title: Histone deacetylase inhibitor activity in royal jelly might facilitate caste switching in bees.
abstract: Worker and queen bees are genetically indistinguishable. However, queen bees are fertile, larger and have a longer lifespan than their female worker counterparts. Differential feeding of larvae with royal jelly controls this caste switching. There is emerging evidence that the queen-bee phenotype is driven by epigenetic mechanisms. In this study, we show that royal jelly--the secretion produced by the hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands of worker bees--has histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi) activity. A fatty acid, (E)-10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid (10HDA), which accounts for up to 5% of royal jelly, harbours this HDACi activity. Furthermore, 10HDA can reactivate the expression of epigenetically silenced genes in mammalian cells. Thus, the epigenetic regulation of queen-bee development is probably driven, in part, by HDACi activity in royal jelly.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Carcinogenesis, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Park Road 1C, Smithville, Texas 78957, USA.
authors.forename: Astrid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Spannhoff
authors.forename: Yong Kee
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Noel J-M
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Raynal
authors.forename: Vazganush
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gharibyan
authors.forename: Ming-Bo
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Yue-Yang
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Sabrina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Castellano
authors.forename: Gianluca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sbardella
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre J
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Issa
authors.forename: Mark T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Bedford
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D019175:DNA Methylation; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D005229:Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006608:Hierarchy, Social; D056572:Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D007301:Insect Hormones / Q000378:metabolism*; D007814:Larva / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D010641:Phenotype; D000099219:Royal Jelly
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D005229:Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated; D056572:Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors; D007301:Insect Hormones; D000099219:Royal Jelly; C055543:10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid