Dimorphic ovary differentiation in honeybee (Apis mellifera) larvae involves caste-specific expression of homologs of ark and buffy cell death genes.

ABSTRACT: The establishment of the number of repeated structural units, the ovarioles, in the ovaries is one of the critical events that shape caste polyphenism in social insects. In early postembryonic development, honeybee (Apis mellifera) larvae have a pair of ovaries, each one consisting of almost two hundred ovariole primordia. While practically all these ovarioles continue developing in queen-destined larvae, they undergo massive programmed cell death (PCD) in worker-destined larvae. So as to gain insight into the molecular basis of this fundamental process in caste differentiation we used quantitative PCR (qPCR) and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) to investigate the expression of the Amark and Ambuffy genes in the ovaries of the two honeybee castes throughout the fifth larval instar.

SUBMITTER: Dallacqua RP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4028266 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature