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new analysis report on Honey Bee Genome.
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A research consortium, supported by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today
announced the publication of a high-quality draft genome sequence of the western honey bee, finding that its genome is more similar to humans
than any insect sequenced thus far.
The honey bee’s social behavior makes it an important model for understanding how genes regulate behavior through the development of the
brain and central nervous system. That may lead to important insights into common mental and brain disorders, such as depression or
schizophrenia or Alzheimer’s disease. Moreover, the bee genome may also provide an important window into immunity and aging.
In a paper published in the Oct. 26 issue of Nature, the Honey Bee Genome Consortium, led by Richard Gibbs, Ph.D., director of the Human
Genome Sequencing Center at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM-HGSC) in Houston, describes the approximately 260 million DNA base pair
genome of the honey bee (Apis mellifera). Over 40 other companion manuscripts describing further detailed analyses are in current issues of
Insect Molecular Biology, Genome Research, Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA), and other journals.
Although only 9 percent the size of the 3 billion base pairs in the human genome, the honey bee contains nearly half as many genes as the human
genome, more than 10,000 in the bee compared to around 20,000 genes in the human.
The honey bee is the third insect to have its genome sequenced and analyzed. The malaria-carrying mosquito (Anopheles gambiae) was
completed in 2002 and the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster), an extensively used model organism in genetics research, was completed in 2000.
The honey bee genome is 50 percent larger than fruit flies but contains roughly the same number of genes. Sequencing of the honey bee genome
began in early 2003. NHGRI provided about $6.9 million in funding for the project and the U.S. Department of Agriculture contributed $750,000.
Additional support was provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the National Library of Medicine (NLM),
both components of the NIH.
In the analysis, the researchers report that the honey bee has evolved more slowly than the fruit fly or mosquito and contains 10,157 known genes.
Researchers caution that this gene count will increase as other insects are sequenced and compared to the honey bee in the future.
When compared to other insects, the honey bee genome contains fewer genes involved in innate immunity, detoxification enzymes, and gustatory
(taste) receptors, while not surprisingly, it contains more genes for olfactory receptors and novel genes for nectar and pollen utilization.
Interestingly, the honey bee genome shows greater similarities to vertebrates than insects for genes involved in circadian rhythm, as well as
biological processes involved in turning genes on or off.
Other findings from the Nature paper include
* Researchers discovered nine genes in the “royal jelly protein family” which appear in the honey bee genome but not the mosquito genome.
These genes have gained new functions through evolution and are believed to contribute to the sociality of the honey bee. Royal jelly is produced
by glands in the head of adult worker bees and an important nutritional component in queen and brood care. This process is vital in the early
development of a honey bee and determines whether it becomes a queen or an altruistic worker.
* All organisms’ genomes contain common types of transposons, small DNA sequences that move around in a genome that can cause
mutations, but there are substantially fewer transposons in the honey bee genome. To understand why honey bee has so few transposons,
researchers will need to obtain genomes from insects more closely related to honey bee than the insect genomes that already have been studied.
In addition to its value as a resource for comparative genomics, the honey bee is widely used in agricultural and biomedical research. The honey
bee is valued by farmers for its ability to produce honey and pollinate crops. Besides its importance in agriculture, the honey bee serves as a
model organism for studying human health issues including immunity, allergic reaction, antibiotic resistance, development, mental health, longevity
and diseases of the X chromosome. The honey bee is also studied for its social instincts and behavioral traits.
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