Methylation and worker reproduction in the bumble-bee (<i>Bombus terrestris</i>)

Amarasinghe, Harindra E; Clayton, Crisenthiya I.; Mallon, Eamonn B.

doi:10.1098/rspb.2013.2502

Cited by 83 publications

(110 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…The sequencing of more species with different levels of plasticity and multiple phenotypes will be required to confirm this hypothesis (6). However, the available data suggest that these hallmarks contrast with those hallmarks of eusocial insects with low plasticity like the honey bee and most ants, where a large proportion of genes, functionality, and network differentiation are associated with phenotypic differentiation (44,(53)(54)(55)(56)(57)(58), and where phenotypes appear to be regulated by DNA methylation (24,25,30,34,35,37,(59)(60)(61)(62). Comparisons of species with contrasting evolutionary histories, as in our study species, will be especially valuable in revealing the molecular signatures at the origin of social evolution (e.g., in P. canadensis) and in reversions from complex to simple behaviors (e.g., in D. quadriceps).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Molecular signatures of plastic phenotypes in two eusocial insect species with simple societies

Patalano

Vlasova

Wyatt

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

193

278

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Phenotypic plasticity is important in adaptation and shapes the evolution of organisms. However, we understand little about what aspects of the genome are important in facilitating plasticity. Eusocial insect societies produce plastic phenotypes from the same genome, as reproductives (queens) and nonreproductives (workers). The greatest plasticity is found in the simple eusocial insect societies in which individuals retain the ability to switch between reproductive and nonreproductive phenotypes as adults. We lack comprehensive data on the molecular basis of plastic phenotypes. Here, we sequenced genomes, microRNAs (miRNAs), and multiple transcriptomes and methylomes from individual brains in a wasp (Polistes canadensis) and an ant (Dinoponera quadriceps) that live in simple eusocial societies. In both species, we found few differences between phenotypes at the transcriptional level, with little functional specialization, and no evidence that phenotype-specific gene expression is driven by DNA methylation or miRNAs. Instead, phenotypic differentiation was defined more subtly by nonrandom transcriptional network organization, with roles in these networks for both conserved and taxon-restricted genes. The general lack of highly methylated regions or methylome patterning in both species may be an important mechanism for achieving plasticity among phenotypes during adulthood. These findings define previously unidentified hypotheses on the genomic processes that facilitate plasticity and suggest that the molecular hallmarks of social behavior are likely to differ with the level of social complexity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Molecular signatures of plastic phenotypes in two eusocial insect species with simple societies

Patalano

Vlasova

Wyatt

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

193

278

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Moreover, knockout of dnmt3 caused worker-destined larvae to develop queen-like traits [7] and affected the expression of 17% of the transcriptome [9], consistent with a role for methylation in polyphenism. In bumblebees (Bombus terrestris), experimentally induced DNA demethylation produced queen-like traits, and there is some evidence for a difference in methylation between reproductive and nonreproductive workers [12]. DNA methylation was also found to be caste-specific in some ants [13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Thus, it is possible that lack of queen pheromone causes the methylome to become more queen-like, i.e. hypomethylated [7,12,13], in turn leading to queen-like gene expression. We therefore hypothesize that queen pheromone stimulates DNA methyltransferase activity in workers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Queen pheromones modulate DNA methyltransferase activity in bee and ant workers

2016

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DNA methylation is emerging as an important regulator of polyphenism in the social insects. Research has concentrated on differences in methylation between queens and workers, though we hypothesized that methylation is involved in mediating other flexible phenotypes, including pheromonedependent changes in worker behaviour and physiology. Here, we find that exposure to queen pheromone affects the expression of two DNA methyltransferase genes in Apis mellifera honeybees and in two species of Lasius ants, but not in Bombus terrestris bumblebees. These results suggest that queen pheromones influence the worker methylome, pointing to a novel proximate mechanism for these key social signals.

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“…Further, chemical inhibition of DNA methyltransferase activity promotes worker reproduction in queenless bumblebee colonies (Amarasinghe et al. 2014). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genome methylation patterns across castes and generations in a parasitoid wasp

Shaham

Ben‐Shlomo

Motro

et al. 2016

Ecology and Evolution

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Environmental influences shape phenotypes within and across generations, often through DNA methylations that modify gene expression. Methylations were proposed to mediate caste and task allocation in some eusocial insects, but how an insect's environment affects DNA methylation in its offspring is yet unknown. We characterized parental effects on methylation profiles in the polyembryonic parasitoid wasp Copidosoma koehleri, as well as methylation patterns associated with its simple caste system. We used methylation‐sensitive amplified fragment length polymorphism (MS‐AFLP) to compare methylation patterns, among (1) reproductive and soldier larvae; and (2) offspring (larvae, pupae, and adults) of wasps that were reared at either high or low larval density and mated in the four possible combinations. Methylation frequencies were similar across castes, but the profiles of methylated fragments differed significantly. Parental rearing density did not affect methylation frequencies in the offspring at any developmental stage. Principal coordinate analysis indicated no significant differences in methylation profiles among the four crossbreeding groups and the three developmental stages. Nevertheless, a clustering analysis, performed on a subset of the fragments, revealed similar methylation patterns in larvae, pupae, and adults in two of the four parental crosses. Nine fragments were methylated at two cytosine sites in all larvae, and five others were methylated at two sites in all adults. Thus, DNA methylations correlate with within‐generation phenotypic plasticity due to caste. However, their association with developmental stage and with transgenerational epigenetic effects is not clearly supported.

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Methylation and worker reproduction in the bumble-bee (Bombus terrestris)

Cited by 83 publications

References 35 publications

Molecular signatures of plastic phenotypes in two eusocial insect species with simple societies

Molecular signatures of plastic phenotypes in two eusocial insect species with simple societies

Queen pheromones modulate DNA methyltransferase activity in bee and ant workers

Genome methylation patterns across castes and generations in a parasitoid wasp

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