Insights into Social Insects from the Genome of the Honeybee Apis Mellifera

Overview

Journal Nature

Specialty Science

Date 2006 Oct 31

PMID 17073008

Citations 709

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Here we report the genome sequence of the honeybee Apis mellifera, a key model for social behaviour and essential to global ecology through pollination. Compared with other sequenced insect genomes, the A. mellifera genome has high A+T and CpG contents, lacks major transposon families, evolves more slowly, and is more similar to vertebrates for circadian rhythm, RNA interference and DNA methylation genes, among others. Furthermore, A. mellifera has fewer genes for innate immunity, detoxification enzymes, cuticle-forming proteins and gustatory receptors, more genes for odorant receptors, and novel genes for nectar and pollen utilization, consistent with its ecology and social organization. Compared to Drosophila, genes in early developmental pathways differ in Apis, whereas similarities exist for functions that differ markedly, such as sex determination, brain function and behaviour. Population genetics suggests a novel African origin for the species A. mellifera and insights into whether Africanized bees spread throughout the New World via hybridization or displacement.

Citing Articles

The eusocial non-code: Unveiling the impact of noncoding RNAs on Hymenoptera eusocial evolution.

Lebedev E, Smutin D, Timkin P, Kotelnikov D, Taldaev A, Panushev N Noncoding RNA Res. 2024; 11:48-59.

PMID: 39736856 PMC: 11683303. DOI: 10.1016/j.ncrna.2024.10.007.

A chromosome-level genome assembly of Serangium japonicum Chapin, 1940 (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae).

Ye M, Xie Y, Jin J, Huang C, Ning K, Liu Z Sci Data. 2024; 11(1):1421.

PMID: 39715742 PMC: 11666535. DOI: 10.1038/s41597-024-04197-w.

Inferring Long-Term and Short-Term Determinants of Genetic Diversity in Honey Bees: Beekeeping Impact and Conservation Strategies.

Leroy T, Faux P, Basso B, Eynard S, Wragg D, Vignal A Mol Biol Evol. 2024; 41(12).

PMID: 39692632 PMC: 11653568. DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msae249.

Evolutionary plasticity in nematode Hox gene complements and genomic loci arrangement.

Kirangwa J, Laetsch D, King E, Stevens L, Blaxter M, Holovachov O Sci Rep. 2024; 14(1):29513.

PMID: 39604390 PMC: 11603191. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-79962-3.

Based proteomics analyses reveal response mechanisms of Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) against the heat stress.

Li X J Insect Sci. 2024; 24(6).

PMID: 39600210 PMC: 11599371. DOI: 10.1093/jisesa/iead074.

References

Misra S, Crosby M, Mungall C, Matthews B, Campbell K, Hradecky P . Annotation of the Drosophila melanogaster euchromatic genome: a systematic review. Genome Biol. 2003; 3(12):RESEARCH0083. PMC: 151185. DOI: 10.1186/gb-2002-3-12-research0083. View

Shieh B, Zhu M, Lee J, Kelly I, Bahiraei F . Association of INAD with NORPA is essential for controlled activation and deactivation of Drosophila phototransduction in vivo. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1997; 94(23):12682-7. PMC: 25084. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.94.23.12682. View

Mirth C, Truman J, Riddiford L . The role of the prothoracic gland in determining critical weight for metamorphosis in Drosophila melanogaster. Curr Biol. 2005; 15(20):1796-807. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2005.09.017. View

Ahmad S, Joyce M, Boggess B, OTousa J . The role of Drosophila ninaG oxidoreductase in visual pigment chromophore biogenesis. J Biol Chem. 2006; 281(14):9205-9. DOI: 10.1074/jbc.M510293200. View

Si A, Helliwell P, Maleszka R . Effects of NMDA receptor antagonists on olfactory learning and memory in the honeybee (Apis mellifera). Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2004; 77(2):191-7. DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2003.09.023. View

Matsuzaki M, Misumi O, Shin-I T, Maruyama S, Takahara M, Miyagishima S . Genome sequence of the ultrasmall unicellular red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae 10D. Nature. 2004; 428(6983):653-7. DOI: 10.1038/nature02398. View

Biessmann H, Kobeski F, Walter M, Kasravi A, Roth C . DNA organization and length polymorphism at the 2L telomeric region of Anopheles gambiae. Insect Mol Biol. 1998; 7(1):83-93. DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2583.1998.71054.x. View

Solignac M, Zhang L, Mougel F, Li B, Vautrin D, Monnerot M . The genome of Apis mellifera: dialog between linkage mapping and sequence assembly. Genome Biol. 2007; 8(3):403. PMC: 1868943. DOI: 10.1186/gb-2007-8-3-403. View

Nakao H . Isolation and characterization of a Bombyx vasa-like gene. Dev Genes Evol. 2001; 209(5):312-6. DOI: 10.1007/s004270050257. View

10.

Danforth B, Sipes S, Fang J, Brady S . The history of early bee diversification based on five genes plus morphology. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006; 103(41):15118-23. PMC: 1586180. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0604033103. View

11.

Bigot Y, Lutcher F, Hamelin M, Periquet G . The 28S ribosomal RNA-encoding gene of Hymenoptera: inserted sequences in the retrotransposon-rich regions. Gene. 1992; 121(2):347-52. DOI: 10.1016/0378-1119(92)90142-c. View

12.

Lehmann R, Nusslein-Volhard C . Abdominal segmentation, pole cell formation, and embryonic polarity require the localized activity of oskar, a maternal gene in Drosophila. Cell. 1986; 47(1):141-52. DOI: 10.1016/0092-8674(86)90375-2. View

13.

Hepperle C, Hartfelder K . Differentially expressed regulatory genes in honey bee caste development. Naturwissenschaften. 2001; 88(3):113-6. DOI: 10.1007/s001140000196. View

14.

Xiong Y, BURKE W, Jakubczak J, Eickbush T . Ribosomal DNA insertion elements R1Bm and R2Bm can transpose in a sequence specific manner to locations outside the 28S genes. Nucleic Acids Res. 1988; 16(22):10561-73. PMC: 338924. DOI: 10.1093/nar/16.22.10561. View

15.

Menzel R . Searching for the memory trace in a mini-brain, the honeybee. Learn Mem. 2001; 8(2):53-62. DOI: 10.1101/lm.38801. View

16.

Robertson H, Lampe D . Distribution of transposable elements in arthropods. Annu Rev Entomol. 1995; 40:333-57. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.en.40.010195.002001. View

17.

Baggerman G, Cerstiaens A, De Loof A, Schoofs L . Peptidomics of the larval Drosophila melanogaster central nervous system. J Biol Chem. 2002; 277(43):40368-74. DOI: 10.1074/jbc.M206257200. View

18.

Whitfield C, Cziko A, Robinson G . Gene expression profiles in the brain predict behavior in individual honey bees. Science. 2003; 302(5643):296-9. DOI: 10.1126/science.1086807. View

19.

Goodwin T, Poulter R, Lorenzen M, Beeman R . DIRS retroelements in arthropods: identification of the recently active TcDirs1 element in the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum. Mol Genet Genomics. 2004; 272(1):47-56. DOI: 10.1007/s00438-004-1028-2. View

20.

Beye M, Moritz R . Characterization of honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) chromosomes using repetitive DNA probes and fluorescence in situ hybridization. J Hered. 1995; 86(2):145-50. DOI: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a111545. View