Collaborative Research: Epigenetic Gene Regulation in the Social Bee Apis Mellifera

合作研究：社会性蜜蜂 Apis Mellifera 的表观遗传基因调控

• 批准号: 0950896
• 负责人: Soojin Yi
• 金额: $ 33.41万
• 依托单位: Georgia Tech Research Corporation
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-03-01 至 2014-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0950896&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Epigenetic; Gene; Regulation

Intellectual Merit: Every cell in an organism carries the same sets of genes. However different cells perform different functions because only subsets of genes are activated in each cell. One way that cells activate specific sets of genes is by chemically modifying particular pieces of DNA. This project investigates how one such modification, DNA methylation, affects development in the honeybee. Honeybees are well-known social insects and represent important species for studying DNA methylation because of their ecological and economic importance. In addition, the differentiation of honeybee castes represents one of the most spectacular examples of developmental plasticity: queens and workers arise from the same genes through differential gene activation mediated by DNA methylation. Consequently, determining how DNA methylation affects development in honeybees would help link specific molecular mechanisms to the production of different developmental forms and provide insight into the factors affecting social behavior.Broader Impacts: This project will result in several broader impacts to society. For example, undergraduate and graduate students will be trained in integrative multidisciplinary research. Research findings will also be implemented in university classes and laboratories. Moreover, research findings will be disseminated through popular press and scientific meetings thereby increasing scientific literacy. Finally, because honeybees are critical species for pollinating crops, these studies will contribute to improving agricultural outcomes in the United States.

智力优点：生物体中的每个细胞都带有相同的基因。但是，不同的细胞执行不同的功能，因为在每个细胞中仅激活基因的亚集。细胞激活特定基因集的一种方法是化学修饰特定的DNA部分。该项目调查了一种这样的修饰，即DNA甲基化如何影响蜜蜂的发育。蜜蜂是众所周知的社会昆虫，是研究DNA甲基化的重要物种，因为它们的生态和经济重要性。另外，蜜蜂种姓的分化代表了发展可塑性的最壮观例子之一：皇后和工人是通过DNA甲基化介导的差异基因激活而引起的。因此，确定DNA甲基化如何影响蜜蜂的发展将有助于将特定的分子机制与不同的发育形式的产生联系起来，并洞悉影响社会行为的因素。公民影响：该项目将对社会产生更广泛的影响。例如，本科生和研究生将接受综合多学科研究的培训。研究发现也将在大学班级和实验室中实施。此外，研究结果将通过流行的新闻和科学会议传播，从而提高了科学素养。最后，由于蜜蜂是授粉作物的关键物种，因此这些研究将有助于改善美国的农业结果。