National Centre for Biological Sciences - Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore-560056, Karnataka, India
SASTRA University, Thirumalaisamudram, Thanjavur-613401, Tamil Nadu, India.
J Exp Biol. 2020 Jun 22;223(Pt 12):jeb217406. doi: 10.1242/jeb.217406.
We performed an RNA-seq-based comparison of gene expression levels in the antennae of honey bee drones and time-trained foragers (workers) collected at different times of the day and different activity states. Interestingly, olfaction-related genes [i.e. odorant receptor () genes, odorant binding protein () genes, carboxyl esterase () genes, etc.] showed stable gene expression differences between drone and worker antennae. Drone antennae showed higher expression of 24 genes, of which 21 belong to the clade X which comprises the receptor for the major queen pheromone compound 9-ODA. This high number of drone-biased genes suggests that more than previously thought play a role in sex-pheromone communication. In addition, we found higher expression levels for many non-olfaction-related genes including (), and the potassium channel In contrast, workers showed higher expression of 67 genes, which belong to different clades that are involved in pheromone communication as well as the perception of cuticular hydrocarbons and floral scents. Further, drone antennae showed higher expression of genes involved in energy metabolism, whereas worker antennae showed higher expression of genes involved in neuronal communication, consistent with earlier reports on peripheral olfactory plasticity. Finally, drones that perform mating flight in the afternoon (innate) and foragers that are trained to forage in the afternoon (adapted) showed similar daily changes in the expression of two major clock genes, and Most of the other genes showing changes with time or onset of daily flight activity were specific to drones and foragers.
我们进行了基于 RNA-seq 的比较，比较了不同时间和不同活动状态下采集的雄蜂和经过时间训练的工蜂（工人）触角中的基因表达水平。有趣的是，嗅觉相关基因[即气味受体（）基因、气味结合蛋白（）基因、羧酸酯酶（）基因等]在雄蜂和工蜂触角之间表现出稳定的基因表达差异。雄蜂触角表现出 24 个基因的高表达，其中 21 个属于包含主要蜂王信息素化合物 9-ODA 受体的 X 类群。这种大量的雄蜂偏倚基因表明，在性信息素通讯中起作用的基因比以前认为的要多。此外，我们发现许多非嗅觉相关基因的表达水平较高，包括（）和钾通道。相比之下，工人表现出 67 个基因的高表达，这些基因属于不同的类群，参与信息素通讯以及对表皮烃和花香的感知。此外，雄蜂触角表现出更高的能量代谢相关基因的表达，而工蜂触角表现出更高的神经元通讯相关基因的表达，这与早期关于外周嗅觉可塑性的报告一致。最后，下午进行交配飞行的雄蜂（先天）和下午接受觅食训练的工蜂（适应）表现出两种主要生物钟基因和的相似的日常表达变化。大多数其他随时间或每日飞行活动开始而变化的基因都是雄蜂和工蜂特有的。
