ArticlePLoS genetics2017
Plant microRNAs in larval food regulate honeybee caste development.
Article in PLoS genetics, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 70 papers.
What it found
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Who cites it
70 citing papers in PubMed, 159 citations in OpenAlex.
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- The role of gut microbiota-gonadal axis in ovary activation of Asian honey bee (Apis cerana) queens.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2025Article
- The eusocial non-code: Unveiling the impact of noncoding RNAs on Hymenoptera eusocial evolution.Non-coding RNA research · 2025Review
- In Silico Prediction of Maize microRNA as a Xanthine Oxidase Inhibitor: A New Approach to Treating Hyperuricemia Patients.Non-coding RNA · 2025Article
- Preliminary Evidence of a Horizontal Transfer of Paramutation Phenomenon at thePlants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Exploring fatty acids from royal jelly as a source of histone deacetylase inhibitors: from the hive to applications in human well-being and health.Epigenetics · 2024Article
- Regulation of insect behavior by non-coding RNAs.Science China. Life sciences · 2024Review
- Cross-kingdom RNA interference mediated by insect salivary microRNAs may suppress plant immunity.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- Elucidating the ecophysiology of soybean pod-sucking stinkbug Riptortus pedestris (Hemiptera: Alydidae) based on de novo genome assembly and transcriptome analysis.BMC genomics · 2024Article
- Roles of DNA Methylation in Color Alternation of Eastern Honey Bees (International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- microRNAs: Key Regulators in Plant Responses to Abiotic and Biotic Stresses via Endogenous and Cross-Kingdom Mechanisms.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Exploring the putative microRNAs cross-kingdom transfer inFrontiers in plant science · 2024Article
- Cross-kingdom regulation of plant microRNAs: potential application in crop improvement and human disease therapeutics.Frontiers in plant science · 2024Review
- Regulation of soldier caste differentiation by microRNAs in Formosan subterranean termite (PeerJ · 2024Article
- Substances in the mandibular glands mediate queen effects on larval development and colony organization in an annual bumble bee.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023Article
- Advances in studies of circulating microRNAs: origination, transportation, and distal target regulation.Journal of cell communication and signaling · 2023Review
- MicroRNA profiling of royal jelly extracellular vesicles and their potential role in cell viability and reversing cell apoptosis.Functional & integrative genomics · 2023Article
10 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
17 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The major environmental determinants of honeybee caste development come from larval nutrients: royal jelly stimulates the differentiation of larvae into queens, whereas beebread leads to worker bee fate. However, these determinants are not fully characterized. Here we report that plant RNAs, particularly miRNAs, which are more enriched in beebread than in royal jelly, delay development and decrease body and ovary size in honeybees, thereby preventing larval differentiation into queens and inducing development into worker bees. Mechanistic studies reveal that amTOR, a stimulatory gene in caste differentiation, is the direct target of miR162a. Interestingly, the same effect also exists in non-social Drosophila. When such plant RNAs and miRNAs are fed to Drosophila larvae, they cause extended developmental times and reductions in body weight and length, ovary size and fecundity. This study identifies an uncharacterized function of plant miRNAs that fine-tunes honeybee caste development, offering hints for understanding cross-kingdom interaction and co-evolution.
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Registered trials
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.