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Insights into social insects from the genome of the honeybee Apis mellifera

Weinstock, George M ; Elhaik, Eran LU orcid and Wright, Rita (2006) In Nature 443(7114). p.931-949
Abstract

Here we report the genome sequence of the honeybee Apis mellifera, a key model for social behaviour and essential to global ecology through pollination. Compared with other sequenced insect genomes, the A. mellifera genome has high A+T and CpG contents, lacks major transposon families, evolves more slowly, and is more similar to vertebrates for circadian rhythm, RNA interference and DNA methylation genes, among others. Furthermore, A. mellifera has fewer genes for innate immunity, detoxification enzymes, cuticle-forming proteins and gustatory receptors, more genes for odorant receptors, and novel genes for nectar and pollen utilization, consistent with its ecology and social organization. Compared to Drosophila, genes in early... (More)

Here we report the genome sequence of the honeybee Apis mellifera, a key model for social behaviour and essential to global ecology through pollination. Compared with other sequenced insect genomes, the A. mellifera genome has high A+T and CpG contents, lacks major transposon families, evolves more slowly, and is more similar to vertebrates for circadian rhythm, RNA interference and DNA methylation genes, among others. Furthermore, A. mellifera has fewer genes for innate immunity, detoxification enzymes, cuticle-forming proteins and gustatory receptors, more genes for odorant receptors, and novel genes for nectar and pollen utilization, consistent with its ecology and social organization. Compared to Drosophila, genes in early developmental pathways differ in Apis, whereas similarities exist for functions that differ markedly, such as sex determination, brain function and behaviour. Population genetics suggests a novel African origin for the species A. mellifera and insights into whether Africanized bees spread throughout the New World via hybridization or displacement.

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publication status
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keywords
Animals, Base Composition, Bees/genetics, Behavior, Animal, DNA Transposable Elements/genetics, Evolution, Molecular, Female, Gene Expression Regulation/genetics, Genes, Insect/genetics, Genome, Insect/genetics, Genomics, Immunity/genetics, Male, Molecular Sequence Data, Phylogeny, Physical Chromosome Mapping, Proteome/genetics, Reproduction/genetics, Signal Transduction/genetics, Social Behavior, Telomere/genetics
in
Nature
volume
443
issue
7114
pages
931 - 949
publisher
Nature Publishing Group
external identifiers
  • pmid:17073008
  • scopus:33750460281
ISSN
0028-0836
DOI
10.1038/nature05260
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
50605226-e997-44cc-9a6a-b33098df66a3
date added to LUP
2019-11-10 16:54:54
date last changed
2024-03-04 07:47:28
@article{50605226-e997-44cc-9a6a-b33098df66a3,
  abstract     = {{<p>Here we report the genome sequence of the honeybee Apis mellifera, a key model for social behaviour and essential to global ecology through pollination. Compared with other sequenced insect genomes, the A. mellifera genome has high A+T and CpG contents, lacks major transposon families, evolves more slowly, and is more similar to vertebrates for circadian rhythm, RNA interference and DNA methylation genes, among others. Furthermore, A. mellifera has fewer genes for innate immunity, detoxification enzymes, cuticle-forming proteins and gustatory receptors, more genes for odorant receptors, and novel genes for nectar and pollen utilization, consistent with its ecology and social organization. Compared to Drosophila, genes in early developmental pathways differ in Apis, whereas similarities exist for functions that differ markedly, such as sex determination, brain function and behaviour. Population genetics suggests a novel African origin for the species A. mellifera and insights into whether Africanized bees spread throughout the New World via hybridization or displacement.</p>}},
  author       = {{Weinstock, George M and Elhaik, Eran and Wright, Rita}},
  issn         = {{0028-0836}},
  keywords     = {{Animals; Base Composition; Bees/genetics; Behavior, Animal; DNA Transposable Elements/genetics; Evolution, Molecular; Female; Gene Expression Regulation/genetics; Genes, Insect/genetics; Genome, Insect/genetics; Genomics; Immunity/genetics; Male; Molecular Sequence Data; Phylogeny; Physical Chromosome Mapping; Proteome/genetics; Reproduction/genetics; Signal Transduction/genetics; Social Behavior; Telomere/genetics}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{10}},
  number       = {{7114}},
  pages        = {{931--949}},
  publisher    = {{Nature Publishing Group}},
  series       = {{Nature}},
  title        = {{Insights into social insects from the genome of the honeybee Apis mellifera}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature05260}},
  doi          = {{10.1038/nature05260}},
  volume       = {{443}},
  year         = {{2006}},
}