中国农业科学 ›› 2020, Vol. 53 ›› Issue (19): 4092-4102.doi: 10.3864/j.issn.0578-1752.2020.19.021

• 畜牧·兽医·资源昆虫 • 上一篇    

转录组学分析意大利蜜蜂脑部哺育行为相关基因

高艳(),朱雅楠,李秋方,苏松坤(),聂红毅()   

  1. 福建农林大学动物科学学院(蜂学学院),福州 350002
  • 收稿日期:2020-01-17 接受日期:2020-03-10 出版日期:2020-10-01 发布日期:2020-10-19
  • 通讯作者: 苏松坤,聂红毅
  • 作者简介:高艳,E-mail: 2726820378@qq.com
  • 基金资助:
    国家现代农业产业技术体系(蜜蜂)(CARS-44-KXJ4);福建省自然科学基金(2018J05043);福建省省属高校科研项目(JK2017014)

Transcriptomic Analysis of Genes Related to Nursing Behavior in the Brains of Apis mellifera ligustica

GAO Yan(),ZHU YaNan,LI QiuFang,SU SongKun(),NIE HongYi()   

  1. College of Animal Sciences (College of Bee Science), Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002
  • Received:2020-01-17 Accepted:2020-03-10 Online:2020-10-01 Published:2020-10-19
  • Contact: SongKun SU,HongYi NIE

摘要:

【目的】意大利蜜蜂(Apis mellifera ligustica)哺育行为在维护蜂群稳定和生产蜂王浆方面发挥重要作用。本研究通过人工组建蜂群获得相同日龄的哺育蜂和采集蜂,筛选出排除日龄因素干扰后哺育蜂脑部与哺育行为密切相关的差异表达基因,揭示哺育蜂脑部调控哺育行为的分子网络。【方法】通过人工组建蜂群的方法获得3日龄工蜂、10日龄哺育蜂和采集蜂、21日龄哺育蜂和采集蜂,解剖各组工蜂头部获得脑组织样本,应用RNA-seq技术对5组脑部样本(3日龄工蜂、10日龄哺育蜂、10日龄采集蜂、21日龄哺育蜂、21日龄采集蜂)中基因表达量进行转录组测序的全面分析,筛选出哺育蜂脑部哺育行为密切相关的差异表达基因,并对这些差异表达基因进行GO和KEGG富集分析。同时利用实时荧光定量PCR(qPCR)对随机选取的4个差异表达基因的表达模式进行验证。【结果】RNA-seq分析筛选得到32个与哺育蜂哺育行为密切相关的差异表达基因,这些基因在10日龄哺育蜂脑中表达量均显著高于3日龄工蜂、10日龄采集蜂、21日龄采集蜂,且在21日龄哺育蜂脑中的表达量也显著高于21日龄采集蜂。GO富集分析发现上调差异表达基因主要参与氧化还原酶活性、气味结合、跨膜运输等功能。KEGG富集结果显示,上调的差异表达基因主要参与蛋白质代谢(核糖体)、能量代谢(氧化磷酸化、碳代谢、三羧酸循环、淀粉和蔗糖代谢、氮代谢、其他聚糖降解通路)、信号转导(Toll和Imd信号通路、光传导、鞘脂代谢)、消化作用(溶酶体),其中显著性富集在鞘脂代谢和其他聚糖降解通路。qPCR结果显示3个上调差异表达基因(LOC409709LOC551813LOC409708)和1个下调差异表达基因(LOC551165)表达模式的检测结果与测序数据一致。【结论】通过对3日龄工蜂、10日龄哺育蜂、10日龄采集蜂、21日龄哺育蜂、21日龄采集蜂5组样本脑部进行全面分析,获得相同日龄哺育蜂和采集蜂脑部基因的转录组图谱,分析得到了脑部哺育行为相关的32个上调差异表达基因。哺育蜂脑部的差异表达基因主要通过信号转导和能量代谢等途径调控哺育蜂的哺育行为。

关键词: 意大利蜜蜂, 哺育蜂, 脑部, 哺育行为, 蜂王浆, RNA-seq

Abstract:

【Objective】The nursing behavior of Apis mellifera ligustica plays an important role in maintaining colony stability and production of royal jelly (RJ). In this study, samples (3-day-old worker bees, 10-day-old nurses/foragers, 21-day-old nurses/foragers) were obtained by constructing artificial colony, which can eliminate the influence of age on nursing behavior. Moreover, genes closely related to the nursing behavior were strictly screened out in the brain of these samples, which could reveal the molecular network of brain regulation of nursing behavior.【Method】The 3-day-old worker bees, 10-day-old nurses and foragers, 21-day-old nurses and foragers were obtained by constructing artificial bee colony. And then the head of different group’s worker bees was dissected to obtain brain tissues of these samples. RNA-seq was used to analyze the transcriptome sequencing of the 5 groups (3-day-old worker bees, 10-day-old nurses, 10-day-old foragers, 21-day-old nurses, 21-day-old foragers) of brain samples. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) which are closely related to the nursing behavior in the nurses’ brain were screened out. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis were carried out for these genes. qPCR was used to verify the expression patterns of 4 randomly selected DEGs.【Result】RNA-seq analysis screened out 32 DEGs that were closely related to the nursing behavior of nurses. These genes were significantly up-regulated in the brain of 10-day-old nurses than 3-day-old worker bees, 10-day-old foragers and 21-day-old foragers, and the expression level in the brain of 21-day-old nurses was significantly higher than that in 21-day-old foragers. GO enrichment analysis showed that the up-regulated DEGs were mainly involved in oxidoreductase activity, odor binding, transmembrane transport and other functional items. KEGG enrichment results showed that the up-regulated DEGs were mainly involved in protein metabolism (ribosome), energy metabolism (oxidative phosphorylation, carbon metabolism, the citrate cycle (TCA cycle), starch and sucrose metabolism, nitrogen metabolism and other glycan degradation pathway), signal transduction (Toll and Imd signaling pathways, phototransduction, sphingolipid metabolism), digestive function (lysosome). Of them, only sphingolipid metabolism and other glycan degradation pathway were notably enriched. qPCR results showed that the expression patterns of 3 up-regulated DEGs (LOC409709, LOC551813, LOC409708) and 1 down-regulated DEG (LOC551165) were consistent with the sequencing data.【Conclusion】To obtain gene expression profiles of brains from age-matched nurses and foragers, the brains of 5 groups (3-day-old worker bees, 10-day-old nurses, 10-day-old foragers, 21-day-old nurses, and 21-day-old foragers) were comprehensively analyzed using transcriptome sequencing, revealing that the 32 up-regulated DEGs were associated with brain nursing behavior. These genes were mainly involved in signal transduction and energy metabolism, which can affect the nursing behavior.

Key words: Apis mellifera ligustica, nurses, brain, nursing behavior, royal jelly, RNA-seq