Extent and complexity of RNA processing in honey bee queen and worker caste development

Xu Jiang He; Andrew B. Barron; Liu Yang; Hu Chen; Yu Zhu He; Li Zhen Zhang; Qiang Huang; Zi Long Wang; Xiao Bo Wu; Wei Yu Yan; Zhi Jiang Zeng

iScience (May 2022)

Extent and complexity of RNA processing in honey bee queen and worker caste development

Xu Jiang He,
Andrew B. Barron,
Liu Yang,
Hu Chen,
Yu Zhu He,
Li Zhen Zhang,
Qiang Huang,
Zi Long Wang,
Xiao Bo Wu,
Wei Yu Yan,
Zhi Jiang Zeng

Affiliations

Xu Jiang He: Honeybee Research Institute, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, P. R. of China; Jiangxi Province Honeybee Biology and Beekeeping Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, P. R. of China
Andrew B. Barron: Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW 2109, Australia
Liu Yang: Wuhan Benagen Tech Solutions Company Limited, Wuhan, Hubei 430021, P. R. of China
Hu Chen: Wuhan Benagen Tech Solutions Company Limited, Wuhan, Hubei 430021, P. R. of China
Yu Zhu He: Honeybee Research Institute, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, P. R. of China
Li Zhen Zhang: Honeybee Research Institute, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, P. R. of China
Qiang Huang: Honeybee Research Institute, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, P. R. of China
Zi Long Wang: Honeybee Research Institute, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, P. R. of China
Xiao Bo Wu: Honeybee Research Institute, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, P. R. of China
Wei Yu Yan: Honeybee Research Institute, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, P. R. of China
Zhi Jiang Zeng: Honeybee Research Institute, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, P. R. of China; Jiangxi Province Honeybee Biology and Beekeeping Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, P. R. of China; Corresponding author

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 25, no. 5
p. 104301

Abstract

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Summary: The distinct honeybee (Apis mellifera) worker and queen castes have become a model for the study of genomic mechanisms of phenotypic plasticity. Here we performed a nanopore-based direct RNA sequencing with exceptionally long reads to compare the mRNA transcripts between queen and workers at three points during their larval development. We found thousands of significantly differentially expressed transcript isoforms (DEIs) between queen and worker larvae. These DEIs were formatted by a flexible splicing system. We showed that poly(A) tails participated in this caste differentiation by negatively regulating the expression of DEIs. Hundreds of isoforms uniquely expressed in either queens or workers during their larval development, and isoforms were expressed at different points in queen and worker larval development demonstrating a dynamic relationship between isoform expression and developmental mechanisms. These findings show the full complexity of RNA processing and transcript expression in honey bee phenotypic plasticity.

Published in iScience

ISSN: 2589-0042 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Science
Website: http://www.cell.com/iscience/home

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