Identification of genes related to high royal jelly production in the honey bee (Apis mellifera) using microarray analysis

Abstract

China is the largest royal jelly producer and exporter in the world, and high royal jelly-yielding strains have been bred in the country for approximately three decades. However, information on the molecular mechanism underlying high royal jelly production is scarce. Here, a cDNA microarray was used to screen and identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) to obtain an overview on the changes in gene expression levels between high and low royal jelly producing bees. We developed a honey bee gene chip that covered 11,689 genes, and this chip was hybridised with cDNA generated from RNA isolated from heads of nursing bees. A total of 369 DEGs were identified between high and low royal jelly producing bees. Amongst these DEGs, 201 (54.47%) genes were up-regulated, whereas 168 (45.53%) were down-regulated in high royal jelly-yielding bees. Gene ontology (GO) analyses showed that they are mainly involved in four key biological processes, and pathway analyses revealed that they belong to a total of 46 biological pathways. These results provide a genetic basis for further studies on the molecular mechanisms involved in high royal jelly production.

Molecular insights into the enhanced performance of royal jelly secretion by a stock of honeybee (Apis mellifera ligustica) selected for increasing royal jelly production

“…The up-regulated MRJP 4 in RJBs both at the transcriptional and proteomic levels suggest that the abundance of MRJPs may be increased, as MRJP 4 is a major protein for total RJ (Schmitzová et al 1998;Albert et al 1999). The ribosomal proteins, heat shock proteins, and proteasome in the head of RJBs (Nie et al 2017) are consistent with other studies on the HGs (Feng et al 2009;Li et al 2010;Ji et al 2014), suggesting that they may involve in nursing behavior by accelerating protein biosynthesis. In addition, a comparative genetic analysis of three stocks of Western honeybees: the RJBs, ITBs, and Chinese ITBs, reveal that RJ output and queen cell acceptance (Fig.…”

“…A cDNA microarray was used to asses gene expression levels and identify differentially expressed genes between the RJBs and ITBs (Nie et al 2017). Specifically, three genes: MRJP4, 60 kDa heat shock protein, and heat shock 70 kDa protein cognate 3, and other genes, such as ribosomal protein, skeleton, and proteasome, are up-regulated in the head of RJBs relative to ITBs (Nie et al 2017). This is consistent with the proteome data of the HG development of worker bees of RJBs and ITBs (Li et al 2010).…”

In-depth Proteome of the Hypopharyngeal Glands of Honeybee Workers Reveals Highly Activated Protein and Energy Metabolism in Priming the Secretion of Royal Jelly

“…To date, one colony of RJBs can produce more than 10 kg of RJ per year, which is at least 10-fold the production of ITBs (24, 29, 30). Hence, China is the largest producer and exporter of RJ globally, supplying > 90% (∼ 4000 tons/year) RJ to the world market (29, 31). Now, the RJBs are a valuable honeybee resource in China and the world (29–33).…”

New Insights into the Biological and Pharmaceutical Properties of Royal Jelly

“…For instance, the increase in the production of RJ in China over the last 40 years has been achieved by the development of genetic selection of high RJ-producing bees (RJBs) from Italian bees [11][12][13], and the development and implementation of production techniques to increase and optimize RJ production [14][15][16]. At present RJBs have the potential to produce more than 10 kg RJ/colony/year, which is 10 times more than for non-selected Italian bees [15][16][17][18]. Notably, China is the largest producer and exporter of RJ around the world, producing more than 4000 tons annually, with more than $2.5 billion market, which is 90% of the total RJ production globally and mostly exported to Japan, Europe, and the United States [12,19].…”