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The vitellogenin of the bumblebee, Bombus hypocrita: studies on structural analysis of the cDNA and expression of the mRNA

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Abstract

In this present study, the cDNA of Bombus hypocrita vitellogenin (Vg) was cloned and sequenced. It is composed of 5,478 bp and contains an ORF of 1,772 amino acids within a putative signal peptide of 16 residues. The deduced amino acid sequence shows significant similarity with Bombus ignitus (95%) and Apis mellifera (52%) and a high number of conserved motifs. Close to the C terminus there is a GL/ICG motif followed by nine cysteines, and a DGXR motif is located 18 residues upstream from the GL/ICG motif. Moreover, we predicted the 3D structure of B. hypocrita Vg. Furthermore, the Vg mRNA of B. hypocrita was spatio-temporally analyzed in different castes (such as queen, worker and drone) from pupae to adult. The Vg mRNA was found in the white-eyed pupal (Pw) stage in queens, and the expression increased during the entire pupal development and attained its peak in the dark brown pupal stage. It also had a high expression in the adult fat body. In workers, the Vg expression was detected in the Pw stage, and its levels increased with age with the highest in 15 days. Afterward, it decreased progressively. Vg mRNA was also observed in drones, with a higher level of expression shown in only freshly molted adult drones.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Prof. Paul Schmid-Hempel and Michele C. Hamilton for their help in revising this paper, and Jiandong An, Shudong Luo, Haiyan Shi and Wenfeng Chen for help and advice in the lab. The work was financially supported by grants from the Chinese National Natural Science Foundation for Young Scholars (No. 30700606, No. 30800805), International joint research project (No. 2009DFA32600), the R&D Special Fund for Public Welfare Industry (agriculture) (No. nyhyzx07-041) and China Application of Advances in Agricultural Science and Technology Projects (No. 2006GB23260392).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Pollinating Insect Biology of the Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Xiangshan, 100093, Beijing, China

    Jilian Li, Jiaxing Huang, Wenjun Peng & Jie Wu

  2. Department of Entomology, China Agricultural University, 100094, Beijing, China

    Jilian Li, Wanzhi Cai & Zhangwu Zhao

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  1. Jilian Li
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  2. Jiaxing Huang
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  3. Wanzhi Cai
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Correspondence to Jie Wu.

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Communicated by G. Heldmaier.

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Li, J., Huang, J., Cai, W. et al. The vitellogenin of the bumblebee, Bombus hypocrita: studies on structural analysis of the cDNA and expression of the mRNA. J Comp Physiol B 180, 161–170 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00360-009-0434-5

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