ScienceDaily (July 14, 2010) — What makes a bee grow up to be a queen? Scientists have long pondered this mystery. Now, researchers in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University have fit a new piece into the puzzle of bee development. Their work not only adds to understanding about bees, but also adds insights into our own development and aging.
Insulin signaling is key to separating those who would be queen (marked in blue) from workers. (Credit: Credit: F. Wolschin and AJ Siegel)
A female bee can become either a worker or a queen. Queen bees are larger and live longer than workers. Queen bees are also fertile while workers are essentially sterile. A queen has only one role -- to lay eggs -- while workers tend the hive, care for the queen and larvae, and forage for food.
"The incredible thing is that both of these types of female honeybees emerge from the same genome," says Florian Wolschin, an assistant research professor in the School of Life Sciences in ASU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, is the lead author of the study. "So how does that happen?"
Workers determine the fate of the larvae by what they feed them. The amount and composition of food that the larvae receive determine whether they become workers or queens. People have known this for many years, but exactly what happens inside the cells to create this split isn't completely clear.
...
Read more here/Leia mais aqui: Science Daily
+++++
Florian Wolschin1,2,*†, Navdeep S. Mutti2,† and Gro V. Amdam1,2
-Author Affiliations
1Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry, and Food Science, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, PO Box 5003, Aas 1432, Norway
2School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, PO Box 874501, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
*Author for correspondence (f.wolschin@gmail.com).
Abstract
The insulin/insulin-like signalling (IIS) network is conserved among animals and is central to growth and development. In eusocial honeybees (Apis mellifera), IIS is hypothesized to shape female caste fate. We tested this hypothesis via RNA interference (RNAi) knockdown of the insulin receptor substrate (IRS) homologue, a key adaptor protein in IIS. Female larvae naturally develop into queens (reproductives) or workers (helpers) after being fed rich versus limited diets, respectively. Feeding larvae a rich diet mixed with dsRNA (double stranded RNA) targeting irs gene transcript decreased irs mRNA abundance and caused development of worker morphology. Controls receiving rich larval diet and control dsRNA developed queen morphology. Whole-body mass spectrometry profiling of larvae collected 72, 96 and 120 h after dsRNA treatments revealed proteomic differences between irs gene knockdowns and controls, including levels of hexamerin 110, a storage protein connected to natural caste differences.
insulin signalling Apis mellifera queen bee worker bee RNA interference proteomics
Footnotes
↵† Both authors contributed equally to this study.
Received May 17, 2010.
Accepted June 14, 2010.
© 2010 The Royal Society
+++++
+++++
Vote neste blog para o prêmio TOPBLOG 2010.
