ArticleBMC genomics2009
Epigenetic regulation of the honey bee transcriptome: unravelling the nature of methylated genes.
Article in BMC genomics, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 73 papers.
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Who cites it
73 citing papers in PubMed, 159 citations in OpenAlex.
- Multiomics Reveal Associations Between CpG Methylation, Histone Modifications and Transcription in a Species That has Lost DNMT3, the Colorado Potato Beetle.Journal of experimental zoology. Part B, Molecular and developmental evolution · 2025Article
- Evolutionary Consequences of Unusually Large Pericentric TE-rich Regions in the Genome of a Neotropical Fig Wasp.Genome biology and evolution · 2025Article
- Epigenetic Mechanisms inCurrent issues in molecular biology · 2025Review
- Do pollinators play a role in shaping the essential amino acids found in nectar?The New phytologist · 2025Article
- Climate change-induced stress in the honey beeFrontiers in physiology · 2025Review
- A plant virus differentially alters DNA methylation in two cryptic species of a hemipteran vector.Npj viruses · 2024Article
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- Integrated Analysis of DNA Methylome and Transcriptome Reveals Epigenetic Regulation of Cold Tolerance inInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Phenotypic dimorphism between honeybee queen and worker is regulated by complicated epigenetic modifications.iScience · 2023Article
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- Epigenetics Mechanisms of Honeybees: Secrets of Royal Jelly.Epigenetics insights · 2023Review
- DNA methylation across the tree of life, from micro to macro-organism.Bioengineered · 2022Article
- Intergenerational Patterns of DNA Methylation inToxics · 2021Article
- The role of epigenetics, particularly DNA methylation, in the evolution of caste in insect societies.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2021Review
- Novel structure in the nuclei of honey bee brain neurons revealed by immunostaining.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- DNA methylation differs extensively between strains of the same geographical origin and changes with age in Daphnia magna.Epigenetics & chromatin · 2021Article
- Methylation and gene expression differences between reproductive and sterile bumblebee workers.Evolution letters · 2019Article
- The effects of the neonicotinoid imidacloprid on gene expression and DNA methylation in the buff-tailed bumblebee Bombus terrestris.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2019Article
- Comparative Analysis of Brain and Fat Body Gene Splicing Patterns in the Honey Bee,G3 (Bethesda, Md.) · 2019Article
- The effect of maternal care on gene expression and DNA methylation in a subsocial bee.Nature communications · 2018Article
13 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundEpigenetic modification of DNA via methylation is one of the key inventions in eukaryotic evolution. It provides a source for the switching of gene activities, the maintenance of stable phenotypes and the integration of environmental and genomic signals. Although this process is widespread among eukaryotes, both the patterns of methylation and their relevant biological roles not only vary noticeably in different lineages, but often are poorly understood. In addition, the evolutionary origins of DNA methylation in multicellular organisms remain enigmatic. Here we used a new 'epigenetic' model, the social honey bee Apis mellifera, to gain insights into the significance of methylated genes.
resultsWe combined microarray profiling of several tissues with genome-scale bioinformatics and bisulfite sequencing of selected genes to study the honey bee methylome. We find that around 35% of the annotated honey bee genes are expected to be methylated at the CpG dinucleotides by a highly conserved DNA methylation system. We show that one unifying feature of the methylated genes in this species is their broad pattern of expression and the associated 'housekeeping' roles. In contrast, genes involved in more stringently regulated spatial or temporal functions are predicted to be un-methylated.
conclusionOur data suggest that honey bees use CpG methylation of intragenic regions as an epigenetic mechanism to control the levels of activity of the genes that are broadly expressed and might be needed for conserved core biological processes in virtually every type of cell. We discuss the implications of our findings for genome-scale regulatory network structures and the evolution of the role(s) of DNA methylation in eukaryotes. Our findings are particularly important in the context of the emerging evidence that environmental factors can influence the epigenetic settings of some genes and lead to serious metabolic and behavioural disorders.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.