| Royal jelly is one of the important bee products.It is mainly synthesized and secreted by the hypopharyngeal glands of worker bees.The hypopharyngeal glands(HPGs)are a pair of aciniform glands located in the front of worker bee’s head,and their development is obviously age-dependent and behavior-dependent: HPGs of newly-emerged bees(NEB)are underdevelopment and absent secretory activity;HPGs of nurse bees(NB)are completely development and have highest ability to secrete royal jelly;HPGs of forager bees(FB)are start to atrophy and secrete a variety of sugar-converting enzymes that are vital in the honey brewing process.In bee science,investigating the age-dependent and behavior-dependent developmental mechanisms of honey bee’s hypopharyngeal glands have become a hot button.Lnc RNA is a class of non-coding RNA,which is longer than 200 nt.In honey bee,lnc RNA come to light that play function in physiological processes such as division of labor,caste differentiation and immunological defense,but their role in development of HPGs is unknown.In this study,RNA-seq technology was used to analyze lnc RNA expression in HPGs of Apis mellifera ligustica at different developmental stages(NEB,NB,and FB),and bioinformatics methods were used to explore differentially expressed lnc RNAs,then predict their possible target genes and related functions.The specific results are as follows:1.RNA-seq showed a total of 6255 lnc RNAs and 28120 m RNAs in the HPGs of Apis mellifera ligustica at three developmental stages.There were 183 lnc RNAs and 1648 m RNAs significantly differentially expressed in the HPGs between NEB and NB(p < 0.05);there were 407 lnc RNAs and 1346 m RNAs significantly differentially expressed in the HPGs between NB and FB(p < 0.05);there were 495 lnc RNAs and 530 m RNAs significantly differentially expressed in the HPGs between NEB and FB(p < 0.05).2.The GO/KEGG analysis of differentially expressed m RNA in the HPGs of Apis mellifera ligustica at three different developmental stages found that differentially expressed m RNAs were clustered in transcription,DNA-templated,positive regulation of transcription by RNA polymerase Ⅱ,ATP binding and zinc ion binding,and were enriched in ribosome,spliceosome and protein processing in endoplasmic reticulum,indicating that differentially expressed m RNAs play important roles in the development of HPGs of Apis mellifera ligustica at different developmental stages by regulating these functions and pathways.3.The GO/KEGG analysis of differentially expressed lnc RNA target gene in the HPGs of Apis mellifera ligustica at three different developmental stages found that differentially expressed lnc RNA target genes were clustered in transcription,DNA-templated,positive regulation of transcription by RNA polymerase Ⅱ and ATP binding,and were enriched in ABC transporters,galactose metabolism and TCA cycle,indicating that differentially expressed lnc RNA target genes play important roles in the development of HPGs of Apis mellifera ligustica at different developmental stages by regulating these functions and pathways.This study focused on the differentially expressed lnc RNA in the HPGs of Apis mellifera ligustica at different developmental stages,providing theoretical foundation for lnc RNA expression in the HPGs of Apis mellifera ligustica at different developmental stages and promoting the breeding and popularization of high quality and high yield bee species of royal jelly. |
