Differential gene expression between developing queens and workers in the honey bee, Apis mellifera.

ABSTRACT: Many insects show polyphenisms, or alternative morphologies, which are based on differential gene expression rather than genetic polymorphism. Queens and workers are alternative forms of the adult female honey bee and represent one of the best known examples of insect polyphenism. Hormonal regulation of caste determination in honey bees has been studied in detail, but little is known about the proximate molecular mechanisms underlying this process, or any other such polyphenism. We report the success of a molecular-genetic approach for studying queen- and worker-specific gene expression in the development of the honey bee (Apis mellifera). Numerous genes appear to be differentially expressed between the two castes. Seven differentially expressed loci described here belong to at least five

SUBMITTER: Evans JD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC21902 | biostudies-literature | 1999 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature