title: Diet and cell size both affect queen-worker differentiation through DNA methylation in honey bees (Apis mellifera, Apidae).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Young larvae of the honey bee (Apis mellifera) are totipotent; they can become either queens (reproductives) or workers (largely sterile helpers). DNA methylation has been shown to play an important role in this differentiation. In this study, we examine the contributions of diet and cell size to caste differentiation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We measured the activity and gene expression of one key enzyme involved in methylation, Dnmt3; the rates of methylation in the gene dynactin p62; as well as morphological characteristics of adult bees developed either from larvae fed with worker jelly or royal jelly; and larvae raised in either queen or worker cells. We show that both diet type and cell size contributed to the queen-worker differentiation, and that the two factors affected different methylation sites inside the same gene dynactin p62.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We confirm previous findings that Dnmt3 plays a critical role in honey bee caste differentiation. Further, we show for the first time that cell size also plays a role in influencing larval development when diet is kept the same.
authors.affiliation: Honeybee Research Institute, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China.
authors.forename: Yuan Yuan
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Zachary Y
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Zhi Jiang
authors.initials: ZJ
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.forename: Zi Long
authors.initials: ZL
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xiao Bo
authors.initials: XB
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Wei Yu
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Yan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000166:cytology* / Q000235:genetics*; D048429:Cell Size; D018899:CpG Islands / Q000235:genetics; D019175:DNA Methylation / Q000235:genetics*; D004032:Diet; D000072159:Dynactin Complex; D005091:Exons / Q000235:genetics; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D006608:Hierarchy, Social; D006722:Honey; D007814:Larva / Q000166:cytology; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000072159:Dynactin Complex; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins