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Vitellogenin regulates hormonal dynamics in the worker caste of a eusocial insect
Author(s) -
Guidugli Karina R.,
Nascimento Adriana M.,
Amdam Gro V.,
Barchuk Angel R.,
Omholt Stig,
Simões Zilá L.P.,
Hartfelder Klaus
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/j.febslet.2005.07.085
Subject(s) - eusociality , vitellogenin , insect , caste , hormone , biology , vitellogenins , dynamics (music) , microbiology and biotechnology , zoology , evolutionary biology , endocrinology , genetics , ecology , vitellogenesis , oocyte , hymenoptera , psychology , gene , embryo , linguistics , philosophy , pedagogy
Functionally sterile honey bee workers synthesize the yolk protein vitellogenin while performing nest tasks. The subsequent shift to foraging is linked to a reduced vitellogenin and an increased juvenile hormone (JH) titer. JH is a principal controller of vitellogenin expression and behavioral development. Yet, we show here that silencing of vitellogenin expression causes a significant increase in JH titer and its putative receptor. Mathematically, the increase corresponds to a dynamic dose–response. This role of vitellogenin in the tuning of the endocrine system is uncommon and may elucidate how an ancestral pathway of fertility regulation has been remodeled into a novel circuit controlling social behavior.