ARS | Publication request: GENOMICS AND LARVAL DEVELOPMENT IN HONEY BEES

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: August 1, 2000
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are critically important for agriculture worldwide. This study focused on the isolation and description of genes expressed by larval honey bees. Through the use of subtractive libraries and gene-expression analyses using genetic arrays and Northern blots, numerous genes were characterized whose expression patterns vary with age, sex, and caste of developing honey bees. Genes implicated in nutrient transfer and storage in developing larvae often showed changes in expression between castes and ages. Efforts are ongoing to more directly ascribe function to these differentially expressed genes, and to identify genes that can be used across other social insects as indicators of larval developmental stages, timing of caste determination, and larval health.