Plant microRNAs in larval food regulate honeybee caste development

Zhu, K., Liu, M., Fu, Z., Zhou, Z., Kong, Y., Liang, H., Lin, Z., Luo, J., Zheng, H., Wan, P., Zhang, J., Zen, K., Chen, J., Hu, F., Zhang, C. Y., Ren, J., Chen, X. (August 2017) Plant microRNAs in larval food regulate honeybee caste development. PLoS Genet, 13 (8). e1006946. ISSN 1553-7390

[thumbnail of Paper]
Preview
PDF (Paper)
Ren 2017.pdf - Published Version

Download (3MB) | Preview
URL: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28859085
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1006946

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.

Item Type: Paper
Subjects: bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification > miRNA
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification > miRNA
organism description > plant
CSHL Authors:
Communities: CSHL labs > Martienssen lab
Depositing User: Matt Covey
Date: 31 August 2017
Date Deposited: 07 Sep 2017 19:41
Last Modified: 03 Nov 2017 15:28
PMCID: PMC5578494
Related URLs:
URI: https://repository.cshl.edu/id/eprint/35269

Actions (login required)

Administrator's edit/view item Administrator's edit/view item
CSHL HomeAbout CSHLResearchEducationNews & FeaturesCampus & Public EventsCareersGiving