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Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

Title:		Alternative splicing of a single transcription factor drives selfish reproductive behavior in honeybee workers (Apis mellifera)
Author(s):		Jarosch A; Stolle E; Crewe RM; Moritz RF;
Address:		"Institut fur Biologie, Martin-Luther-Universitat Halle-Wittenberg, 06099 Halle, Saale, Germany. antje.jarosch@zoologie.uni-halle.de"
Journal Title:		Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
Year:		2011
Volume:		20110906
Issue:		37
Page Number:		15282 - 15287
DOI:		10.1073/pnas.1109343108
ISSN/ISBN:		1091-6490 (Electronic) 0027-8424 (Print) 0027-8424 (Linking)
Abstract:		"In eusocial insects the production of daughters is generally restricted to mated queens, and unmated workers are functionally sterile. The evolution of this worker sterility has been plausibly explained by kin selection theory [Hamilton W (1964) J Theor Biol 7:1-52], and many traits have evolved to prevent conflict over reproduction among the females in an insect colony. In honeybees (Apis mellifera), worker reproduction is regulated by the queen, brood pheromones, and worker policing. However, workers of the Cape honeybee, Apis mellifera capensis, can evade this control and establish themselves as social parasites by activating their ovaries, parthenogenetically producing diploid female offspring (thelytoky) and producing queen-like amounts of queen pheromones. All these traits have been shown to be strongly influenced by a single locus on chromosome 13 [Lattorff HMG, et al. (2007) Biol Lett 3:292-295]. We screened this region for candidate genes and found that alternative splicing of a gene homologous to the gemini transcription factor of Drosophila controls worker sterility. Knocking out the critical exon in a series of RNAi experiments resulted in rapid worker ovary activation-one of the traits characteristic of the social parasites. This genetic switch may be controlled by a short intronic splice enhancer motif of nine nucleotides attached to the alternative splice site. The lack of this motif in parasitic Cape honeybee clones suggests that the removal of nine nucleotides from the altruistic worker genome may be sufficient to turn a honeybee from an altruistic worker into a parasite"
Keywords:		"Alternative Splicing/*genetics Animals Bees/*genetics Exons/genetics Female Gene Knockdown Techniques *Hierarchy, Social Insect Proteins/*genetics/metabolism Introns/genetics Models, Genetic Protein Isoforms/genetics/metabolism RNA Interference RNA, Messe;"
Notes:		"MedlineJarosch, Antje Stolle, Eckart Crewe, Robin M Moritz, Robin F A eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't 2011/09/08 Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Sep 13; 108(37):15282-7. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1109343108. Epub 2011 Sep 6"