The diverging epigenomic landscapes of honeybee queens and workers revealed by multiomic sequencing

Zhang, Yong; He, Xingjian; Barron, Andrew B.; Li, Zhen; Jin, Meng Jie; Wang, Zi Long; Huang, Qiang; Zhang, Li Zhen; Wu, Xiao; Yan, Wei; Zeng, Zhi

doi:10.1016/j.ibmb.2023.103929

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 96 publications

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“…Among the unique peak-associated genes of 2W and 4W, eight KEGG pathways were related to honey bee caste differentiation, while among the unique peak-associated genes of 2Q and 4Q, there were only three and five KEGG pathways related to honey bee caste differentiation, respectively ( Figure 3 A–D). This was consistent with our previous analysis [ 31 ], again showing that H3K4me1 modification favors the development of honey bee larvae into worker bees. More DPGs in 4th instar larvae than in 2nd instar larvae were involved in caste differentiation ( Figure 3 E,F).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 93%

H3K4me1 Modification Functions in Caste Differentiation in Honey Bees

Zhang

et al. 2023

IJMS

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Honey bees are important species for the study of epigenetics. Female honey bee larvae with the same genotype can develop into phenotypically distinct organisms (sterile workers and fertile queens) depending on conditions such as diet. Previous studies have shown that DNA methylation and histone modification can establish distinct gene expression patterns, leading to caste differentiation. It is unclear whether the histone methylation modification H3K4me1 can also impact caste differentiation. In this study, we analyzed genome-wide H3K4me1 modifications in both queen and worker larvae and found that H3K4me1 marks are more abundant in worker larvae than in queen larvae at both the second and fourth instars, and many genes associated with caste differentiation are differentially methylated. Notably, caste-specific H3K4me1 in promoter regions can direct worker development. Thus, our results suggest that H3K4me1 modification may act as an important regulatory factor in the establishment and maintenance of caste-specific transcriptional programs in honey bees; however, the potential influence of other epigenetic modifications cannot be excluded.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 93%

H3K4me1 Modification Functions in Caste Differentiation in Honey Bees

Zhang

et al. 2023

IJMS

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“…Royal jelly is a very powerful food for the developmental regulation of honey bees. For instance, various studies showed that multiple omics such as DNA methylation, non-coding RNAs, histone modifications, 3D chromosome structure, and m6A methylation all participate in the determination of queen–worker honey bee differentiation [ 15 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 ]. Our recent study has shown that honey bee caste differentiation is regulated by an interacting system of many epigenetic modifications [ 52 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

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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