| Title: | Vitellogenin expression in the ovaries of adult honeybee workers provides insights into the evolution of reproductive and social traits |
| Author(s): | Cardoso-Junior CAM; Oldroyd BP; Ronai I; |
| Address: | "Departamento de Biologia Celular e Bioagentes Patogenicos, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirao Preto, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Ribeirao Preto, Brazil. Behaviour and Genetics of Social Insects Laboratory, Ecology and Evolution, School of Life and Environmental Sciences A12, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1365-2583 (Electronic) 0962-1075 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Social insects are notable for having two female castes that exhibit extreme differences in their reproductive capacity. The molecular basis of these differences is largely unknown. Vitellogenin (Vg) is a powerful antioxidant and insulin-signalling regulator used in oocyte development. Here we investigate how Royal Jelly (the major food of honeybee queens) and queen mandibular pheromone (a major regulator of worker fertility), affect the longevity and reproductive status of honey bee workers, the expression of Vg, its receptor VgR and associated regulatory proteins. We find that Vg is expressed in the ovaries of workers and that workers fed a queen diet of Royal Jelly have increased Vg expression in the ovaries. Surprisingly, we find that expression of Vg is not associated with ovary activation in workers, suggesting that this gene has potentially acquired non-reproductive functions. Therefore, Vg expression in the ovaries of honeybee workers provides further support for the Ovarian Ground Plan Hypothesis, which argues that genes implicated in the regulation of reproduction have been co-opted to regulate behavioural differences between queens and workers" |
| Keywords: | Animals Bees/genetics/*physiology *Biological Evolution Female *Gene Expression Insect Proteins/*genetics/metabolism *Life History Traits Ovary/metabolism Reproduction/genetics Social Behavior Vitellogenins/*genetics/metabolism Apis mellifera DNA methyltr; |
| Notes: | "MedlineCardoso-Junior, C A M Oldroyd, B P Ronai, I eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2021/01/12 Insect Mol Biol. 2021 Jun; 30(3):277-286. doi: 10.1111/imb.12694. Epub 2021 Jan 20" |
