Structure and function of gene regulatory networks associated with worker sterility in honeybees.

ABSTRACT: A characteristic of eusocial bees is a reproductive division of labor in which one or a few queens monopolize reproduction, while her worker daughters take on reproductively altruistic roles within the colony. The evolution of worker reproductive altruism involves indirect selection for the coordinated expression of genes that regulate personal reproduction, but evidence for this type of selection remains elusive. In this study, we tested whether genes coexpressed under queen-induced worker sterility show evidence of adaptive organization within a model brain transcriptional regulatory network (TRN). If so, this structured pattern would imply that indirect selection on nonreproductive workers has influenced the functional organization of genes within the network, specifically to regulate t

SUBMITTER: Sobotka JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4755009 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature