Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 21, 2026

Preparation of Single-cohort Colonies and Hormone Treatment of Worker Honeybees to Analyze Physiology Associated with Role and/or Endocrine System

Preparation of Single-cohort Colonies and Hormone Treatment of Worker Honeybees to Analyze Physiology Associated with Role and/or Endocrine System

Published on: September 6, 2016

Transcriptome comparison between honey bee queen- and worker-destined larvae.

Xuan Chen¹, Yang Hu, Huoqing Zheng

¹College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.

Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

|June 5, 2012

Summary

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Surgical Outcomes of Perioperative Toripalimab in Stage III Resectable Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Post Hoc Analysis of the Neotorch Randomized Clinical Trial.

JAMA surgery·2026

Same author

Darwin's solution: Honeybees survive mite vectors and viruses through natural selection.

Trends in parasitology·2026

Same author

Odorant-Binding Protein 18 Contributes to Tolerance-Related Responses to Flonicamid and Its Metabolite in <i>Apis mellifera</i> <i>ligustica</i>.

Journal of agricultural and food chemistry·2026

Same author

Queen cell architecture shapes honey bee queen development.

Nature·2026

Same author

Lineage-specific duplication and functional analysis of TT8L in cotton proanthocyanidin biosynthesis.

Plant physiology and biochemistry : PPB·2026

Same author

GhWRKY70-GhXDH1 module enhances drought tolerance in cotton by maintaining ROS homeostasis.

Plant physiology and biochemistry : PPB·2026

Honey bee caste differentiation involves differential gene expression between queen and worker larvae. Queen larvae show higher gene activity, particularly in the mTOR pathway during early development, leading to distinct female forms.

Area of Science:

* Developmental Biology
* Genomics
* Entomology

Background:

* Polyphenism, exemplified by honey bee caste differentiation, arises from differential gene expression.
* Understanding the genetic basis of queen and worker development is crucial for insect biology.

Purpose of the Study:

* To compare the transcriptomic differences between queen-destined larvae (QL) and worker-destined larvae (WL).
* To identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) involved in honey bee caste determination.
* To investigate the role of specific signaling pathways, like mTOR, in larval development.

Main Methods:

* High-throughput RNA-Sequencing (RNA-Seq) was employed to analyze transcriptomes of QL and WL at the fourth (L4) and fifth (L5) instars.
* Differential gene expression analysis was performed using DEGseq.

More Related Videos

Obtaining Specimens with Slowed, Accelerated and Reversed Aging in the Honey Bee Model

Obtaining Specimens with Slowed, Accelerated and Reversed Aging in the Honey Bee Model

Published on: August 29, 2013

Assessing Agrochemical Risk to Mated Honey Bee Queens

Assessing Agrochemical Risk to Mated Honey Bee Queens

Published on: March 3, 2021

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 21, 2026

Preparation of Single-cohort Colonies and Hormone Treatment of Worker Honeybees to Analyze Physiology Associated with Role and/or Endocrine System

Preparation of Single-cohort Colonies and Hormone Treatment of Worker Honeybees to Analyze Physiology Associated with Role and/or Endocrine System

Published on: September 6, 2016

Obtaining Specimens with Slowed, Accelerated and Reversed Aging in the Honey Bee Model

Obtaining Specimens with Slowed, Accelerated and Reversed Aging in the Honey Bee Model

Published on: August 29, 2013

Assessing Agrochemical Risk to Mated Honey Bee Queens

Assessing Agrochemical Risk to Mated Honey Bee Queens

Published on: March 3, 2021

* Quantitative real-time RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) was used for validation of selected DEGs.

Main Results:

* Over 4,500 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between QL and WL.
* More than 70% of DEGs showed higher expression in QL compared to WL, suggesting higher transcriptional activity in queen development.
* The mTOR signaling pathway exhibited higher activity in QL4 than WL4, with downstream effects persisting at L5.

Conclusions:

* The same gene set is utilized in both castes but is differentially expressed, resulting in phenotypic dimorphism.
* Early larval stages (L4) are critical for gene expression differences driving caste determination.
* The findings provide insights into candidate genes for honey bee caste differentiation and the broader phenomenon of polyphenism.