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Sequence and expression characterization of an OBP1 gene in the Asian honeybee, Apis cerana cerana (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

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Abstract

In insects, odorant binding proteins (OBPs) are involved in olfactory perception by transporting hydrophobic odorants across the sensillum lymph to the olfactory receptors. In this study, we cloned AcerOBP1 from the antennae of Apis cerana cerana Fabricius. The full-length cDNA of AcerOBP1 is 716 bp, including a 432-bp open reading frame and 87, 197 bp of 5′ and 3′ untranslated regions, respectively. Amino acid sequence identity with homologous proteins from other hymenopterans ranges from 40.8 to 92.2 %. The expression profiles of AcerOBP1 in different development stages measured by real-time PCR reveal that the gene is expressed differentially in worker and drone antennae. In workers, transcripts are observed continuously in larvae, pupae and adults, while in drones, only the adults show detectable amounts of the mRNA. In addition, in situ hybridizations reveal that AcerOBP1 mRNA is expressed abundantly in the sensory cells of sensilla placoidea in antennae and the labeling is distributed widely in drones compared to workers. Our study indicates that AcerOBP1 may play a role in pheromone binding, and drones possess more olfactory sensory neurons to queen pheromones than workers.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31272513) and the Graduate Outstanding Innovation Foundation of Shanxi province (20123052).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Animal Science and Technology, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu, Shanxi, 030801, China

    Huiting Zhao, Pengfei Gao, Guixian Zhang & Yusuo Jiang

  2. Institute of Zhengzhou Agriculture and Forestry Science, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450005, China

    Wenming Zhao

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  1. Huiting Zhao
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  2. Wenming Zhao
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  4. Guixian Zhang
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Correspondence to Huiting Zhao.

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Zhao, H., Zhao, W., Gao, P. et al. Sequence and expression characterization of an OBP1 gene in the Asian honeybee, Apis cerana cerana (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Appl Entomol Zool 49, 189–196 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13355-013-0228-9

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