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Guichard M, Dainat B, Eynard S, Vignal A, Servin B, Neuditschko M. Identification of quantitative trait loci associated with calmness and gentleness in honey bees using whole-genome sequences. Anim Genet 2021; 52:472-481. [PMID: 33970494 PMCID: PMC8360191 DOI: 10.1111/age.13070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
The identification of quantitative trait loci (QTL) through genome-wide association studies (GWAS) is a powerful method for unravelling the genetic background of selected traits and improving early-stage predictions. In honey bees (Apis mellifera), past genetic analyses have particularly focused on individual queens and workers. In this study, we used pooled whole-genome sequences to ascertain the genetic variation of the entire colony. In total, we sampled 216 Apis mellifera mellifera and 28 Apis mellifera carnica colonies. Different experts subjectively assessed the gentleness and calmness of the colonies using a standardised protocol. Conducting a GWAS for calmness on 211 purebred A. m. mellifera colonies, we identified three QTL, on chromosomes 8, 6, and 12. The two first QTL correspond to LOC409692 gene, coding for a disintegrin and metalloproteinase domain-containing protein 10, and to Abscam gene, coding for a Dscam family member Abscam protein, respectively. The last gene has been reported to be involved in the domestication of A. mellifera. The third QTL is located 13 kb upstream of LOC102655631, coding for a trehalose transporter. For gentleness, two QTL were identified on chromosomes 4 and 3. They are located within gene LOC413669, coding for a lap4 protein, and gene LOC413416, coding for a bicaudal C homolog 1-B protein, respectively. The identified positional candidate genes of both traits mainly affect the olfaction and nervous system of honey bees. Further research is needed to confirm the results and to better understand the genetic and phenotypic basis of calmness and gentleness.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Guichard
- Agroscope, Swiss Bee Research Centre, Schwarzenburgstrasse 161, Bern, 3003, Switzerland.,Agroscope, Animal GenoPhenomics, Rte de la Tioleyre 4, Posieux, 1725, Switzerland
| | - B Dainat
- Agroscope, Swiss Bee Research Centre, Schwarzenburgstrasse 161, Bern, 3003, Switzerland
| | - S Eynard
- GenPhySE, INRA, INPT, INPENVT, Université de Toulouse, Castanet-Tolosan, 31320, France.,UMT PrADE, Protection des Abeilles Dans l'Environnement, Avignon, 84914, France
| | - A Vignal
- GenPhySE, INRA, INPT, INPENVT, Université de Toulouse, Castanet-Tolosan, 31320, France.,UMT PrADE, Protection des Abeilles Dans l'Environnement, Avignon, 84914, France
| | - B Servin
- GenPhySE, INRA, INPT, INPENVT, Université de Toulouse, Castanet-Tolosan, 31320, France.,UMT PrADE, Protection des Abeilles Dans l'Environnement, Avignon, 84914, France
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- Domaine de Vilvert, Bat 224, CS80009, Jouy-en-Josas CEDEX, 78353, France
| | - M Neuditschko
- Agroscope, Animal GenoPhenomics, Rte de la Tioleyre 4, Posieux, 1725, Switzerland
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Guzman-Novoa E, Morfin N, De la Mora A, Macías-Macías JO, Tapia-González JM, Contreras-Escareño F, Medina-Flores CA, Correa-Benítez A, Quezada-Euán JJG. The Process and Outcome of the Africanization of Honey Bees in Mexico: Lessons and Future Directions. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.608091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
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3
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Wang Y, Amdam GV, Daniels BC, Page RE. Tyramine and its receptor TYR1 linked behavior QTL to reproductive physiology in honey bee workers (Apis mellifera). JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2020; 126:104093. [PMID: 32763247 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2020.104093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2020] [Revised: 06/23/2020] [Accepted: 08/02/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Honey bees (Apis mellifera) provide an excellent model for studying how complex social behavior evolves and is regulated. Social behavioral traits such as the division of labor have been mapped to specific genomic regions in quantitative trait locus (QTL) studies. However, relating genomic mapping to gene function and regulatory mechanism remains a big challenge for geneticists. In honey bee workers, division of labor is known to be regulated by reproductive physiology, but the genetic basis of this regulation remains unknown. In this case, QTL studies have identified tyramine receptor 1 (TYR1) as a candidate gene in region pln2, which is associated with multiple worker social traits and reproductive anatomy. Tyramine (TA), a neurotransmitter, regulates physiology and behavior in diverse insect species including honey bees. Here, we examine directly the effects of TYR1 and TA on worker reproductive physiology, including ovariole number, ovary function and the production of vitellogenin (VG, an egg yolk precursor). First, we used a pharmacology approach to demonstrate that TA affects ovariole number during worker larval development and increases ovary maturation during the adult stage. Second, we used a gene knockdown approach to show that TYR1 regulates vg transcription in adult workers. Finally, we estimated correlations in gene expression and propose that TYR1 may regulate vg transcription by coordinating hormonal and nutritional signals. Taken together, our results suggest TYR1 and TA play important roles in regulating worker reproductive physiology, which in turn regulates social behavior. Our study exemplifies a successful forward-genetic strategy going from QTL mapping to gene function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Wang
- Banner Health Corporation, PO Box 16423, Phoenix, AZ 85012, USA
| | - Gro V Amdam
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, PO Box 874501, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA; Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, 1430 Aas, Norway
| | - Bryan C Daniels
- ASU-SFI Center for Biosocial Complex Systems, Arizona State University, PO Box 872701, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Robert E Page
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, PO Box 874501, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA; Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of California Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
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4
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Harpur BA, Kadri SM, Orsi RO, Whitfield CW, Zayed A. Defense Response in Brazilian Honey Bees (Apis mellifera scutellata × spp.) Is Underpinned by Complex Patterns of Admixture. Genome Biol Evol 2020; 12:1367-1377. [PMID: 32597950 PMCID: PMC7487160 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evaa128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
In 1957, an invasive and highly defensive honey bee began to spread across Brazil. In the previous year, Brazilian researchers hoped to produce a subtropical-adapted honey bee by crossing local commercial honey bees (of European origin) with a South African honey bee subspecies (Apis mellifera scutellata; an A-lineage honey bee subspecies). The resulting cross-African hybrid honey bees (AHBs)-escaped from their enclosure and spread through the Americas. Today, AHB is the most common honey bee from Northern Argentina to the Southern United States. AHBs are much more likely to sting nest intruders than managed European-derived honey bee colonies. Previous studies have explored how genetic variation contributes to differences in defense response between European-derived honey bee and AHB. Although this work demonstrated very strong genetic effects on defense response, they have yet to pinpoint which genes influence variation in defense response within AHBs, specifically. We quantified defense response for 116 colonies in Brazil and performed pooled sequencing on the most phenotypically divergent samples. We identified 65 loci containing 322 genes that were significantly associated with defense response. Loci were strongly associated with metabolic function, consistent with previous functional genomic analyses of this phenotype. Additionally, defense-associated loci had nonrandom and unexpected patterns of admixture. Defense response was not simply the product of more A-lineage honey bee ancestry as previously assumed, but rather an interaction between A-lineage and European alleles. Our results suggest that a combination of A-lineage and European alleles play roles in defensive behavior in AHBs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Samir M Kadri
- Departamento de Produção Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia de Botucatu, Univervidade Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Ricardo O Orsi
- Departamento de Produção Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia de Botucatu, Univervidade Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | - Amro Zayed
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, York University, Toronto, Canada
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5
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Gibson JD, Arechavaleta-Velasco ME, Tsuruda JM, Hunt GJ. Biased Allele Expression and Aggression in Hybrid Honeybees may be Influenced by Inappropriate Nuclear-Cytoplasmic Signaling. Front Genet 2015; 6:343. [PMID: 26648977 PMCID: PMC4664729 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2015.00343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2015] [Accepted: 11/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Hybrid effects are often exhibited asymmetrically between reciprocal families. One way this could happen is if silencing of one parent’s allele occurs in one lineage but not the other, which could affect the phenotypes of the hybrids asymmetrically by silencing that allele in only one of the hybrid families. We have previously tested for allele-specific expression biases in hybrids of European and Africanized honeybees and we found that there was an asymmetric overabundance of genes showing a maternal bias in the family with a European mother. Here, we further analyze allelic bias in these hybrids to ascertain whether they may underlie previously described asymmetries in metabolism and aggression in similar hybrid families and we speculate on what mechanisms may produce this biased allele usage. We find that there are over 500 genes that have some form of biased allele usage and over 200 of these are biased toward the maternal allele but only in the family with European maternity, mirroring the pattern observed for aggression and metabolic rate. This asymmetrically biased set is enriched for genes in loci associated with aggressive behavior and also for mitochondrial-localizing proteins. It contains many genes that play important roles in metabolic regulation. Moreover we find genes relating to the piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway, which is involved in chromatin modifications and epigenetic regulation and may help explain the mechanism underlying this asymmetric allele use. Based on these findings and previous work investigating aggression and metabolism in bees, we propose a novel hypothesis; that the asymmetric pattern of biased allele usage in these hybrids is a result of inappropriate use of piRNA-mediated nuclear-cytoplasmic signaling that is normally used to modulate aggression in honeybees. This is the first report of widespread asymmetric effects on allelic expression in hybrids and may represent a novel mechanism for gene regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua D Gibson
- Department of Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette IN, USA
| | - Miguel E Arechavaleta-Velasco
- CENID-Fisiología y Mejoramiento Animal, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agrícolas y Pecuarias México, Mexico
| | | | - Greg J Hunt
- Department of Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette IN, USA
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6
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Lattorff HMG, Moritz RF. Genetic underpinnings of division of labor in the honeybee (Apis mellifera). Trends Genet 2013; 29:641-8. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2013.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2012] [Revised: 07/19/2013] [Accepted: 08/08/2013] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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7
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Boake CRB, Arnold SJ, Breden F, Meffert LM, Ritchie MG, Taylor BJ, Wolf JB, Moore AJ. Genetic tools for studying adaptation and the evolution of behavior. Am Nat 2008; 160 Suppl 6:S143-59. [PMID: 18707473 DOI: 10.1086/342902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
The rapid expansion of genomic and molecular genetic techniques in model organisms, and the application of these techniques to organisms that are less well studied genetically, make it possible to understand the genetic control of many behavioral phenotypes. However, many behavioral ecologists are uncertain about the value of including a genetic component in their studies. In this article, we review how genetic analyses of behavior are central to topics ranging from understanding past selection and predicting future evolution to explaining the neural and hormonal control of behavior. Furthermore, we review both new and old techniques for studying evolutionary behavior genetics and highlight how the choice of approach depends on both the question and the organism. Topics discussed include genetic architecture, detecting the past history of selection, and genotype-by-environment interactions. We show how these questions are being addressed with techniques including statistical genetics, QTL analyses, transgenic analyses, and microarrays. Many of the techniques were first applied to the behavior of genetic model organisms such as laboratory mice and flies. Two recent developments serve to expand the relevance of such studies to behavioral ecology. The first is to use model organisms for studies of the genetic basis of evolutionarily relevant behavior and the second is to apply methods developed in model genetic systems to species that have not previously been examined genetically. These conceptual advances, along with the rapid diversification of genetic tools and the recognition of widespread genetic homology, suggest a bright outlook for evolutionary genetic studies. This review provides access to tools through references to the recent literature and shows the great promise for evolutionary behavioral genetics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine R B Boake
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-1610, USA
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8
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Hunt GJ. Flight and fight: a comparative view of the neurophysiology and genetics of honey bee defensive behavior. JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2007; 53:399-410. [PMID: 17379239 PMCID: PMC2606975 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2007.01.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2006] [Revised: 01/10/2007] [Accepted: 01/16/2007] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Honey bee nest defense involves guard bees that specialize in olfaction-based nestmate recognition and alarm-pheromone-mediated recruitment of nestmates to sting. Stinging is influenced by visual, tactile and olfactory stimuli. Both quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping and behavioral studies point to guarding behavior as a key factor in colony stinging response. Results of reciprocal F1 crosses show that paternally inherited genes have a greater influence on colony stinging response than maternally inherited genes. The most active alarm pheromone component, isoamyl acetate (IAA) causes increased respiration and may induce stress analgesia in bees. IAA primes worker bees for 'fight or flight', possibly through actions of neuropeptides and/or biogenic amines. Studies of aggression in other species lead to an expectation that octopamine or 5-HT might play a role in honey bee defensive response. Genome sequence and QTL mapping identified 128 candidate genes for three regions known to influence defensive behavior. Comparative bioinformatics suggest possible roles of genes involved in neurogenesis and central nervous system (CNS) activity, and genes involved in sensory tuning through G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), such as an arrestin (AmArr4) and the metabotropic GABA(B) receptor (GABA-B-R1).
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Affiliation(s)
- G J Hunt
- Department of Entomology, Purdue University, 901 W. State St., West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.
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9
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Hunt GJ, Amdam GV, Schlipalius D, Emore C, Sardesai N, Williams CE, Rueppell O, Guzmán-Novoa E, Arechavaleta-Velasco M, Chandra S, Fondrk MK, Beye M, Page RE. Behavioral genomics of honeybee foraging and nest defense. Naturwissenschaften 2006; 94:247-67. [PMID: 17171388 PMCID: PMC1829419 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-006-0183-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 166] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2006] [Revised: 10/08/2006] [Accepted: 10/16/2006] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The honeybee has been the most important insect species for study of social behavior. The recently released draft genomic sequence for the bee will accelerate honeybee behavioral genetics. Although we lack sufficient tools to manipulate this genome easily, quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that influence natural variation in behavior have been identified and tested for their effects on correlated behavioral traits. We review what is known about the genetics and physiology of two behavioral traits in honeybees, foraging specialization (pollen versus nectar), and defensive behavior, and present evidence that map-based cloning of genes is more feasible in the bee than in other metazoans. We also present bioinformatic analyses of candidate genes within QTL confidence intervals (CIs). The high recombination rate of the bee made it possible to narrow the search to regions containing only 17–61 predicted peptides for each QTL, although CIs covered large genetic distances. Knowledge of correlated behavioral traits, comparative bioinformatics, and expression assays facilitated evaluation of candidate genes. An overrepresentation of genes involved in ovarian development and insulin-like signaling components within pollen foraging QTL regions suggests that an ancestral reproductive gene network was co-opted during the evolution of foraging specialization. The major QTL influencing defensive/aggressive behavior contains orthologs of genes involved in central nervous system activity and neurogenesis. Candidates at the other two defensive-behavior QTLs include modulators of sensory signaling (Am5HT7 serotonin receptor, AmArr4 arrestin, and GABA-B-R1 receptor). These studies are the first step in linking natural variation in honeybee social behavior to the identification of underlying genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Greg J. Hunt
- Department of Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907 USA
| | - Gro V. Amdam
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 87451, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501 USA
| | - David Schlipalius
- Department of Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907 USA
| | - Christine Emore
- Department of Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907 USA
| | - Nagesh Sardesai
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907 USA
| | - Christie E. Williams
- Department of Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907 USA
- Crop Production and Pest Control Research Unit, USDA-ARS, West Lafayette, IN 47906 USA
| | - Olav Rueppell
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, 105 Eberhart Bldg., Greensboro, NC 27402 USA
| | - Ernesto Guzmán-Novoa
- Department of Environmental Biology, University of Guelph, N1G 2W1 Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Sathees Chandra
- Department of Biological, Chemical and Physical Sciences, Roosevelt University, Chicago, IL 60605 USA
| | - M. Kim Fondrk
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 87451, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501 USA
| | - Martin Beye
- Institut fuer Genetik, Heinrich-Heine Universitaet Duesseldorf, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Robert E. Page
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 87451, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501 USA
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Fujiyuki T, Takeuchi H, Ono M, Ohka S, Sasaki T, Nomoto A, Kubo T. Kakugo virus from brains of aggressive worker honeybees. Adv Virus Res 2006; 65:1-27. [PMID: 16387192 DOI: 10.1016/s0065-3527(05)65001-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tomoko Fujiyuki
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
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11
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Wang H, Zhang YM, Li X, Masinde GL, Mohan S, Baylink DJ, Xu S. Bayesian shrinkage estimation of quantitative trait loci parameters. Genetics 2005; 170:465-80. [PMID: 15781696 PMCID: PMC1449727 DOI: 10.1534/genetics.104.039354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 138] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2004] [Accepted: 02/09/2005] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Mapping multiple QTL is a typical problem of variable selection in an oversaturated model because the potential number of QTL can be substantially larger than the sample size. Currently, model selection is still the most effective approach to mapping multiple QTL, although further research is needed. An alternative approach to analyzing an oversaturated model is the shrinkage estimation in which all candidate variables are included in the model but their estimated effects are forced to shrink toward zero. In contrast to the usual shrinkage estimation where all model effects are shrunk by the same factor, we develop a Bayesian method that allows the shrinkage factor to vary across different effects. The new shrinkage method forces marker intervals that contain no QTL to have estimated effects close to zero whereas intervals containing notable QTL have estimated effects subject to virtually no shrinkage. We demonstrate the method using both simulated and real data for QTL mapping. A simulation experiment with 500 backcross (BC) individuals showed that the method can localize closely linked QTL and QTL with effects as small as 1% of the phenotypic variance of the trait. The method was also used to map QTL responsible for wound healing in a family of a (MRL/MPJ x SJL/J) cross with 633 F(2) mice derived from two inbred lines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Wang
- Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, 92521, USA
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12
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Zhang YM, Mao Y, Xie C, Smith H, Luo L, Xu S. Mapping quantitative trait loci using naturally occurring genetic variance among commercial inbred lines of maize (Zea mays L.). Genetics 2005; 169:2267-75. [PMID: 15716509 PMCID: PMC1449576 DOI: 10.1534/genetics.104.033217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2004] [Accepted: 01/07/2005] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Many commercial inbred lines are available in crops. A large amount of genetic variation is preserved among these lines. The genealogical history of the inbred lines is usually well documented. However, quantitative trait loci (QTL) responsible for the genetic variances among the lines are largely unexplored due to lack of statistical methods. In this study, we show that the pedigree information of the lines along with the trait values and marker information can be used to map QTL without the need of further crossing experiments. We develop a Monte Carlo method to estimate locus-specific identity-by-descent (IBD) matrices. These IBD matrices are further incorporated into a mixed-model equation for variance component analysis. QTL variance is estimated and tested at every putative position of the genome. The actual QTL are detected by scanning the entire genome. Applying this new method to a well-documented pedigree of maize (Zea mays L.) that consists of 404 inbred lines, we mapped eight QTL for the maize male flowering trait, growing degree day heat units to pollen shedding (GDUSHD). These detected QTL contributed >80% of the variance observed among the inbred lines. The QTL were then used to evaluate all the inbred lines using the best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP) technique. Superior lines were selected according to the estimated QTL allelic values, a technique called marker-assisted selection (MAS). The MAS procedure implemented via BLUP may be routinely used by breeders to select superior lines and line combinations for development of new cultivars.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan-Ming Zhang
- Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, 92521-0124, USA
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13
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Kunieda T, Kubo T. In vivo gene transfer into the adult honeybee brain by using electroporation. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2004; 318:25-31. [PMID: 15110748 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2004.03.178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2004] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The honeybee, Apis mellifera L., is a social insect and they show wide variety of exquisite social behaviors to maintain colony activity. To enable the elucidation of those social behaviors at a molecular level and gene function in the nervous system, we developed an in vivo method to perform gene transfer in the adult brain of living honeybee by electroporation. When green fluorescent protein-expressing plasmid was transferred to the brain with this system, green fluorescence was observed near the anode location. The expression of transfected genes was confirmed at both transcriptional and translational levels by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and immunoblot analyses. This system will facilitate the analysis of gene function and the regulatory mechanisms of gene networks in the nervous system and provide clues to clarify the relation between those genes and the complex behaviors of the honeybee.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takekazu Kunieda
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
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14
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Fujiyuki T, Takeuchi H, Ono M, Ohka S, Sasaki T, Nomoto A, Kubo T. Novel insect picorna-like virus identified in the brains of aggressive worker honeybees. J Virol 2004; 78:1093-100. [PMID: 14722264 PMCID: PMC321398 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.78.3.1093-1100.2004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 120] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
To identify candidate genes involved in the aggressive behavior of worker honeybees, we used the differential display method to search for RNAs exclusively detected in the brains of aggressive workers that had attacked a hornet. We identified a novel, 10,152-nucleotide RNA, termed Kakugo RNA. Kakugo RNA encodes a protein of 2,893 amino acid residues that shares structural features and sequence similarities with various picorna-like virus polyproteins, especially those from sacbrood virus, which infects honeybees. The Kakugo protein contains several domains that correspond to the virion protein, helicase, protease, and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase domains of various picorna-like virus polyproteins. When the worker bee tissue lysate was subjected to sucrose density gradient centrifugation, Kakugo RNA, except for the material at the bottom, was separated into two major peaks. One of the peaks corresponded to the position of Kakugo mRNA, and the other corresponded to the position of the poliovirus virion. These results suggest that the Kakugo RNA exists as an mRNA-like free RNA and virion RNA in the honeybee. Furthermore, injection of the lysate supernatant from the attacker heads into the heads of noninfected bees resulted in a marked increase in Kakugo RNA. These results demonstrate that Kakugo RNA is a plus-strand RNA of a novel picorna-like virus and that the brains of aggressive workers are infected by this novel virus. Kakugo RNA was detected in aggressive workers but not in nurse bees or foragers. In aggressive workers, Kakugo RNA was detected in the brain but not in the thorax or abdomen, indicating a close relation between viral infection in the brain and aggressive worker behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomoko Fujiyuki
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
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15
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Lobo NF, Ton LQ, Hill CA, Emore C, Romero-Severson J, Hunt GJ, Collins FH. Genomic analysis in the sting-2 quantitative trait locus for defensive behavior in the honey bee, Apis mellifera. Genome Res 2004; 13:2588-93. [PMID: 14656966 PMCID: PMC403800 DOI: 10.1101/gr.1634503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
We have sequenced an 81-kb genomic region from the honey bee, Apis mellifera, associated with a quantitative trait locus (QTL) sting-2 for aggressive behavior. This sequence represents the first extensive study of the honey-bee genome structure encompassing putative genes in a QTL for a behavioral trait. Expression of 13 putative genes, as well as two transcripts that were present in a honey-bee EST database, was confirmed through reverse transcription analysis of mRNA from the honey-bee head. Whereas most transcripts exhibited little or no variation between European and Africanized honey-bee alleles, one transcript demonstrated significant nonsynonymous substitutions, deletions, and insertions. All 13 putative genes lacked similarity to known invertebrate or vertebrate proteins or transcripts. This observation may be reflective of the processes that determine the genomic evolution of an insect with social behavior and/or haplo-diploidy and are an indication of the unique nature of the honey-bee genome. These results make this sequence an invaluable research tool for the ongoing honey-bee whole-genome sequencing effort.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neil F Lobo
- Indiana Center for Insect Genomics, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA
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Breed MD, Guzmán-Novoa E, Hunt GJ. Defensive behavior of honey bees: organization, genetics, and comparisons with other bees. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ENTOMOLOGY 2004; 49:271-98. [PMID: 14651465 DOI: 10.1146/annurev.ento.49.061802.123155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 169] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
One key advantage of eusociality is shared defense of the nest, brood, and stored food; nest defense plays an important role in the biology of eusocial bees. Recent studies on honey bees, Apis mellifera, have focused on the placement of defensive activity in the overall scheme of division of labor, showing that guard bees play a unique and important role in colony defense. Alarm pheromones function in integrating defensive responses; honey bee alarm pheromone is an excellent example of a multicomponent pheromonal blend. The genetic regulation of defensive behavior is now better understood from the mapping of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with variation in defensiveness. Colony defense in other eusocial bees is less well understood, but enough information is available to provide interesting comparisons between A. mellifera and other species of Apis, as well as with allodapine, halictine, bombine, and meliponine bees. These comparative studies illustrate the wide variety of evolutionary solutions to problems in colony defense in the Apoidea.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael D Breed
- Department of Environmental, Population and Organismic Biology, The University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0334, USA.
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Pankiw T, Page RE. Effect of pheromones, hormones, and handling on sucrose response thresholds of honey bees (Apis mellifera L.). J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2003; 189:675-84. [PMID: 12879351 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-003-0442-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2002] [Revised: 06/09/2003] [Accepted: 06/14/2003] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The responsiveness of bees to sucrose is an important indicator of honey bee foraging decisions. Correlated with sucrose responsiveness is forage choice behavior, age of first foraging, and conditioned learning response. Pheromones and hormones are significant components in social insect systems associated with the regulation of colony-level and individual foraging behavior. Bees were treated to different exposure regimes of queen and brood pheromones and their sucrose responsiveness measured. Bees reared with queen or brood pheromone were less responsive than controls. Our results suggest responsiveness to sucrose is a physiologically, neuronally mediated response. Orally administered octopamine significantly reduced sucrose response thresholds. Change in response to octopamine was on a time scale of minutes. The greatest separation between octopamine treated and control bees occurred 30 min after feeding. There was no significant sucrose response difference to doses ranging from 0.2 mug to 20 mug of octopamine. Topically applied methoprene significantly increased sucrose responsiveness. Handling method significantly affected sucrose responsiveness. Bees that were anesthetized by chilling or CO(2) treatment were significantly more responsive than control bees 30 min after handling. Sixty minutes after handling there were no significant treatment differences. We concluded that putative stress effects of handling were blocked by anesthetic.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Pankiw
- Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-2475, USA.
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Hunt GJ, Wood KV, Guzmán-Novoa E, Lee HD, Rothwell AP, Bonham CC. Discovery of 3-methyl-2-buten-1-yl acetate, a new alarm component in the sting apparatus of Africanized honeybees. J Chem Ecol 2003; 29:453-63. [PMID: 12737269 DOI: 10.1023/a:1022694330868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
We analyzed the alarm pheromone components from five colonies of Africanized honeybees and three colonies of European honeybees collected in Mexico. Analyses revealed a novel alarm pheromone component that was only present in appreciable quantities in the Africanized bee samples. Analysis of the mass spectrum and subsequent synthesis confirmed that this compound is 3-methyl-2-buten-1-yl acetate (3M2BA), an unsaturated derivative of IPA. In Africanized honeybees, sampling from stings of guards showed that 3M2BA was present at levels of 0-38% the amount of isoamyl acetate (IPA). Behavioral assays from three colonies each of Africanized and European bees showed that 3M2BA recruited worker bees from hives of both Africanized bees and European bees at least as efficiently as isopentyl acetate IPA, a compound widely reported to have the highest activity for releasing alarm and stinging behavior in honeybees. However, a mixture of of 3M2BA and IPA (1:2) recruited bees more efficiently than either of the compounds alone. None of the compounds differed in their efficacy for inducing bees to pursue the observers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Greg J Hunt
- Department of Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-2089, USA.
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Abstract
Genomics is the study of the structure and function of the genome: the set of genetic information encoded in the DNA of the nucleus and organelles of an organism. It is a dynamic field that combines traditional paths of inquiry with new approaches that would have been impossible without recent technological developments. Much of the recent focus has been on obtaining the sequence of entire genomes, determining the order and organization of the genes, and developing libraries that provide immediate physical access to any desired DNA fragment. This has enabled functional studies on a genome-wide level, including analysis of the genetic basis of complex traits, quantification of global patterns of gene expression, and systematic gene disruption projects. The successful contribution of genomics to problems in applied entomology requires the cooperation of the private and public sectors to build upon the knowledge derived from the Drosophila genome and effectively develop models for other insect Orders.
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Affiliation(s)
- David G Heckel
- Centre for Environmental Stress and Adaptation Research, Department of Genetics, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert E Page
- Department of Entomology, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA.
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Field LM, Pickett JA, Wadhams LJ. Molecular studies in insect olfaction. INSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2000; 9:545-551. [PMID: 11122463 DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2583.2000.00221.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- L M Field
- Biological and Ecological Chemistry Department, IACR-Rothamsted, Harpenden, Herts, UK.
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