title: Reproduction of honeybee workers is regulated by epidermal growth factor receptor signaling.
abstract: Eusocial insect societies display a remarkable reproductive division of labor between a single fertile queen and thousands of largely sterile workers. In most species, however, the workers retain the capacity to reproduce, particularly in queenless colonies where typically many workers lay eggs. As yet, the molecular determinants that initiate this shift in worker fertility are still poorly documented. By using RNA interference we here demonstrate that the knockdown of epidermal growth factor receptor, a gene which was previously shown to be involved in queen-worker caste differentiation, also induces reproduction in worker honeybees (Apis mellifera). These data show that worker fertility and queen-worker caste determination partly rely on the same gene regulatory networks, thereby providing a major breakthrough in our understanding of the molecular determinants of the social insects' spectacular reproductive division of labor.
authors: Laboratory of Zoophysiology, Ghent University, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors: Ellen M
authors: EM
authors: Formesyn
authors: Laboratory of Socio-ecology and Social Evolution, KU Leuven, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium.
authors: Dries
authors: D
authors: Cardoen
authors: Research Group of Functional Genomics and Proteomics, KU Leuven, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium.
authors: Ulrich R
authors: UR
authors: Ernst
authors: Laboratory of Zoophysiology, Ghent University, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors: Ellen L
authors: EL
authors: Danneels
authors: Laboratory of Zoophysiology, Ghent University, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors: Matthias
authors: M
authors: Van Vaerenbergh
authors: Laboratory of Zoophysiology, Ghent University, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors: Dieter
authors: D
authors: De Koker
authors: Research Group of Functional Genomics and Proteomics, KU Leuven, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium.
authors: Peter
authors: P
authors: Verleyen
authors: Laboratory of Socio-ecology and Social Evolution, KU Leuven, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium.
authors: Tom
authors: T
authors: Wenseleers
authors: Research Group of Functional Genomics and Proteomics, KU Leuven, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium.
authors: Liliane
authors: L
authors: Schoofs
authors: Laboratory of Zoophysiology, Ghent University, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: Dirk.deGraaf@UGent.be.
authors: Dirk C
authors: DC
authors: de Graaf
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000502:physiology*; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility / Q000502:physiology; D010675:Pheromones / Q000378:metabolism*; D034622:RNA Interference; D012098:Reproduction / Q000502:physiology; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D010675:Pheromones; D066246:ErbB Receptors
keywords: Apis mellifera; Epidermal growth factor receptor; Fertility; Honeybee; Hymenoptera; Reproductive division