Caste-biased Expression of fem and Amdsx Genes in Apis mellifera ligustica (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Abstract

Sex determination and caste differentiation are two crucial processes for morphology building in honeybees. It is unclear whether there is an interaction between these two processes. Here, we investigated the expression of fem and Amdsx genes between female castes of honeybees. We found that the expression of fem and Amdsx is significantly higher in queens than in workers, and this expression was positively regulated by juvenile hormone (JH). Our results suggest that sex-determining genes fem and Amdsx are also involved in honeybee caste differentiation.

Keywords

• sex determination
• caste differentiation
• gene expression
• quantitative RT-PCR
• juvenile hormone