The role of the major royal jelly proteins for caste differentiation in the honeybee Apis mellifera]

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Robin F. A. Moritz
• Subject Area: Evolution, Anthropology
• Term: from 2014 to 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 258208353

Unravelling the causal biological mechanisms of queen differentiation in the honeybee Apis mellifera is one of the central paradigms in social insect research. It is long known, that the determination of a female larva into a queen is governed by nutrition. Only queen larvae are fed exclusively with royal jelly (RJ), a secretion of the hypopharyngeal glands of young worker bees that nurse the brood. Recently, DNA methylation, an epigenetic modification, has been shown to interfere with various gene cascades which are central for caste regulation in honey bees. In spite of this detailed knowledge, the causal role of the RJ diet is still inconclusive and highly controversial. We here propose a comprehensive functional characterisation of the major RJ proteins (MRJPs) that constitute up to 90% of total protein content of RJ. We will unravel the adaptive value of these proteins in an evolutionary genetics approach, characterize their structure with biochemical analyses and experimentally test their function using in vitro rearing of larvae. We not only expect to resolve the ongoing controversy over the queen determinator, but also to understand the evolution of the extreme radiation of the mrjp gene cluster as well as many of the other functions of the MRPJs.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Participating Persons: Professor Dr. Markus Pietzsch; Professorin Dr. Andrea Sinz