ORCID Profile
0000-0003-1855-555X
Current Organisations
University of Toronto
,
Australian National University
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Research Topics
In Research Link Australia (RLA), "Research Topics" refer to ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes. These topics are either sourced from ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes listed in researchers' related grants or generated by a large language model (LLM) based on their publications.
Top 5 Research Topics
ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)
Genetics | Gene Expression | Genetics Not Elsewhere Classified | Epigenetics (incl. Genome Methylation and Epigenomics) | Genome Structure | Neurogenetics | Physiology | Physiology Not Elsewhere Classified | Zoology | Plant Protection (Pests, Diseases And Weeds) | Analytical Biochemistry | Neurobiology | Cell Development (Incl. Cell Division And Apoptosis) | Genetic Development (Incl. Sex Determination) | Molecular Evolution | Sociobiology And Behavioural Ecology | Cell Development, Proliferation and Death
ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)
Biological sciences | Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences | Forestry | Primary products from plants | Field crops | Livestock not elsewhere classified | Chemical sciences | Expanding Knowledge in the Medical and Health Sciences | Behavioural and cognitive sciences | Clinical health not specific to particular organs, diseases and conditions | Minor livestock (e.g. horses, goats, deer) |
Related Links
Publications
Corrigendum to Chemosensory proteins in the honey bee: Insights from the annotated genome, comparative analyses and expressional profiling [Insect Biochem. Mol. Biol. 37, (1) (2007), 19-28] Doi: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2006.09.009
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2015
Magnification of the rDNA cluster in Kluyveromyces lactis
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 09-1990
DOI: 10.1007/BF00265074
Involvement of oxygen and mitochondrial function in the metabolism of d-xylulose by Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 1984
DOI: 10.1016/0003-9861(84)90042-0
Abstract: Mitochondrial function associated with oxygen was required for growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae on D-xylulose. The requirement was shown by (i) the inhibition of growth of a wild-type strain under anaerobic conditions, (ii) the inhibition of aerobic growth after treatment with inhibitors of mitochondrial function, and (iii) the lack of aerobic and anaerobic growth of nuclear and cytoplasmic petites. The mitochondrial function was associated with the channeling of catabolites of D-xylulose to growth processes, since ethanol was formed even when growth was inhibited. Mitochondrial function was implicated as well in determining the extent of growth and the concentration of ethanol in aerobic cultures of the wild-type. In such cultures, the concentration of ethanol decreased and growth increased concomitantly as aeration rate increased. A factor in this relation was considered to be the relatively poor ability of D-xylulose to inhibit the oxidative utilization of ethanol.
Evaluation of differential gene expression during behavioral development in the honeybee using microarrays and northern blots.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 2002
DOI: 10.1186/GB-2002-3-2-RESEARCH0007
Abstract: The honeybee (Apis mellifera) has been used with great success in a variety of behavioral studies. The lack of genomic tools in this species has, however, h ered efforts to provide genome-based explanations for behavioral data. We have combined the power of DNA arrays and the availability of distinct behavioral stages in honeybees to explore the dynamics of gene expression during adult development in this insect. In addition, we used caffeine treatment, a procedure that accelerates learning abilities in honeybees, to examine changes in gene expression underlying drug-induced behavioral modifications. Spotted microarrays containing several thousand cDNAs were interrogated with RNAs extracted from newly emerged worker bees, experienced foragers and caffeine-treated bees. Thirty-six differentially expressed cDNAs were verified by northern blot hybridization and characterized in silico by sequencing and database searches. Experienced foragers overexpressed royal jelly proteins, a putative imaginal disc growth factor, a transcriptional regulator (Stck) and several enzymes, including alpha-glucosidases, aminopeptidases and glucose dehydrogenase. Naive workers showed increased expression of members of the SPARC and lectin families, heat-shock cognate proteins and several proteins related to RNA translation and mitochondrial function. A number of novel genes overexpressed in both naive and experienced bees, and genes induced by caffeine, have also been identified. We have shown the usefulness of this transcriptome-based approach for gene discovery, in particular in the context of the efficacy of drug treatment, in a model organism in which routine genetic techniques cannot be applied easily.
Effects of caffeine on olfactory and visual learning in the honey bee (Apis mellifera)
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2005
DOI: 10.1016/J.PBB.2005.11.009
Abstract: Although caffeine is known to improve alertness and arousal in humans and other mammals, its impacts on specific behaviours, including complex cognitive processes, remain controversial. We reasoned that the availability of an easily manipulable, but behaviourally complex invertebrate organism with a simpler nervous system would be beneficial to this field of research. We used a popular behavioural model, the honeybee, to evaluate the effects of caffeine on (1) the development of olfactory learning and (2) the performance in complex learning paradigms, including a 'delayed-match-to-s le' task and visual associative learning. To evaluate the efficacy of caffeine treatment, a variety of doses (0.4-400 ng/1 mg of body mass) were applied topically to tethered in iduals. Behavioural testing was performed with either tethered or free-flying adult honeybees. We show that caffeine has marked cognitive effects in this species. In young honeybees, it reduces the age at which restrained in iduals are able to learn an olfactory associative task, whereas in older, free-flying bees, caffeine improves both motivation and cognitive performance in complex learning tasks. Our results suggest that the honeybee model may be useful in explaining caffeine-related behavioural changes not only in this species, but also in mammalian systems.
Effects of imidacloprid metabolites on habituation in honeybees suggest the existence of two subtypes of nicotinic receptors differentially expressed during adult development
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2003
DOI: 10.1016/S0091-3057(03)00070-4
Abstract: Habituation of the proboscis extension reflex (PER) in honeybees (Apis mellifera) is age-dependent. Very young bees ( or =8 days old). A nicotinic agonist, imidacloprid, modifies this behaviour by increasing the number of trials in < or =7-day-old bees and by decreasing it in older bees [Neurobiol. Learn. Mem. 76 (2001) 183.]. Here we tested our hypothesis that this effect is associated with a differential expression of two subtypes of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). By testing the effects of six metabolites of imidacloprid, we show that two of them, olefin and 5-hydroxy-imidacloprid, modify the number of trials needed to habituate the PER in a contrasting manner. Olefin increases the number of trials in both age groups, whereas 5-hydroxy-imidacloprid decreases the number of trials, but only in 8-day-old in iduals. We conclude that olefin and 5-hydroxy-imidacloprid are specific agonists of two subtypes of an nAChR that are differentially expressed during adult maturation of young honeybees. Olefin is the agonist of an nAChR expressed in both age groups, whereas 5-hydroxy-imidacloprid is the agonist of a late-onset nAChR that is activated in 8-day-old bees. The implications of this finding for the honeybee biology are discussed.
DNA methylation changes elicited by social stimuli in the brains of worker honey bees
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 24-11-2011
Comparing injection, feeding and topical application methods for treatment of honeybees with octopamine
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2007
DOI: 10.1016/J.JINSPHYS.2006.11.009
Abstract: Entomologists have used a range of techniques to treat insects with neuroactive compounds, but it is not always clear whether different treatment methods are equally effective in delivering a compound to a target organ. Here, we used five different techniques to treat honeybees with 3H-octopamine (3H-OA), and analysed the distribution of the 3H radiolabelled compound within different tissues and how it changed over time. All treatment methods, including injection of the median ocellus, resulted in 3H-OA detection in all parts of the honeybee. Injection through the median ocellus was the most effective method for delivering 3H-OA to the brain. Topical application of 3H-OA dissolved in dimethylformamide (dMF) to the thorax was as effective as thoracic injections of 3H-OA in delivering 3H-OA to the brain, but topical applications to the abdomen were less so. Most of the 3H-OA applied topically remained associated with the cuticle and the tissues of the body segment to which it had been applied. For all treatment methods, 3H-OA was rapidly lost from the brain and head capsule, and accumulated in the abdomen. Our findings demonstrate the value of thoracic topical treatment with compounds dissolved in dMF as an effective non-invasive method for short-term, systemic pharmacological treatments.
The essence of future smart houses: From embedding ICT to adapting to sustainability principles
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2013
Molecular cloning and expression analysis of a cDNA encoding a glutamate transporter in the honeybee brain
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.
Mutants of Pachysolen tannophilus that produce enhanced amounts of acetic acid from D-xylose and other sugars
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 1983
DOI: 10.1007/BF00189960
Nutritional Control of Reproductive Status in Honeybees via DNA Methylation
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.
Molecular cloning, by a novel approach, of a cDNA encoding a putative olfactory protein in the labial palps of the moth Cactoblastis cactorum
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-1997
DOI: 10.1016/S0378-1119(97)00448-4
Abstract: We have used the CapFinder technology, without the library construction step, to lify and clone full-length cDNAs expressed in the labial palps (CO2-sensing organs) of the moth Cactoblastis cactorum. The validity of our approach is exemplified by the sequence analysis of a 597-bp cDNA clone, designated CLP-1, that contains a 390-bp open reading frame (ORF) flanked by motifs characteristic to a full-length cDNA. The ORF in CLP-1 encodes a predicted polypeptide that is 47% identical to a novel protein, OS-D, found exclusively in the olfactory antennal segment of Drosophila melanogaster. Both CLP-1 and OS-D have primary structures that do not bear sequence similarity to any previously characterised proteins including odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) in vertebrates and pheromone-binding proteins (PBPs) in moths. Although they share features common to OBPs and PBPs, such as the presence of signal peptides and cysteine motifs, they clearly belong to a distinct class of olfactory proteins that appear to be unique to insects. The relative abundance of the CLP-1 message in the labial palps of females leads to the suggestion that this protein is involved in the CO2-sensing cascade. Our results suggest that the experimental procedure can be used as an alternative, rapid method to identify genes expressed in a particular organ, or tissue, especially in situations when the amount of available tissue is a limiting factor.
Effect of age, behaviour and social environment on honey bee brain plasticity
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-05-2009
DOI: 10.1007/S00359-009-0449-0
Abstract: We examined the effects of behaviour, age and social environment on mushroom body volume in adult bees. The mushroom bodies are regions of the central brain important for sensory integration and learning. Their volume was influenced by behaviour throughout life: always larger in forager bees than age-matched nurse bees, even in old bees up to 93 days of age as adults. Mushroom body development was influenced by the social environment in the first 8 days of adult life, with different environments having markedly different effects on mushroom body size. Compared to hive-reared bees, isolation slowed mushroom body growth, but bees reared in isolation confined with a single dead bee showed a dramatic increase in mushroom body volume comparable to that seen in active foragers. Despite their precocious mushroom body development, these bees did not show improved performance in an olfactory learning test. Since simple environmental manipulations can both accelerate and delay mushroom body growth in young bees, and since mushroom body volume is sensitive to behaviour throughout life, the honey bee has great potential as a model for exploring the interactions between environment, behaviour and brain structure.
A muscarinic cholinergic antagonist and a dopamine agonist rapidly increase ZENK mRNA expression in the form-deprived chicken retina
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2007
DOI: 10.1016/J.EXER.2007.02.019
Abstract: Increases in the expression of the immediate early gene ZENK in the retina, measured by changes in the levels of mRNA and protein immunoreactivity, are amongst the most rapid responses so far measured to conditions that decrease the rate of eye growth in chickens. Our aim was to determine whether atropine, a muscarinic cholinergic antagonist, and 2-amino-6,7-dihydroxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene hydrobromide, a dopamine agonist, which are known to block excessive eye growth, produce similar changes in ZENK expression. Form-deprivation resulted in significant down-regulation of the expression of retinal ZENK mRNA within 1 h of fitting the diffusers, whereas removal of the diffusers from the eyes of chickens that had developed form-deprivation myopia resulted in significant up-regulation of retinal ZENK expression within 1 h. When atropine (10 microL of 25 mM solution) and 2-amino-6,7-dihydroxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene hydrobromide (10 microL of a 10 mM solution) were injected intravitreally, just prior to fitting the diffusers, the down-regulation of retinal ZENK mRNA caused by form-deprivation was reversed. This resulted in levels of ZENK mRNA higher than in control or contralateral control eyes. The doses were chosen because they are known to block the excessive axial elongation induced by form-deprivation, without affecting the growth of control eyes. Neither agent had any effect on retinal ZENK expression within this time period when injected into control eyes. These results suggest that both muscarinic acetylcholine antagonists and dopamine agonists act early in the signal cascade controlling eye growth, possibly within the retina itself.
A gene homologous to that encoding UDP galactose-4-epimerase is inducible by xylose in the yeast Pachysolen tannophilus
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 1994
DOI: 10.1016/0378-1119(94)90742-0
Abstract: Using DNA sequencing, we have identified a fragment of genomic DNA from Pachysolen tannophilus that is homologous to the GAL10 gene in yeasts and galE gene in bacteria, both encoding the UDP galactose-4-epimerase (EC 5.1.3.2). This gene (designated PtGAL10) is equally efficiently inducible by D-galactose (a hexose) and D-xylose (a pentose). The encoded protein shows the highest similarity to the homologous Kluyveromyces lactis protein. This includes the N-terminal domain that is not present in homologous polypeptides from other organisms.
Octopamine modulates honey bee dance behavior
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 30-01-2007
Abstract: Honey bees communicate the location and desirability of valuable forage sites to their nestmates through an elaborate, symbolic “dance language.” The dance language is a uniquely complex communication system in invertebrates, and the neural mechanisms that generate dances are largely unknown. Here we show that treatments with controlled doses of the biogenic amine neuromodulator octopamine selectively increased the reporting of resource value in dances by forager bees. Oral and topical octopamine treatments modulated aspects of dances related to resource profitability in a dose-dependent manner. Dances for pollen and sucrose responded similarly to octopamine treatment, and these effects were eliminated by treatment with the octopamine antagonist mianserin. We propose that octopamine modulates the representation of floral rewards in dances by changing the processing of reward in the honey bee brain. Octopamine is known to modulate appetitive behavior in a range of solitary insects the role of octopamine in dance provides an ex le of how neural substrates can be adapted for new behavioral innovations in the process of social evolution.
Extensive histone post-translational modification in honey bees
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.
Electrophoretic profiles of mitochondrial plasmids in Neurospora suggest they replicate by a rolling circle mechanism
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-1992
DOI: 10.1016/S0006-291X(05)81600-6
Abstract: Migratory behaviour of mitochondrial plasmids from Neurospora crassa Mauriceville-1c and N. intermediate LaBelle has been studied by pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Electrophoretic profiles demonstrate that long, linear molecules of a heterogeneous size are the prevailing form of plasmid DNA in vivo. Circular forms represent less than 8-9% of plasmid DNA. Single stranded DNA regions are abundant and lead to electrophoretic inertia of a significant amount of plasmid DNA. These profiles indicate that both plasmids replicate by the recombination dependent rolling circle mechanism.
Fermentation of D-xylose, xylitol, and D-xylulose by yeasts.
Publisher: Canadian Science Publishing
Date: 03-1982
DOI: 10.1139/M82-054
Abstract: Fifteen yeasts which can assimilate D-xylose were examined for the ability to convert this pentose to ethanol. In six of the seven genera investigated the conversion was enhanced when air had access to the medium. Therefore, the ability to convert D-xylose to ethanol under these conditions is probably common among yeasts. Growth under the same conditions on xylitol, a putative catabolite of D-xylose, led to only traces of ethanol. The effects of growth on another putative catabolite, D-xylulose, were complex, but some of the strains which were among the better producers of ethanol from D-xylose produced less from D-xylulose.
Protein functions and biological contexts.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-2001
DOI: 10.1002/1615-9861(200102)1:2<169::AID-PROT169>3.0.CO;2-C
Transcriptome‐based insights into gene networks controlling myopia prevention
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.
The Drosophila melanogaster dodo (dod) gene, conserved in humans, is functionally interchangeable with the ESS1 cell division gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 09-01-1996
Abstract: We have sequenced the region of DNA adjacent to and including the flightless (fli) gene of Drosophila melanogaster and molecularly characterized four transcription units within it, which we have named tweety (twe), flightless (fli), dodo (dod), and penguin (pen). We have performed deletion and transgenic analysis to determine the consequences of the quadruple gene removal. Only the flightless gene is vital to the organism the simultaneous absence of the other three allows the overriding majority of in iduals to develop to adulthood and to fly normally. These gene deletion results are evaluated in the context of the redundancy and degeneracy inherent in many genetic networks. Our cDNA analyses and data-base searches reveal that the predicted dodo protein has homologs in other eukaryotes and that it is made up of two different domains. The first, designated WW, is involved in protein-protein interactions and is found in functionally erse proteins including human dystrophin. The second is involved in accelerating protein folding and unfolding and is found in Escherichia coli in a new family of peptidylprolyl cis-trans isomerases (PPIases EC 5.2.1.8). In eukaryotes, PPIases occur in the nucleus and the cytoplasm and can form stable associations with transcription factors, receptors, and kinases. Given this particular combination of domains, the dodo protein may well participate in a multisubunit complex involved in the folding and activation of signaling molecules. When we expressed the dodo gene product in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, it rescued the lethal phenotype of the ESS1 cell ision gene.
Without mechanisms, theories and models in insect epigenetics remain a black box
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.
Towards a molecular definition of worker sterility: Differential gene expression and reproductive plasticity in honey bees
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-2006
Inorganic carbon limitation and light control the expression of transcripts related to the CO2-concentrating mechanism in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. strain PCC6803
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 05-2003
DOI: 10.1104/PP.019349
Abstract: The cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. strain PCC6803 possesses three modes of inorganic carbon (Ci) uptake that are inducible under Ci stress and that dramatically enhance the efficiency of the CO2-concentrating mechanism (CCM). The effects of Ci limitation on the mRNA transcript abundance of these inducible uptake systems and on the physiological expression of the CCM were investigated in detail in this cyanobacterium. Transcript abundance was assessed with semiquantitative and real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction techniques. Cells aerated with CO2-free air for 30 min in the light, but not in the dark, depleted the total [Ci] to near zero levels. Under these conditions, the full physiological expression of the CCM was apparent within 2 h. Transcripts for the three inducible Ci uptake systems,ndhF3, sbtA, and cmpA, showed near-maximal abundance at 15 min under Ci limitation. The transcriptional regulators, cmpR andndhR, were more moderately expressed, whereas therbcLXS and ccmK-N operons andndhF4/ndhD4/chpX and ccaAgenes were insensitive to the low-Ci treatment. The combined requirement of low Ci and light for the expression of several CCM-related transcripts was examined using real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. CmpA,ndhF3, and sbtA were strongly expressed in the light, but not in the dark, under low-Ci conditions. We could find no evidence for induction of these or other CCM-related genes by a high-light treatment under high-CO2 conditions. This provided evidence that high-light stress alone could not trigger the expression of CCM-related transcripts in Synechocystissp. PCC6803. Potential signals triggering induction of the high-affinity state of the CCM are discussed.
The effects of rearing temperature on developmental stability and learning and memory in the honey bee, Apis mellifera.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 28-07-2005
DOI: 10.1007/S00359-005-0035-Z
Abstract: Honey bee workers maintain the brood nest of their colony within a narrow temperature range of 34.5+/-1.5 degrees C, implying that there are significant fitness costs if brood is reared outside the normal range. However, the effects of abnormal incubation temperatures are subtle and not well documented. Here we show that short-term learning and memory abilities of adult workers are affected by the temperature they experienced during pupal development. In contrast, long-term learning and memory is not significantly affected by rearing temperature. Furthermore, we could detect no effects of incubation temperature on fluctuating asymmetry, as a measure of developmental stability, in workers, queens or drones. We conclude that the most important consequence of abnormal rearing temperatures are subtle neural deficiencies affecting short-term memory rather than physical abnormalities.
Epigenetic code and insect behavioural plasticity
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2016
DOI: 10.1016/J.COIS.2016.03.003
Abstract: Although the nature of the genetic control of adaptive behaviours in insects is a major unresolved problem it is now understood that epigenetic mechanisms, bound by genetic constraints, are prime drivers of brain plasticity arising from both developmental and experience-dependent events. With the recent advancements in methylomics and emerging analyses of histones and non-protein-coding RNAs, insect epigenetics is well positioned to ask more direct questions and importantly, address them experimentally. To achieve rapid progress, insect epigenetics needs to focus on mechanistic explanations of epigenomic dynamics and move beyond low-depth genome-wide analyses to cell-type specific epigenomics. One topic of a high priority is the impact of sequence variants on generating differential methylation patterns and their contribution to behavioural plasticity.
Molecular profiling of behavioural development: differential expression of mRNAs for inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate 3-kinase isoforms in naive and experienced honeybees (Apis mellifera)
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.
Effect of juvenile hormone on short-term olfactory memory in young honeybees (Apis mellifera)
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2001
Large-scale whole-genome sequencing of migratory Bogong moths Agrotis infusa reveals genetic variants associated with migratory direction in a panmictic population
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 29-05-2022
DOI: 10.1101/2022.05.27.493801
Abstract: One of the most interesting macroscopic phenomena in the animal world is seasonal migration. A central goal of research into animal migration is to better understand the mechanisms that evolved to solve the complex challenges which a migratory life history presents. Each year, and with a high degree of species-level site fidelity, the Australian Bogong moth makes a return migration of up to and over 1000 km between widely distributed breeding grounds and a specific set of aestivation sites in the Australian Alps. It does this without any opportunity to learn the migratory route or the location of the aestivation sites from either older generations or repeated migrations, meaning that the information required by the moth to navigate during its migration must be inherited. The migratory direction, and therefore the inherited navigational information in Bogong moths, varies with breeding site, providing us with an opportunity to search for the source of that heritability by comparing the genomes of moths collected from different breeding areas. We successfully sequenced whole nuclear genomes of 77 Bogong moths collected from across their breeding grounds and summer range, and found that the Bogong moth population contains a large amount of (mostly rare) variation. We found no evidence of population structure, indicating that Bogong moths are panmictic. A genome-wide scan for signals of selection indicate that the Bogong population has recently recovered from a past bottleneck, however genomic regions which have likely undergone balancing selection were also detected. Despite panmixia, four genetic variants in breeding-ground-caught Bogong moths were found to be significantly associated with geographic location, and therefore migratory direction, indicating promising future avenues of research into the molecular basis of long-distance navigation.
Characterization of a Dopamine Transporter and Its Splice Variant Reveals Novel Features of Dopaminergic Regulation in the Honey Bee
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 11-2019
Apis mellifera ultraspiracle: cDNA sequence and rapid up-regulation by juvenile hormone
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-2004
A possible role of DNA methylation in functional divergence of a fast evolving duplicate gene encoding odorant binding protein 11 in the honeybee
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.
Cocaine Directly Impairs Memory Extinction and Alters Brain DNA Methylation Dynamics in Honey Bees
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 13-02-2018
Contrasting effects of histone deacetylase inhibitors on reward and aversive olfactory memories in the honey bee
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 10-06-2014
Detecting rare asymmetrically methylated cytosines and decoding methylation patterns in the honeybee genome.
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 09-2017
DOI: 10.1098/RSOS.170248
Abstract: Context-dependent gene expression in eukaryotes is controlled by several mechanisms including cytosine methylation that primarily occurs in the CG dinucleotides (CpGs). However, less frequent non-CpG asymmetric methylation has been found in various cell types, such as mammalian neurons, and recent results suggest that these sites can repress transcription independently of CpG contexts. In addition, an emerging view is that CpG hemimethylation may arise not only from deregulation of cellular processes but also be a standard feature of the methylome. Here, we have applied a novel approach to examine whether asymmetric CpG methylation is present in a sparsely methylated genome of the honeybee, a social insect with a high level of epigenetically driven phenotypic plasticity. By combining strand-specific ultra-deep licon sequencing of illustrator genes with whole-genome methylomics and bioinformatics, we show that rare asymmetrically methylated CpGs can be unambiguously detected in the honeybee genome. Additionally, we confirm differential methylation between two phenotypically and reproductively distinct castes, queens and workers, and offer new insight into the heterogeneity of brain methylation patterns. In particular, we challenge the assumption that symmetrical methylation levels reflect symmetry in the underlying methylation patterns and conclude that hemimethylation may occur more frequently than indicated by methylation levels. Finally, we question the validity of a prior study in which most of cytosine methylation in this species was reported to be asymmetric.
Molecules to behaviour in the honeybee - The emergence of comparative neurogenomics
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2000
Effects of cocaine on honey bee dance behaviour
Publisher: The Company of Biologists
Date: 15-01-2009
DOI: 10.1242/JEB.025361
Abstract: The role of cocaine as an addictive drug of abuse in human society is hard to reconcile with its ecological role as a natural insecticide and plant-protective compound, preventing herbivory of coca plants(Erythroxylum spp.). This paradox is often explained by proposing a fundamental difference in mammalian and invertebrate responses to cocaine, but here we show effects of cocaine on honey bees (Apis mellifera L.)that parallel human responses. Forager honey bees perform symbolic dances to advertise the location and value of floral resources to their nest mates. Treatment with a low dose of cocaine increased the likelihood and rate of bees dancing after foraging but did not otherwise increase locomotor activity. This is consistent with cocaine causing forager bees to overestimate the value of the floral resources they collected. Further, cessation of chronic cocaine treatment caused a withdrawal-like response. These similarities likely occur because in both insects and mammals the biogenic amine neuromodulator systems disrupted by cocaine perform similar roles as modulators of reward and motor systems. Given these analogous responses to cocaine in insects and mammals, we propose an alternative solution to the paradox of cocaine reinforcement. Ecologically, cocaine is an effective plant defence compound viadisruption of herbivore motor control but, because the neurochemical systems targeted by cocaine also modulate reward processing, the reinforcing properties of cocaine occur as a `side effect'.
The dodo gene family encodes a novel protein involved in signal transduction and protein folding
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-1997
DOI: 10.1016/S0378-1119(97)00522-2
Abstract: Recent studies in yeast, Drosophila and humans have revealed the existence of a highly conserved gene encoding a novel protein, Dodo, comprised of four modules: a WW domain, involved in protein-protein interactions, a peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase (PPIase) domain belonging to a recently described third family of PPIases involved in protein folding and unfolding, a nuclear localization motif and finally, a long, surface-exposed alpha-helix that is likely to be involved in binding to a cell cycle serine/threonine kinase. The genetic, molecular, biochemical and structural data are reviewed in the context of the potential biological properties of this new protein family.
Electrophoretic analysis of the nuclear and organellar genomes in the ultra-small alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-1993
DOI: 10.1007/BF00351721
Abstract: The objective of this study was to assess parents' firearm storage behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic and characterize reasons why some parents made their firearms more accessible during this time. In June-July 2020, the study team conducted the FACTS National Survey-a cross-sectional, web-based, survey of 2,924 parents and their teens (ages14-18) regarding firearm-related practices. We weighted descriptive analyses to be nationally representative of parents of teens in the United States. We utilized qualitative thematic analysis to identify parents' reasons for making firearms more accessible. Five percent of firearm-owning parents of teens reported making their firearms more accessible during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Reasons why parents increased the ease of firearm access included: (1) Increased civil unrest and riots (2) Threat of home invasion and/or crime victimization (3) Fear of panic and the unknown and (4) Easier access and greater protection, threat unspecified. Some parents-largely motivated by fear-chose to store firearms in a more accessible manner during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to protect their family against possible external threats. Understanding the fear that motivates parents' decisions regarding storage practices might aid interventions focused on harm reduction and safer storage.
Arginine kinase is highly expressed in the compound eye of the honey-bee, Apis mellifera
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.
Novel cuticular proteins revealed by the honey bee genome
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.
Genome-wide analysis of genes related to ovary activation in worker honey bees
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.
Subcellular mislocation of cysteine synthase in a cysteine auxotroph ofAspergillus nidulans
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 15-10-1975
Effects of carbon dioxide narcosis on ovary activation and gene expression in worker honeybees, Apis mellifera.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 2005
DOI: 10.1093/JIS/5.1.36
Abstract: In an effort to uncover genes associated with ovary activation in honey bee workers, the extent to which eight candidate genes co-varied in their expression with experimentally-induced changes in worker reproductive state was examined. Groups of caged, queenless workers narcotized with CO(2) on consecutive days early in adult life showed a significantly lower level of ovary activation than did groups of untreated workers. This same experimental treatment, by contrast, is known to accelerate ovary activation and induce egg laying in virgin honey bee queens--an observation that suggests that CO(2) narcosis has contrasting effects in queen versus worker ovary activation. Experimentally-induced changes to worker reproductive state were associated with changes in gene expression. Vitellogenin, an egg yolk precursor, and transferrin, an iron transporter, were two transcripts found to be significantly down-regulated as a function of the ovary-inhibiting treatment. CO(2) narcosis did not effect the expression of six other genes selected as putative markers for processes that may underlie ovary activation. The show that the expression of vitellogenin and transferrin is correlated with ovary activation in workers, and may therefore be part of the gene network involved in the regulatory control of functional sterility in honeybees.
Distribution of mitochondrial intron sequences among 21 yeast species
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 02-1991
DOI: 10.1007/BF00326288
A petite positive strain of Kluyveromyces lactis has a 300 kb deletion in the rDNA cluster
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-1989
DOI: 10.1007/BF00340722
Effects of NMDA receptor antagonists on olfactory learning and memory in the honeybee (Apis mellifera)
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2004
DOI: 10.1016/J.PBB.2003.09.023
Abstract: In contrast to vertebrates the involvement of glutamate and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in brain functions in insects is both poorly understood and somewhat controversial. Here, we have examined the behavioural effects of two noncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonists, memantine (low affinity) and MK-801 (high affinity), on learning and memory in honeybees (Apis mellifera) using the olfactory conditioning of the proboscis extension reflex (PER). We induced memory deficit by injecting harnessed in iduals with a glutamate transporter inhibitor, L-trans-2,4-PDC (L-trans-2,4-pyrrolidine dicarboxylate), that impairs long-term (24 h), but not short-term (1 h), memory in honeybees. We show that L-trans-2,4-PDC-induced amnesia is 'rescued' by memantine injected either before training, or before testing, suggesting that memantine restores memory recall rather than memory formation or storage. When injected alone memantine has a mild facilitating effect on memory. The effects of MK-801 are similar to those of L-trans-2,4-PDC. Both pretraining and pretesting injections lead to an impairment of long-term (24 h) memory, but have no effect on short-term (1 h) memory of an olfactory task. The implications of our results for memory processes in the honeybee are discussed.
Function and evolution of a gene family encoding odorant binding-like proteins in a social insect, the honey bee (Apis mellifera)
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 25-10-2006
DOI: 10.1101/GR.5075706
Abstract: The remarkable olfactory power of insect species is thought to be generated by a combinatorial action of two large protein families, G protein-coupled olfactory receptors (ORs) and odorant binding proteins (OBPs). In olfactory sensilla, OBPs deliver hydrophobic airborne molecules to ORs, but their expression in nonolfactory tissues suggests that they also may function as general carriers in other developmental and physiological processes. Here we used bioinformatic and experimental approaches to characterize the OBP-like gene family in a highly social insect, the Western honey bee. Comparison with other insects shows that the honey bee has the smallest set of these genes, consisting of only 21 OBPs. This number stands in stark contrast to the more than 70 OBPs in Anopheles gambiae and 51 in Drosophila melanogaster . In the honey bee as in the two dipterans, these genes are organized in clusters. We show that the evolution of their structure involved frequent intron losses. We describe a monophyletic subfamily of OBPs where the ersification of some amino acids appears to have been accelerated by positive selection. Expression profiling under a wide range of conditions shows that in the honey bee only nine OBPs are antenna-specific. The remaining genes are expressed either ubiquitously or are tightly regulated in specialized tissues or during development. These findings support the view that OBPs are not restricted to olfaction and are likely to be involved in broader physiological functions.
Carbohydrate metabolism genes and pathways in insects: insights from the honey bee genome
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-2006
Microarray reality checks in the context of a complex disease
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 30-04-2004
DOI: 10.1038/NBT965
Ethanol production from d-galactose and glycerol by Pachysolen tannophilus
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-1982
Insects as innovative models for functional studies of DNA methylation
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2011
DOI: 10.1016/J.TIG.2011.01.003
Abstract: The emerging field of epigenomics has the potential to bridge the gap between static genomic sequences and complex phenotypes that arise from multigenic, nonlinear and often context-dependent interactions. However, this goal can only be achieved if easily manageable experimental systems are available in which changes in epigenomic settings can be evaluated in the context of the phenotype under investigation. Recent progress in the characterization of insect DNA methylation patterns enables evaluation of the extent to which epigenetic mechanisms contribute to complex phenotypes in easily accessible organisms whose relatively small genomes are not only sparingly methylated, but the methylated sites are also found almost exclusively in gene bodies. The implementation of insect models in the study of DNA methylation will accelerate progress in understanding the functional significance of this important epigenetic mechanism in controlling gene splicing, in environmentally driven reprogramming of gene expression and in adult brain plasticity.
Deus ex genomix
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-2000
DOI: 10.1038/74786
Another stage of development: Biological degeneracy and the study of bodily ageing
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2017
DOI: 10.1016/J.MAD.2016.12.007
Abstract: Ageing is a poorly understood process of human development mired by a scientific approach that struggles to piece together distributed variable factors involved in ongoing transformations of living systems. Reconfiguring existing research paradigms, we review the concept of 'degeneracy', which has ergent popular and technical definitions. The technical meaning of degeneracy refers to the structural ersity underlying functional plasticity. Degeneracy is a distributed system property that can be observed within in idual brains or across different brains. For ex le, dementias with similar behavioural anomalies can result from a erse range of cellular "faults", which is an ex le of degeneracy because the symptoms are similar in spite of different underlying mechanisms. Degeneracy is a valuable epistemological tool that can transformatively enhance scientific models of bodily ageing. We propose that movement science is one of the first areas that can productively integrate degeneracy into models of bodily ageing. We also propose model organisms such as eusocial honey bees in which degeneracy can be studied at the molecular and cellular level. Developing a vocabulary for thinking about how distributed variable factors are interlinked is important if we are to understand bodily ageing not as a single entity, but as the heterogeneous construction of changing biological, social, and environmental processes.
Screening for Differential Gene Expression during the Development of Form-Deprivation Myopia in the Chicken
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.
RNAi-induced phenotypes suggest a novel role for a chemosensory protein CSP5 in the development of embryonic integument in the honeybee (Apis mellifera)
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 10-01-2007
DOI: 10.1007/S00427-006-0127-Y
Abstract: Small chemosensory proteins (CSPs) belong to a conserved, but poorly understood, protein family found in insects and other arthropods. They exhibit both broad and restricted expression patterns during development. In this paper, we used a combination of genome annotation, transcriptional profiling and RNA interference to unravel the functional significance of a honeybee gene (csp5) belonging to the CSP family. We show that csp5 expression resembles the maternal-zygotic pattern that is characterized by the initiation of transcription in the ovary and the replacement of maternal mRNA with embryonic mRNA. Blocking the embryonic expression of csp5 with double-stranded RNA causes abnormalities in all body parts where csp5 is highly expressed. The treated embryos show a "diffuse", often grotesque morphology, and the head skeleton appears to be severely affected. They are 'unable-to-hatch' and cannot progress to the larval stages. Our findings reveal a novel, essential role for this gene family and suggest that csp5 (unable-to-hatch) is an ectodermal gene involved in embryonic integument formation. Our study confirms the utility of an RNAi approach to functional characterization of novel developmental genes uncovered by the honeybee genome project and provides a starting point for further studies on embryonic integument formation in this insect.
Developmental and loco-like effects of a swainsonine-induced inhibition ofα-mannosidase in the honey bee,Apis mellifera
Publisher: PeerJ
Date: 16-03-2017
DOI: 10.7717/PEERJ.3109
Abstract: Deficiencies in lysosomal a-mannosidase (LAM) activity in animals, caused either by mutations or by consuming toxic alkaloids, lead to severe phenotypic and behavioural consequences. Yet, epialleles adversely affecting LAM expression exist in the honey bee population suggesting that they might be beneficial in certain contexts and cannot be eliminated by natural selection. We have used a combination of enzymology, molecular biology and metabolomics to characterise the catalytic properties of honey bee LAM (AmLAM) and then used an indolizidine alkaloid swainsonine to inhibit its activity in vitro and in vivo . We show that AmLAM is inhibited in vitro by swainsonine albeit at slightly higher concentrations than in other animals. Dietary exposure of growing larvae to swainsonine leads to pronounced metabolic changes affecting not only saccharides, but also amino acids, polyols and polyamines. Interestingly, the abundance of two fatty acids implicated in epigenetic regulation is significantly reduced in treated in iduals. Additionally, swainsonie causes loco-like symptoms, increased mortality and a subtle decrease in the rate of larval growth resulting in a subsequent developmental delay in pupal metamorphosis. We consider our findings in the context of cellular LAM function, larval development, environmental toxicity and colony-level impacts. The observed developmental heterochrony in swainsonine-treated larvae with lower LAM activity offer a plausible explanation for the existence of epialleles with impaired LAM expression. In iduals carrying such epialleles provide an additional level of epigenetic ersity that could be beneficial for the functioning of a colony whereby more flexibility in timing of adult emergence might be useful for task allocation.
Analysis of Drosophila yellow-B cDNA Reveals a New Family of Proteins Related to the Royal Jelly Proteins in the Honeybee and to an Orphan Protein in an Unusual Bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2000
Clinical Epigenetics on the Baltic Coast
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 20-07-2022
DOI: 10.3390/EPIGENOMES6030019
Abstract: This report summarizes the proceedings of the inaugural Clinical Epigenetics Conference that was held in Szczecin, Poland, from 8 June 2022. With focus on epigenetic diseases whose causes, progression, and prognosis are associated with aberrant epigenomic alterations, the meeting was a timely forum to discuss recent progress in this rapidly evolving field and consider avenues for converting experimental data into clinical reality that would be beneficial for patients. The wealth of the presented data was an impressive showcase of the enormous challenges faced by researchers in their quest for understanding the benefits and limitations of the available information in the medical context. A shared view among the participants was that merging the current state of knowledge with clinical applications will be promptly achieved.
Evolution of the Yellow/Major Royal Jelly Protein family and the emergence of social behavior in honey bees
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.
Sequence of the gene for the cytoplasmic ribosomal RNA small subunit from Kluyveromyces lactis
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 1990
An essential cell division gene of Drosophila, absent from Saccharomyces, encodes an unusual protein with tubulin-like and myosin-like peptide motifs
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 13-05-1997
Abstract: Null mutations at the misato locus of Drosophila melanogaster are associated with irregular chromosomal segregation at cell ision. The consequences for morphogenesis are that mutant larvae are almost devoid of imaginal disk tissue, have a reduction in brain size, and die before the late third-instar larval stage. To analyze these findings, we isolated cDNAs in and around the misato locus, mapped the breakpoints of chromosomal deficiencies, determined which transcript corresponded to the misato gene, rescued the cell ision defects in transgenic organisms, and sequenced the genomic DNA. Database searches revealed that misato codes for a novel protein, the N-terminal half of which contains a mixture of peptide motifs found in α-, β-, and γ-tubulins, as well as a motif related to part of the myosin heavy chain proteins. The sequence characteristics of misato indicate either that it arose from an ancestral tubulin-like gene, different parts of which underwent convergent evolution to resemble motifs in the conventional tubulins, or that it arose by the capture of motifs from different tubulin genes. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome lacks a true homolog of the misato gene, and this finding highlights the emerging problem of assigning functional attributes to orphan genes that occur only in some evolutionary lineages.
Molecular determinants of caste differentiation in the highly eusocial honeybee Apis mellifera
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.
The social honey bee in biomedical research: realities and expectations
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2014
Age‐dependent transcriptional and epigenomic responses to light exposure in the honey bee brain
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 13-06-2016
The Honey Bee Epigenomes: Differential Methylation of Brain DNA in Queens and Workers
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 02-11-2010
Brain plasticity, memory and neurological disorders: An epigenetic perspective
Publisher: Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Date: 06-10-2010
Differentially methylated obligatory epialleles modulate context-dependentLAMgene expression in the honeybeeApis mellifera
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 27-10-2015
A Col E1 hybrid plasmid containing Escherichia coli genes complementing d-xylose negative mutants of Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium.
Publisher: Canadian Science Publishing
Date: 02-1982
DOI: 10.1139/O82-020
Abstract: The Clarke and Carbon bank of Col E1 – Escherichia coli DNA hybrid plasmids was screened for complementation of D-xylose negative mutants of E. coli. Of several obtained, the smallest, pRM10, was chosen for detailed study. Its size was 16 kilobases (kb) and that of the insert was 9.7 kb. By transformation or F′-mediated conjugation this plasmid complemented mutants of E. coli defective in either D-xylose isomerase or D-xylulose kinase activity, or both. The activity of D-xylulose kinase in E. coli transformants which bear an intact chromosomal gene for this enzyme was greater man mat for the host, due to a gene dosage effect. The plasmid also complemented D-xylose negative mutants of Salmonella typhimurium by F′-mediated conjugation between E. coli and S. typhimurium. Salmonella typhimurium mutants complemented were those for D-xylose isomerase and for D-xylulose kinase in addition to pleiotropic D-xylose mutants which were defective in a regulatory gene of the D-xylose operon. In addition, the plasmid complemented the glyS mutation in E. coli and S. typhimurium. The glyS mutant of E. coli was temperature sensitive, indicating that the plasmid carried the structural gene for glycine synthetase. The glyS mutation in E. coli maps at 79 min, as do the xyl genes. The behaviour of the plasmid is consistent with the existence of a D-xylose operon in E. coli. The data also suggest that the plasmid carries three of the genes of this operon, specifically those for D-xylose isomerase, D-xylulose kinase, and a regulatory gene.
The in vivo effects of ethidium bromide on mitochondrial and ribosomal DNA in Candida parapsilosis.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-1994
Abstract: The ability of Candida parapsilosis to grow in the presence of high levels of ethidium bromide (EB) has been explored to study the effects of this intercalating dye on DNA in vivo. By employing confocal microscopy we have determined that EB penetrates the cellular membranes and binds rapidly to the nucleolus, whereas mitochondrial DNA becomes stained after a longer exposure to this dye. No detectable staining of the nucleus has been detected under these conditions. Electrophoretic studies of both undigested and restricted DNAs confirm that the nuclear DNA is unaffected by high levels of EB, with the exception of the rDNA-bearing chromosome that undergoes significant structural alterations in the presence of EB. Moreover, the hybridization signal with the rDNA probe is proportionally reduced in s les obtained from cultures grown in the presence of EB, suggesting that the average copy number of rRNA genes in these cultures may be affected. In striking contrast to other fungal species, the linear organelle genome in C. parapsilosis retains its structural and functional integrity in the presence of high concentrations of EB.
Genome Alert!
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 2006
Pharmacological interference with glutamate re-uptake impairs long-term memory in the honeybee, Apis mellifera
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.
Standard methods for molecular research inApis mellifera
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 2013
Epigenomic communication systems in humans and honey bees: From molecules to behavior
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2011
DOI: 10.1016/J.YHBEH.2010.05.016
Abstract: A 2010 Nature editorial entitled "Time for the Epigenome" trumpets the appearance of the International Human Epigenome Consortium and likens it to Biology's equivalent of the Large Hadron Collider. It strongly endorses the viewpoint that selective modifications of "marks" on DNA and histones constitute the crucial codes of life, a proposition which is hotly contested (Ptashne et al., in 2010). This proposition reflects the current mindset that DNA and histone modifications are the prime movers in gene regulation during evolution. This claim is perplexing, since the well characterized organisms, Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans, lack methylated DNA "marks" and the DNA methytransferase enzymology. Despite their complete absence, D. melanogaster nevertheless has extensive gene regulatory networks which drive sophisticated development, gastrulation, migration of germ cells and yield a nervous system with significant neural attributes. In stark contrast, the honey bee Apis mellifera deploys its human-type DNA methyltransferase enzymology to "mark" its DNA and it too has sophisticated development. What roles therefore is DNA methylation playing in different animals? The honey bee brings a fresh perspective to this question. Its combinatorial chemistry of pheromones, tergal and cuticular exudates provide an exquisite communication system between thousands of in iduals. The development of queen and worker is strictly controlled by differential feeding of royal jelly and their adult behaviors are accompanied by epigenomic changes. Their interfaces with different "environments" are extensive, allowing an evaluation of the roles of epigenomes in behavior in a natural environment, in the space of a few weeks, and at requisite levels of experimental rigor.
Rolling circle replication of DNA in yeast mitochondria.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-1991
DOI: 10.1002/J.1460-2075.1991.TB04962.X
Abstract: The conformation of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from yeasts has been examined by pulsed field gel electrophoresis and electron microscopy. The majority of mtDNA from Candida (Torulopsis) glabrata (mtDNA unit size, 19 kb) exists as linear molecules ranging in size from 50 to 150 kb or 2-7 genome units. A small proportion of mtDNA is present as supercoiled or relaxed circular molecules. Additional components, detected by electron microscopy, are circular molecules with either single- or double-stranded tails (lariats). The presence of lariats, together with the observation that the majority of mtDNA is linear and 2-7 genome units in length, suggests that replication occurs by a rolling circle mechanism. Replication of mtDNA in other yeasts is thought to occur by the same mechanism. For Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the majority of mtDNA is linear and of heterogeneous length. Furthermore, linear DNA is the chief component of a plasmid, pMK2, when it is located in the mitochondrion of baker's yeast, although only circular DNA is detected when this plasmid occurs in the nucleus. The implications of long linear mtDNA for hypotheses concerning the ploidy paradox and the mechanism of the petite mutation are discussed.
Involvement of DNA methylation in memory processing in the honey bee
Publisher: Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Date: 23-08-2010
Functional CpG Methylation System in a Social Insect
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 27-10-2006
Abstract: DNA methylation systems are well characterized in vertebrates, but methylation in Drosophila melanogaster and other invertebrates remains controversial. Using the recently sequenced honey bee genome, we present a bioinformatic, molecular, and biochemical characterization of a functional DNA methylation system in an insect. We report on catalytically active orthologs of the vertebrate DNA methyltransferases Dnmt1 and Dnmt3a and b, two isoforms that contain a methyl-DNA binding domain, genomic 5-methyl-deoxycytosine, and CpG-methylated genes. The honey bee provides an opportunity to study the roles of methylation in social contexts.
Yeasts have a four-fold variation in ribosomal DNA copy number
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 1993
Abstract: By employing pulsed-field gel electrophoresis we have determined the size of the rDNA cluster in wild-type yeast strains representing genera of Candida, Kluyveromyces, Pachysolen, Schizosaccharomyces and Torulaspora. Although the genome size of the examined species is similar (12.3-13.9 Mb), at least a four-fold variation has been observed between the lowest amount of rDNA repeats in P. tannophilus (28) and the highest in C. glabrata and S. poombe (> 115). In two species the rDNA cluster is represented by two loci, residing either in one (S. pombe) or two chromosomes (C. glabrata).
MicroRNAs in Honey Bee Caste Determination
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 07-01-2016
DOI: 10.1038/SREP18794
Abstract: The cellular mechanisms employed by some organisms to produce contrasting morphological and reproductive phenotypes from the same genome remains one of the key unresolved issues in biology. Honeybees ( Apis mellifera ) use differential feeding and a haplodiploid sex determination system to generate three distinct organismal outcomes from the same genome. Here we investigate the honeybee female and male caste-specific microRNA and transcriptomic molecular signatures during a critical time of larval development. Both previously undetected and novel miRNAs have been discovered, expanding the inventory of these genomic regulators in invertebrates. We show significant differences in the microRNA and transcriptional profiles of diploid females relative to haploid drone males as well as between reproductively distinct females (queens and workers). Queens and drones show gene enrichment in physio-metabolic pathways, whereas workers show enrichment in processes associated with neuronal development, cell signalling and caste biased structural differences. Interestingly, predicted miRNA targets are primarily associated with non-physio-metabolic genes, especially neuronal targets, suggesting a mechanistic disjunction from DNA methylation that regulates physio-metabolic processes. Accordingly, miRNA targets are under-represented in methylated genes. Our data show how a common set of genetic elements are differentially harnessed by an organism, which may provide the remarkable level of developmental flexibility required.
DNA methylation dynamics, metabolic fluxes, gene splicing, and alternative phenotypes in honey bees
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 .
EGFR gene methylation is not involved in Royalactin controlled phenotypic polymorphism in honey bees
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.
Chemosensory proteins in the honey bee: Insights from the annotated genome, comparative analyses and expressional profiling
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2007
DOI: 10.1016/J.IBMB.2006.09.009
Abstract: Small chemosensory proteins (CSPs) belong to a conserved, but poorly understood protein family that has been implicated in transporting chemical stimuli within insect sensilla. However, their expression patterns suggest that these molecules are also critical for other functions including early development. Here we used both bioinformatics and experimental approaches to characterize the CSP gene family in a social insect, the Western honey bee Apis mellifera, and then compared its members to CSPs in other arthropods. The number of CSPs in the honey bee genome (six) is similar to that found in the sequenced dipteran species (four-seven), but is much lower than the number of CSPs in the moth or in the beetle (around 20 each). These differences seem to be the result of lineage specific expansions. Our analysis of CSPs in a number of arthropods reveals a conserved gene family found in both Mandibulates and Chelicerates. Expressional profiling in erse tissues and throughout development reveals broader than expected patterns of expression with none of the CSPs restricted to the antennae and one found only in the queen ovaries and in embryos. We conclude that CSPs are multifunctional context-dependent proteins involved in erse cellular processes ranging from embryonic development to chemosensory signal transduction. Some CSPs may function in cuticle synthesis, consistent with their evolutionary origins in the arthropods.
Conversion of D-xylose into ethanol by the yeast Pachysolen tannophilus
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 02-1981
DOI: 10.1007/BF00145116
Isolation of mitochondrial DNA using pulsed field gel electrophoresis
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 1989
Novel structure in the nuclei of honey bee brain neurons revealed by immunostaining
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 25-03-2021
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-021-86078-5
Abstract: In the course of a screen designed to produce antibodies (ABs) with affinity to proteins in the honey bee brain we found an interesting AB that detects a highly specific epitope predominantly in the nuclei of Kenyon cells (KCs). The observed staining pattern is unique, and its unfamiliarity indicates a novel previously unseen nuclear structure that does not colocalize with the cytoskeletal protein f-actin. A single rod-like assembly, 3.7–4.1 µm long, is present in each nucleus of KCs in adult brains of worker bees and drones with the strongest immuno-labelling found in foraging bees. In brains of young queens, the labelling is more sporadic, and the rod-like structure appears to be shorter (~ 2.1 µm). No immunostaining is detectable in worker larvae. In pupal stage 5 during a peak of brain development only some occasional staining was identified. Although the cellular function of this unexpected structure has not been determined, the unusual distinctiveness of the revealed pattern suggests an unknown and potentially important protein assembly. One possibility is that this nuclear assembly is part of the KCs plasticity underlying the brain maturation in adult honey bees. Because no labelling with this AB is detectable in brains of the fly Drosophila melanogaster and the ant C onotus floridanus , we tentatively named this antibody AmBNSab ( Apis mellifera Brain Neurons Specific antibody). Here we report our results to make them accessible to a broader community and invite further research to unravel the biological role of this curious nuclear structure in the honey bee central brain.
Microarray and Real-Time PCR Analyses of Gene Expression in the Honeybee Brain Following Caffeine Treatment
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 2005
DOI: 10.1385/JMN:27:3:269
Contrasting Sex-and Caste-Dependent piRNA Profiles in the Transposon Depleted Haplodiploid Honeybee Apis mellifera
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 05-2017
DOI: 10.1093/GBE/EVX087
Pinning Down Cell Division?
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 27-02-1998
DOI: 10.1126/SCIENCE.279.5355.1283G
Abstract: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused over 600,000,000 infections globally thus far. Up to 30% of in iduals with mild to severe disease develop long COVID, exhibiting erse neurologic symptoms including dementias. However, there is a paucity of knowledge of molecular brain markers and whether these can precipitate the onset of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Herein, we report the brain gene expression profiles of severe COVID-19 patients showing increased expression of innate immune response genes and genes implicated in AD pathogenesis. The use of a mouse-adapted strain of SARS-CoV-2 (MA10) in an aged mouse model shows evidence of viral neurotropism, prolonged viral infection, increased expression of tau aggregator FKBP51, interferon-inducible gene
Sustainable energy performances of green buildings: A review of current theories, implementations and challenges
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2013
The requirement of oxygen for incorporation of carbon from d-xylose and d-glucose by Pachysolen tannophilus
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 1984
DOI: 10.1016/0003-9861(84)90041-9
Abstract: Oxygen was required for growth of Pachysolen tannophilus on D-xylose, as well as on D-glucose. The reason was not identical to that of other yeasts whose anaerobic growth is stimulated by supplementation of the medium with lipids or organic hydrogen acceptors, as such supplements were ineffective with P. tannophilus. The requirement of oxygen was found to be due to its involvement in the incorporation of carbon from D-xylose, and to a large extent D-glucose as well, into trichloracetic acid-insoluble material. The role it played was associated with the channeling of catabolic intermediates into biosynthetic routes, since ethanol was formed anaerobically, but aeration was required for induction of several enzymes associated with the catabolism of D-xylose. The requirement suggested that normally functioning mitochondria were necessary for incorporation and growth, but not ethanol formation. This view was supported by the inability to obtain stable petite mutants, and by the effects of inhibitors of mitochondrial function, which caused effects on incorporation and growth under aerobic conditions similar to those of anaerobiosis.
Phenotypically distinct female castes in honey bees are defined by alternative chromatin states during larval development
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 22-08-2018
Abstract: The capacity of the honey bee to produce three phenotypically distinct organisms (two female castes queens and sterile workers, and haploid male drones) from one genotype represents one of the most remarkable ex les of developmental plasticity in any phylum. The queen–worker morphological and reproductive ide is environmentally controlled during post-embryonic development by differential feeding. Previous studies implicated metabolic flux acting via epigenetic regulation, in particular DNA methylation and microRNAs, in establishing distinct patterns of gene expression underlying caste-specific developmental trajectories. We produce the first genome-wide maps of chromatin structure in the honey bee at a key larval stage in which developmental canalization into queen or worker is virtually irreversible. We find extensive genome-wide differences in H3K4me3, H3K27ac, and H3K36me3, many of which correlate with caste-specific transcription. Furthermore, we identify H3K27ac as a key chromatin modification, with caste-specific regions of intronic H3K27ac directing the worker caste. These regions may harbor the first ex les of caste-specific enhancer elements in the honey bee. Our results demonstrate a key role for chromatin modifications in the establishment and maintenance of caste-specific transcriptional programs in the honey bee. We show that at 96 h of larval growth, the queen-specific chromatin pattern is already established, whereas the worker determination is not, thus providing experimental support for the perceived timing of this critical point in developmental heterochrony in two types of honey bee females. In a broader context, our study provides novel data on environmentally regulated organismal plasticity and the molecular foundation of the evolutionary origins of eusociality.
Insights into DNA hydroxymethylation in the honeybee from in-depth analyses of TET dioxygenase
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.
Characterization of a metabotropic glutamate receptor in the honeybee (Apis mellifera): implications for memory formation
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.
Epigenetic regulation of the honey bee transcriptome: unravelling the nature of methylated genes
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.
Enhanced rate of ethanol production from D-xylose using recycled or immobilized cells of Pachysolen tannophilus
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-1981
DOI: 10.1007/BF01134100
Cloning and sequencing of the ornithine carbamoyltransferase gene from Pachysolen tannophilus.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-1990
Abstract: A fragment of DNA from a yeast Pachysolen tannophilus, bearing the ornithine carbamoyltransferase gene (OCTase, EC 2.1.3.3) has been cloned from a genomic library by functional complementation of the Escherichia coli OCT-negative mutant. The gene was located within the cloned segment of DNA and its coding sequence identified by DNA sequencing. This has indicated that P. tannophilus OCT gene encodes a 347 amino acid polypeptide, which shows 60% identity to the homologous Saccharomyces cerevisiae protein. The amino acid composition of its N-terminus indicates that this protein is translocated across the mitochondrial membrane. The gene can be expressed in E. coli as well as in S. cerevisiae. Comparison with other OCTases confirms a high degree of conservation among these proteins.
Sweetness and light: illuminating the honey bee genome
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-2006
Yeasts that ferment D-cellobiose as well as D-xylose
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 02-1981
DOI: 10.1007/BF01091349
Exploring DNA Methylation Diversity in the Honey Bee Brain by Ultra-Deep Amplicon Sequencing.
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.
Contrasting Effects of Imidacloprid on Habituation in 7- and 8-Day-Old Honeybees (Apis mellifera)
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2001
In vivo conformation of mitochondrial DNA in fungi and zoosporic moulds
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 10-1992
DOI: 10.1007/BF00317933
Eph receptor and ephrin signaling in developing and adult brain of the honeybee (Apis mellifera)
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 2007
DOI: 10.1002/DNEU.20341
Data transferability from model organisms to human beings: Insights from the functional genomics of the flightless region of Drosophila
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 31-03-1998
Abstract: At what biological levels are data from single-celled organisms akin to a Rosetta stone for multicellular ones? To examine this question, we characterized a saturation-mutagenized 67-kb region of the Drosophila genome by gene deletions, transgenic rescues, phenotypic dissections, genomic and cDNA sequencing, bio-informatic analysis, reverse transcription–PCR studies, and evolutionary comparisons. Data analysis using cDNA/genomic DNA alignments and bio-informatic algorithms revealed 12 different predicted proteins, most of which are absent from bacterial databases, half of which are absent from Saccharomyces cerevisiae , and nearly all of which have relatives in Caenorhabditis elegans and Homo sapiens . Gene order is not evolutionarily conserved the closest relatives of these genes are scattered throughout the yeast, nematode, and human genomes. Most gene expression is pleiotropic, and deletion studies reveal that a morphological phenotype is seldom observed when these genes are removed from the genome. These data pinpoint some general bottlenecks in functional genomics, and they reveal the acute emerging difficulties with data transferability above the levels of genes and proteins, especially with complex human phenotypes. At these higher levels the Rosetta stone analogy has almost no applicability. However, newer transgenic technologies in Drosophila and Mus , combined with coherency pattern analyses of gene networks, and synthetic neural modeling, offer insights into organismal function. We conclude that industrially scaled robogenomics in model organisms will have great impact if it can be realistically linked to epigenetic analyses of human variation and to phenotypic analyses of human diseases in different genetic backgrounds.
Epigenomics and the concept of degeneracy in biological systems
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 12-12-2013
DOI: 10.1093/BFGP/ELT050
Beyond Royalactin and a master inducer explanation of phenotypic plasticity in honey bees.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-01-2018
DOI: 10.1038/S42003-017-0004-4
Abstract: Distinct female castes produced from one genotype are the trademark of a successful evolutionary invention in eusocial insects known as reproductive ision of labour. In honey bees, fertile queens develop from larvae fed a complex diet called royal jelly. Recently, one protein in royal jelly, dubbed Royalactin, was deemed to be the exclusive driver of queen bee determination. However, this notion has not been universally accepted. Here I critically evaluate this line of research and argue that the sheer complexity of creating alternate phenotypes from one genotype cannot be reduced to a single dietary component. An acceptable model of environmentally driven caste differentiation should include the facets of dynamic thinking, such as the concepts of attractor states and genetic hierarchical networks.
A Royal Jelly Protein Is Expressed in a Subset of Kenyon Cells in the Mushroom Bodies of the Honey Bee Brain
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 27-07-1998
DNA Methylation in Honey Bees and the Unresolved Questions in Insect Methylomics.
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Date: 2022
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-11454-0_7
Abstract: DNA methylation has been found in most invertebrate lineages except for Diptera, Placozoa and the majority of Nematoda. In contrast to the mammalian methylation toolkit that consists of one DNMT1 and several DNMT3s, some of which are catalytically inactive accessory isoforms, invertebrates have different combinations of these proteins with some using just one DNMT1 and the others, like the honey bee, two DNMT1s one DNMT3. Although the insect DNMTs show sequence similarity to mammalian DNMTs, their in vitro and in vivo properties are not well investigated. In contrast to heavily methylated mammalian genomes, invertebrate genomes are only sparsely methylated in a 'mosaic' fashion with the majority of methylated CpG dinucleotides found across gene bodies that are frequently associated with active transcription. Additional work also highlights that obligatory methylated epialleles influence transcriptional changes in a context-specific manner. We argue that some of the lineage-specific properties of DNA methylation are the key to understanding the role of this genomic modification in insects. Future mechanistic work is needed to explain the relationship between insect DNMTs, genetic variation, differential DNA methylation, other epigenetic modifications, and the transcriptome in order to fully understand the role of DNA methylation in converting genomic sequences into phenotypes.
Structure and transcriptional control of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae POX1 gene encoding acylcoenzyme A oxidase
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-1990
DOI: 10.1016/0378-1119(90)90038-S
Abstract: We have cloned the Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene coding for the peroxisomal enzyme: fatty acyl-CoA oxidase (POX). The gene (named POX1) is unique in S. cerevisiae and has been identified through homology with the POX4 and POX5 genes of Candida tropicalis. The POX1 gene encodes a 84-kDa POX protein composed of 748 amino acids. The identity between the S. cerevisiae and C. tropicalis enzymes is about 40%, and there is a greater degree of similarity between the N termini than the C termini. A disruption of the POX1 coding sequence diminishes the ability of yeast cells to grow on oleic acid as a sole carbon source. The expression of the POX1 gene is regulated at the level of transcription, and is induced more than 25-fold by the addition of oleic acid to the medium.
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