Insights into the Melipona scutellaris (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini) fat body transcriptome

Sousa, Cristina; Serrão, José Éduardo; Bonetti, Ana Maria; Amaral, Isabel Marques Rodrigues; Kerr, Warwick Estevam; Maranhão, Andréa Queiróz; Ueira-Vieira, Carlos

doi:10.1590/s1415-47572013000200022

Cited by 12 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 45 publications

(45 reference statements)

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“…Subsequently, Marchal et al [33], using the locust Schistocerca gregaria as a model, showed that JHAMT, and not FAMeT, is the enzyme involved in JH synthesis. In the honey bee genome we found orthologs for both, famet and mt genes, and when assaying their expression by means of RT-qPCR we found that mt transcripts were specifically detected in CA-CC complex, whereas famet was transcribed more ubiquitously, as is also the case in the highly eusocial stingless bee Melipona quadrifasciata [34]. This leads us to infer that mt and not famet is the gene encoding a functional methyltransferase activity in the honey bee CA.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

Juvenile Hormone Biosynthesis Gene Expression in the corpora allata of Honey Bee (Apis mellifera L.) Female Castes

et al. 2014

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Juvenile hormone (JH) controls key events in the honey bee life cycle, viz. caste development and age polyethism. We quantified transcript abundance of 24 genes involved in the JH biosynthetic pathway in the corpora allata-corpora cardiaca (CA-CC) complex. The expression of six of these genes showing relatively high transcript abundance was contrasted with CA size, hemolymph JH titer, as well as JH degradation rates and JH esterase (jhe) transcript levels. Gene expression did not match the contrasting JH titers in queen and worker fourth instar larvae, but jhe transcript abundance and JH degradation rates were significantly lower in queen larvae. Consequently, transcriptional control of JHE is of importance in regulating larval JH titers and caste development. In contrast, the same analyses applied to adult worker bees allowed us inferring that the high JH levels in foragers are due to increased JH synthesis. Upon RNAi-mediated silencing of the methyl farnesoate epoxidase gene (mfe) encoding the enzyme that catalyzes methyl farnesoate-to-JH conversion, the JH titer was decreased, thus corroborating that JH titer regulation in adult honey bees depends on this final JH biosynthesis step. The molecular pathway differences underlying JH titer regulation in larval caste development versus adult age polyethism lead us to propose that mfe and jhe genes be assayed when addressing questions on the role(s) of JH in social evolution.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

Juvenile Hormone Biosynthesis Gene Expression in the corpora allata of Honey Bee (Apis mellifera L.) Female Castes

et al. 2014

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“…Therefore, behavioral studies are important for future management of this threatened stingless bee. We collected two colonies of M. scutellaris in 2007 and started studies of its biology (Sousa et al 2013;Santos et al 2015). We here show that excess virgin queens are killed by workers, a phenomenon triggered by a change in CHC profiles of virgin queens during the first days of their life.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 76%

The relationship between queen execution and cuticular hydrocarbons in stingless bee Melipona scutellaris (Hymenoptera: Meliponini)

et al. 2016

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In queenright colonies of stingless bees of the genus Melipona, workers recognize, attack, and kill young virgin queens. For Melipona scutellaris, we observed that virgin queens were executed when they were between 5 and 9 days old, while newly emerged queens were not attacked. The faster movements of old virgin in relation to newly emerged might be responsible for attacks. It has been also hypothesized that cuticular hydrocarbons are the source of the signal used by workers to recognize virgin queens. We investigated whether newly emerged, 8 days old virgin and physogastric queens of M. scutellaris have different cuticular hydrocarbon profiles. Cuticular hydrocarbons of three ages were compared using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The cuticular hydrocarbon profiles varied by reproductive status and age. Changes in the cuticular hydrocarbons in virgin queens during aging suggest that these compounds, together with change in movement, may play a role in the recognition of virgin queens by workers prior to regicide.

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“…There are few transcripts analyses of fat body published so far, such as Bactocera dorsalis [ 12 ], Melipona scutellaris [ 99 ], and Aedes aegypti [ 100 ], and none are related to triatomines.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An insight into the salivary gland and fat body transcriptome of Panstrongylus lignarius (Hemiptera: Heteroptera), the main vector of Chagas disease in Peru

et al. 2018

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Triatomines are hematophagous arthropod vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas Disease. Panstrongylus lignarius, also known as Panstrongylus herreri, is considered one of the most versatile triatomines because it can parasitize different hosts, it is found in different habitats and countries, it has sylvatic, peridomestic and domestic behavior and it is a very important vector of Chagas disease, especially in Peru. Molecules produced and secreted by salivary glands and fat body are considered of important adaptational value for triatomines because, among other functions, they subvert the host haemostatic, inflammatory and immune systems and detoxify or protect them against environmental aggressors. In this context, the elucidation of the molecules produced by these tissues is highly valuable to understanding the ability of this species to adapt and transmit pathogens. Here, we use high-throughput sequencing techniques to assemble and describe the coding sequences resulting from the transcriptome of the fat body and salivary glands of P. lignarius. The final assembly of both transcriptomes together resulted in a total of 11,507 coding sequences (CDS), which were mapped from a total of 164,676,091 reads. The CDS were subdivided according to their 10 folds overexpression on salivary glands (513 CDS) or fat body (2073 CDS). Among the families of proteins found in the salivary glands, lipocalins were the most abundant. Other ubiquitous families of proteins present in other sialomes were also present in P. lignarius, including serine protease inhibitors, apyrase and antigen-5. The unique transcriptome of fat body showed proteins related to the metabolic function of this organ. Remarkably, nearly 20% of all reads mapped to transcripts coded by Triatoma virus. The data presented in this study improve the understanding on triatomines’ salivary glands and fat body function and reveal important molecules used in the interplay between vectors and vertebrate hosts.

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Insights into the Melipona scutellaris (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini) fat body transcriptome

Cited by 12 publications

References 45 publications

Juvenile Hormone Biosynthesis Gene Expression in the corpora allata of Honey Bee (Apis mellifera L.) Female Castes

Juvenile Hormone Biosynthesis Gene Expression in the corpora allata of Honey Bee (Apis mellifera L.) Female Castes

The relationship between queen execution and cuticular hydrocarbons in stingless bee Melipona scutellaris (Hymenoptera: Meliponini)

An insight into the salivary gland and fat body transcriptome of Panstrongylus lignarius (Hemiptera: Heteroptera), the main vector of Chagas disease in Peru

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