To “Bee or Not to Bee” Male or Female? An Educational Primer for Use with “The Am-tra2 Gene Is an Essential Regulator of Female Splice Regulation at Two Levels of the Sex Determination Hierarchy of the Honeybee”

An article by Nissen et al. in the November 2012 issue of GENETICS emphasizes the importance of alternative splicing in the sex determination cascade of the honeybee Apis mellifera. This study demonstrates the application of reverse transcriptase PCR and RNA interference screens as genetic tools to better understand the regulation of transcription and splicing. It also provides the opportunity to explore the evolutionary origins of genes by considering the functions of orthologs and paralogs in different species. This Primer article provides background information and explanations of the concepts and findings of Nissen et al. and offers discussion questions for use in the classroom.