DNA Methylation in Honey Bees and the Unresolved Questions in Insect Methylomics

Wedd, Laura; Kucharski, Robert; Maleszka, Ryszard

doi:10.1007/978-3-031-11454-0_7

Cited by 3 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 99 publications

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“…Our analyses reveal a remarkable variability of the epigenetic proteome in Hymenoptera with great disparities in gene number encoding DNMTs. Although previous studies already uncovered a pool of distinct DNA methylation toolkits in insects, 16 , 21 , 34 finding such diversity in one order is surprising. Several unique features of the epigenetic toolkit in such a vastly diverse order make this level of regulation particularly interesting from the mechanistic perspective and the potential for driving evolutionary innovations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…The loss of DNMT1 in Braconidae is unusual especially among insects where most lineages have a single DNMT1 gene. 16 , 18 , 31 Indeed, wasps appear to have the most diverged DNA methylation toolkit.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… 16 , 17 , 18 Although some earlier assumptions that DNMTs in social insects are mechanistically similar to their vertebrate counterparts, 19 , 20 the mosaic distribution of DNMT paralogs, and a very low level of genomic methylation mostly restricted to coding regions of conserved genes suggest that this level of genomic modifications is not only different from that in mammals, but also is driven by lineage-specific mechanisms rather than by a universal invertebrate-type enzymology. 3 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 21 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recently, we have observed that in the honeybee, Apis mellifera , DNMT3 has an unusual domain architecture comprising a duplicated PWWP domain. 21 In mammals, the PWWP domain acts as a chromatin methylation reader by simultaneously binding DNA and histone methyl-lysines within the context of the nucleosome, and is essential for targeting enzymes that catalyze these marks to appropriate genomic sites. 22 In mammals, the PWWP domain specifically recognizes H3K36me3, suggesting a functional role for this domain as a H3K36me3 sensor.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

The PWWP domain and the evolution of unique DNA methylation toolkits in Hymenoptera

Kucharski,

Ellis,

Jurkowski

et al. 2023

iScience

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The PWWP domain and the evolution of unique DNA methylation toolkits in Hymenoptera

Kucharski,

Ellis,

Jurkowski

et al. 2023

iScience

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“…Epigenetics precisely regulates gene expression through DNA methylation, histone changes, non-coding RNAs, and chromatin remodeling [ 1 , 2 ]. Epigenetic processes, such as histone post-translational modifications, DNA methylation, and non-coding RNAs can rapidly and flexibly change transcriptional pathways that produce different phenotypes [ 3 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Roles of DNA Methylation in Color Alternation of Eastern Honey Bees (Apis cerana) Induced by the Royal Jelly of Western Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)

Abdelmawla,

Li,

Shi

et al. 2024

IJMS

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Honey bees have a very interesting phenomenon where the larval diets of two different honey bee species are exchanged, resulting in altered phenotypes, namely, a honey bee nutritional crossbreed. This is a classical epigenetic process, but its underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This study aims to investigate the contribution of DNA methylation to the phenotypic alternation of a Apis mellifera–Apis cerana nutritional crossbreed. We used a full nutritional crossbreed technique to rear A. cerana queens by feeding their larvae with A. mellifera royal-jelly-based diets in an incubator. Subsequently, we compared genome-wide methylation sequencing, body color, GC ratio, and the DMRs between the nutritional crossbreed, A. cerana queens (NQs), and control, A. cerana queens (CQs). Our results showed that the NQ’s body color shifted to yellow compared to the black control queens. Genome methylation sequencing revealed that NQs had a much higher ratio of mCG than that of CQs. A total of 1020 DMGs were identified, of which 20 DMGs were enriched into key pathways for melanin synthesis, including tryptophan, tyrosine, dopamine, and phenylalanine KEGG pathways. Three key differentially methylated genes [OGDH, ALDH(NAD+) and ALDH7] showed a clear, altered DNA methylation in multiple CpG islands in NQs compared to CQs. Consequently, these findings revealed that DNA methylation participates in A. cerana–A. mellifera nutritional crossbreeding as an important epigenetic modification. This study serves as a model of cross-kingdom epigenetic mechanisms in insect body color induced by environmental factors.

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Reminiscences on the honeybee genome project and the rise of epigenetic concepts in insect science

Maleszka

2024

Insect Molecular Biology

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The sequencing of the honeybee genome in 2006 was an important technological and logistic achievement experience. But what benefits have flown from the honeybee genome project? What does the annotated genomic assembly mean for the study of behavioural complexity and organismal function in honeybees? Here, I discuss several lines of research that have arisen from this project and highlight the rapidly expanding studies on insect epigenomics, emergent properties of royal jelly, the mechanism of nutritional control of development and the contribution of epigenomic regulation to the evolution of sociality. I also argue that the term ‘insect epigenetics’ needs to be carefully redefined to reflect the diversity of epigenomic toolkits in insects and the impact of lineage‐specific innovations on organismal outcomes. The honeybee genome project helped pioneer advances in social insect molecular biology, and fuelled breakthrough research into the role of flexible epigenomic control systems in linking genotype to phenotype.

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DNA Methylation in Honey Bees and the Unresolved Questions in Insect Methylomics

Cited by 3 publications

References 99 publications

The PWWP domain and the evolution of unique DNA methylation toolkits in Hymenoptera

The PWWP domain and the evolution of unique DNA methylation toolkits in Hymenoptera

Roles of DNA Methylation in Color Alternation of Eastern Honey Bees (Apis cerana) Induced by the Royal Jelly of Western Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)

Reminiscences on the honeybee genome project and the rise of epigenetic concepts in insect science

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