ArticleScientific reports2021
Gene expression and epigenetics reveal species-specific mechanisms acting upon common molecular pathways in the evolution of task division in bees.
Article in Scientific reports, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- Meta-Analysis of Public RNA Sequencing Data Revealed Potential Key Genes Associated with Reproductive Division of Labor in Social Hymenoptera and Termites.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Pooled it
- Co-expression Gene Networks and Machine-learning Algorithms Unveil a Core Genetic Toolkit for Reproductive Division of Labour in Rudimentary Insect Societies.Genome biology and evolution · 2023Pooled it
- The Evolution of Bees: Insights from 'Omic Studies.Genome biology and evolution · 2026Review
- Melatonergic Regulation of Polyethism and Circadian Foraging inInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Exploring changes in social spider DNA methylation profiles in all cytosine contexts following infection.Heredity · 2024Article
- Decoding bee cleptoparasitism through comparative transcriptomics of Coelioxoides waltheriae and its host Tetrapedia diversipes.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Insights from Melipona bicolor hybrid genome assembly: a stingless bee genome with chromosome-level scaffold.BMC genomics · 2024Article
- The diverse roles of insulin signaling in insect behavior.Frontiers in insect science · 2024Review
- Influence of social lifestyles on host-microbe symbioses in the bees.Ecology and evolution · 2023Article
- Heritable Epigenomic Modifications Influence Stress Resilience and Rapid Adaptations in the Brown Planthopper (International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Article
- Complex regulatory role of DNA methylation in caste- and age-specific expression of a termite.Open biology · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
A striking feature of advanced insect societies is the existence of workers that forgo reproduction. Two broad types of workers exist in eusocial bees: nurses who care for their young siblings and the queen, and foragers who guard the nest and forage for food. Comparisons between these two worker subcastes have been performed in honeybees, but data from other bees are scarce. To understand whether similar molecular mechanisms are involved in nurse-forager differences across distinct species, we compared gene expression and DNA methylation profiles between nurses and foragers of the buff-tailed bumblebee Bombus terrestris and the stingless bee Tetragonisca angustula. These datasets were then compared to previous findings from honeybees. Our analyses revealed that although the expression pattern of genes is often species-specific, many of the biological processes and molecular pathways involved are common. Moreover, the correlation between gene expression and DNA methylation was dependent on the nucleotide context, and non-CG methylation appeared to be a relevant factor in the behavioral changes of the workers. In summary, task specialization in worker bees is characterized by a plastic and mosaic molecular pattern, with species-specific mechanisms acting upon broad common pathways across species.
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