DNA methylation dynamics, metabolic fluxes, gene splicing, and alternative phenotypes in honey bees.

ABSTRACT: In honey bees (Apis mellifera), the development of a larva into either a queen or worker depends on differential feeding with royal jelly and involves epigenomic modifications by DNA methyltransferases. To understand the role of DNA methylation in this process we sequenced the larval methylomes in both queens and workers. We show that the number of differentially methylated genes (DMGs) in larval head is significantly increased relative to adult brain (2,399 vs. 560) with more than 80% of DMGs up-methylated in worker larvae. Several highly conserved metabolic and signaling pathways are enriched in methylated genes, underscoring the connection between dietary intake and metabolic flux. This includes genes related to juvenile hormone and insulin, two hormones shown previously to regulate cas

SUBMITTER: Foret S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3324026 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature