans-2,4-pyrrolidine dicarboxylate (L-trans-2,4-PDC), on memory formation in the honeybee following a three-trial classical conditioning of the proboscis extension reflex (PER). Pre-training injections of the drug have no effect on acquisition and short-term (1 h) memory, but impair long-term (24 h), associative olfactory memory in a dose-dependent manner. This effect is transient and the amnesiac in iduals can be re-trained successfully 48 h after injections. Our results suggest that glutamatergic neurons in the honeybee brain, in particular those found in the mushroom bodies (MBs), may be part of the circuitry involved in processing of long-term olfactory memory. Such a role for this neurotransmitter is consistent with our previous results showing that glutamate and glutamate transporter(s) are localised in regions of the honeybee brain implicated in higher order processing.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 2013
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 25-06-2020
DOI: 10.3390/EPIGENOMES4020010
Abstract: Understanding methylation dynamics in organs or tissues containing many different cell types is a challenging task that cannot be efficiently addressed by the low-depth bisulphite sequencing of DNA extracted from such sources. Here we explored the feasibility of ultra-deep bisulphite sequencing of long licons to reveal the brain methylation patterns in three selected honey bee genes analysed across five distinct conditions on the Illumina MiSeq platform. By combing 15 libraries in one run we achieved a very high sequencing depth of 240,000–340,000 reads per licon, suggesting that most of the cell types in the honey bee brain, containing approximately 1 million neurons, are represented in this dataset. We found a small number of gene-specific patterns for each condition in in iduals of different ages and performing distinct tasks with 80–90% of those were represented by no more than a dozen patterns. One possibility is that such a small number of frequent patterns is the result of differentially methylated epialleles, whereas the rare and less frequent patterns reflect activity-dependent modifications. The condition-specific methylation differences within each gene appear to be position-dependent with some CpGs showing significant changes and others remaining stable in a methylated or non-methylated state. Interestingly, no significant loss of methylation was detected in very old in iduals. Our findings imply that these erse patterns represent a special challenge in the analyses of DNA methylation in complex tissues and organs that cannot be investigated by low-depth genome-wide bisulphite sequencing. We conclude that ultra-deep sequencing of gene-specific licons combined with genotyping of differentially methylated epialleles is an effective way to facilitate more advanced neuro-epigenomic studies in honey bees and other insects.
Publisher: Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Date: 02-2004
DOI: 10.1097/00006324-200402000-00013
Abstract: To use the technique of differential gene display to analyze changes in gene expression that occur during the development of and recovery from form-deprivation myopia. The differential display-reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction technique was used to detect cDNAs that are differentially expressed after 24 h (including 12 h in the light) after fitting with a diffuser to induce form-deprivation myopia. Messenger RNA levels were determined by quantitative Northern blotting in retinas after 11 days of form deprivation or in retinas where the diffusers had been removed the previous day. Twenty-six differentially expressed genes were processed in our initial screen. Two of these, alphaB-crystallin and retinoic acid receptor-alpha, were studied further. Levels of alphaB-crystallin mRNA were increased on day 11 in retinas from form-deprived eyes relative to eyes of control chickens and were reduced to below those levels within 6 to 12 h after removal of the diffusers. Levels of retinoic acid receptor-alpha mRNA showed similar changes, except that after removal of the diffusers, the levels further increased. The technique of differential gene display can be used to detect changes in gene expression during the regulation of eye growth. The response of alphaB-crystallin is particularly interesting because expression increases when eye growth is high and decreases when eye growth slows.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2000
Publisher: Microbiology Society
Date: 04-1997
DOI: 10.1099/00221287-143-4-1263
Abstract: The genomic and cDNA copy of the TATA-binding protein (TBP) gene from the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans have been cloned. The gene is interrupted by four introns, one of which is in the long 5' untranslated region of 615 bp. The transcription initiation site was established and the levels of mRNA were analysed under erse growth conditions and found to vary severalfold. The gene encodes a protein of 268 amino acids composed of an N-terminal domain of 88 amino acids with no significant homology to other TBPs and a C-terminal domain of 180 amino acids with about 95% homology to other fungal TBPs. A cDNA clone under the yeast ADH1 promoter was able to substitute for the yeast TBP gene in vivo however, the transformants obtained grew poorly at 35°C and on galactose and glycerol at 30°C, though they could grow in the presence of copper ions or aminotriazole at this temperature. This phenotype may be the result of altered function of A. nidulans TBP in certain yeast transcription activation pathways.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 27-07-1998
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2002
DOI: 10.1016/S0169-328X(01)00325-4
Abstract: In seeking genetic factors that may control the extended behavioural maturation of adult honeybees we found that inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP(3)) 3-kinase, a key enzyme in the IP(3)-mediated signalling cascade, is differentially expressed in brains of naive, newly emerged bees and experienced foragers. DNA sequencing yielded a contig of 21.5 kb spanning the honeybee IP(3)K locus and a 3' flanking gene similar to a transcription factor NFR-kappa-B. The IP(3)K locus gives rise to three differentially expressed major transcripts produced by alternative splicing that encode proteins with identical, highly conserved C-termini and distinct, non-conserved N-terminal domains. The type A transcript is dominant in the adult brain and its level of expression increases threefold during the first 4 days of adult development. The type B message is expressed in brains of naive bees, but is also found in the thorax and abdomen, whereas transcript C is expressed largely in non-neural tissues and in the antenna. In contrast to type A message, the brain levels of transcript B decrease during the first 4 days of adult life. Our data are evaluated in the context of the contrasting behavioural phenotypes of immature and experienced worker honeybees.
No related grants have been discovered for Robert Kucharski.