&lt;strong&gt;The bumblebees of North China (Apidae, &lt;em&gt;Bombus&lt;/em&gt; Latreille)&lt;/strong&gt;

An, Jiandong; Huang, Jiaxing; Shao, Youquan; Zhang, Shiwen; Wang, Biao; Liu, Xinyu; Wu, Jie; Williams, Paul H.

doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3830.1.1

Cited by 62 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…This history of global colonization has produced greater contemporary species diversity centred in the mountains of central China than elsewhere in the world (An et al . ) and a decline in species richness away from Asia through the Palearctic, North America and into the comparably species‐poor South America (Fig. ) (Williams , ; Hines ).…”

Section: Phylogenetics and Biogeographymentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular tools and bumble bees: revealing hidden details of ecology and evolution in a model system

et al. 2015

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Bumble bees are a longstanding model system for studies on behaviour, ecology and evolution, due to their well-studied social lifestyle, invaluable role as wild and managed pollinators, and ubiquity and diversity across temperate ecosystems. Yet despite their importance, many aspects of bumble bee biology have remained enigmatic until the rise of the genetic and, more recently, genomic eras. Here, we review and synthesize new insights into the ecology, evolution and behaviour of bumble bees that have been gained using modern genetic and genomic techniques. Special emphasis is placed on four areas of bumble bee biology: the evolution of eusociality in this group, population-level processes, large-scale evolutionary relationships and patterns, and immunity and resistance to pesticides. We close with a prospective on the future of bumble bee genomics research, as this rapidly advancing field has the potential to further revolutionize our understanding of bumble bees, particularly in regard to adaptation and resilience. Worldwide, many bumble bee populations are in decline. As such, throughout the review, connections are drawn between new molecular insights into bumble bees and our understanding of the causal factors involved in their decline. Ongoing and potential applications to bumble bee management and conservation are also included to demonstrate how genetics-and genomics-enabled research aids in the preservation of this threatened group.

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Section: Phylogenetics and Biogeographymentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular tools and bumble bees: revealing hidden details of ecology and evolution in a model system

et al. 2015

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“…Regional distribution maps are available for Sichuan (P.H Williams et al 2009),. GansuAn et al 2014), and Nepal (P.H Williams et al 2010)Williams et al (2009).…”

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confidence: 99%

Early-diverging bumblebees from across the roof of the world: the high-mountain subgenus Mendacibombus revised from species’ gene coalescents and morphology (Hymenoptera, Apidae)

Williams

Huang

Rasmont

et al. 2016

Zootaxa

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The bumblebees of the subgenus Mendacibombus of the genus Bombus are the sister group to all other extant bumblebees and are unusual among bees for specialising in some of the highest elevation habitats with entomophilous plants on Earth. Most named taxa in this group (24 available names, from a total of 49 published names) were described originally from small differences in the colour pattern of the hair, many as parts (e.g. subspecies) of just one species. Subsequent taxonomic treatments recognised multiple species, but have described very few morphological characters, most of which are in the male genitalia. We examined 4413 specimens representing all of the named taxa from throughout the group's global range to describe variation in DNA, in skeletal morphology, and in the colour patterns of the hair. Using Bayesian inference of the phylogeny from an evolutionary model for the fast-evolving COI gene, and fitting either general mixed Yule/coalescent models or Poisson tree process models, we identify COI gene coalescents, which are expected to characterise species as evolutionarily independent lineages. None of the conditions most likely to compromise this interpretation (biased sampling, paralogy, introgression, heteroplasmy, incomplete lineage sorting) appears to be a substantial problem in this case. In an integrative analysis, we show that colour patterns are often variable within these groups and do not diagnose the same groups as we recognise from genes; in contrast, the groups recognised from gene coalescents can also be diagnosed from differences we identify in morphology. We infer that the 12 groups with coalescents in the COI gene that are corroborated by morphology constitute species, whereas many of these species are polymorphic in colour pattern. Lectotypes are designated for 15 taxa in order to reduce uncertainty in the identity and application of the names. We provide new morphological keys and distribution maps for the species. Then we use four genes (fast-evolving mitochondrial COI and 16S; and slower nuclear PEPCK and opsin) to obtain an absolute chronogram of phylogenetic relationships among the species. From published estimates that the most recent common ancestor of the subgenus Mendacibombus diverged from the other bumblebees at the beginning of the Oligocene, our results support the crown group of Mendacibombus as having diversified in the late Miocene, events that both appear to have been associated with periods of climate cooling. Relative conservatism in the alpine/subalpine climate niche of Mendacibombus, as compared with the much more diversified climate niches in the sister group of all other bumblebees, may have contributed to constraining the number of Mendacibombus species to just one twentieth of the total number of extant bumblebee species.

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“…The understanding of the molecular mechanisms of insect reproductive regulation has reached a new level, especially in social insects [20]. The bumblebee, B. lantschouensis is a social bee that is endemic to northern China and has been selected for artificial rearing and crop pollination [29,32,42]. The development of bee colonies is highly dependent on the ovary activation in the queen, in which the biosynthesis and transport of Vg are vital [43].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The bumblebee Bombus lantschouensis is a polylectic and primitively eusocial bee that is widely distributed in medium-elevation mountains and plateaus in northern China [29]. It is an important pollinator of wild plants and crops and has been selected as the native species applied to pollinate greenhouse crops.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of a Vitellogenin Receptor in the Bumblebee, Bombus lantschouensis (Hymenoptera, Apidae)

Wang²,

et al. 2019

Insects

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The vitellogenin receptor (VgR) belongs to the low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) family, responsible for mediating the endocytosis of vitellogenin (Vg) into the ovaries to promote ovarian growth and oviposition. Here, we cloned and measured VgR gene expression characteristics in the bumblebee Bombus lantschouensis. RNA interference was used to validate VgR function. The results showed that the full length of the BLVgR cDNA was 5519 bp, which included a 5280 bp open reading frame encoding 1759 amino acids (AAs). Sequence alignment revealed that the protein contained 12 LDLa, 5 EGF, 2 EGF-CA and 10 LY domains. Phylogenetic analysis showed that BLVgR and the VgR of Bombus terrestris clustered together and the tree of bumblebees (Bombus) appeared as one clade next to honeybees (Apis). Transcript expression analysis showed that BLVgR was expressed in all tested tissues and showed the highest abundance in the ovaries. BLVgR expression was present in all developmental stages. However, the expression level in larvae was extremely low. In addition, the expression of BLVgR was significantly upregulated after egg laying in both workers and queens. In new emerging workers injected with 5 µg of VgR dsRNA, the expression level of BLVgR was 4-fold lower than that in the GFP dsRNA-injected group after 72 h. Furthermore, BLVgR silencing significantly reduced the number of eggs laid (3.67 ± 1.96 eggs) and delayed the first egg-laying time (16.31 ± 2.07 days) in worker microcolonies when compared to dsGFP (37.31 ± 4.09 eggs, 8.15 ± 0.22 days) and DEPC-treated water injected controls (16.42 ± 2.24 eggs, 10.00 ± 0.37 days). In conclusion, the BLVgR gene and its reproductive function were explored in the bumblebee B. lantschouensis. This gene plays an important role in egg laying time and egg number.

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<strong>The bumblebees of North China (Apidae, <em>Bombus</em> Latreille)</strong>

Cited by 62 publications

References 55 publications

Molecular tools and bumble bees: revealing hidden details of ecology and evolution in a model system

Molecular tools and bumble bees: revealing hidden details of ecology and evolution in a model system

Early-diverging bumblebees from across the roof of the world: the high-mountain subgenus Mendacibombus revised from species’ gene coalescents and morphology (Hymenoptera, Apidae)

Characterization of a Vitellogenin Receptor in the Bumblebee, Bombus lantschouensis (Hymenoptera, Apidae)

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