title: Farnesoic acid O-methyl transferase (FAMeT) isoforms: conserved traits and gene expression patterns related to caste differentiation in the stingless bee, Melipona scutellaris.
abstract: Farnesoic acid O-methyl transferase (FAMeT) is the enzyme that catalyzes the formation of methyl farnesoate (MF) from farnesoic acid (FA) in the biosynthetic pathway of juvenile hormone (JH). This work reports the cloning, sequencing, and expression of FAMeT gene from the stingless bee Melipona scutellaris (MsFAMeT). The MsFAMeT in silico analysis showed that greatest sequence similarity is found in Apis mellifera and other insects, while relatively less similarity is shown in crustaceans. Evidence of alternative splicing of a 27 nucleotide (nt) microexon explains the presence of the detected isoforms, 1 and 2. The expression analysis of the two isoforms showed a marked difference when castes were compared, suggesting that they could be involved differently in the JH metabolism in M. scutellaris, providing new insights for the comprehension of female plasticity.
authors: Instituto de Genética e Bioquímica, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Brasil. ueirabio@gmail.com
authors: Carlos U
authors: CU
authors: Vieira
authors: Ana M
authors: AM
authors: Bonetti
authors: Zilá L P
authors: ZL
authors: Simões
authors: Andréa Q
authors: AQ
authors: Maranhão
authors: Christiane S
authors: CS
authors: Costa
authors: Maria Cristina R
authors: MC
authors: Costa
authors: Ana Carolina S
authors: AC
authors: Siquieroli
authors: Francis M F
authors: FM
authors: Nunes
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001516:Bees / Q000145:classification / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D007814:Larva / Q000502:physiology; D008780:Methyltransferases / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011679:Pupa / Q000502:physiology; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D012717:Sesquiterpenes / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D007527:Isoenzymes; D012717:Sesquiterpenes; C036585:juvenile hormone III; D008780:Methyltransferases; C032433:farnesoic acid O-methyltransferase