Abstract
Honeybees (Apis mellifera) are constantly subjected to many biotic stressors including parasites. This study examined honeybees infected with Nosema ceranae (N. ceranae). N. ceranae infection increases the bees energy requirements and may contribute to their decreased survival. RNA-seq was used to investigate gene expression at days 5, 10 and 15 Post Infection (P.I) with N. ceranae. The expression levels of genes, isoforms, alternative transcription start sites (TSS) and differential promoter usage revealed a complex pattern of transcriptional and post-transcriptional gene regulation suggesting that bees use a range of tactics to cope with the stress of N. ceranae infection. N. ceranae infection may cause reduced immune function in the bees by: (i)disturbing the host amino acids metabolism (ii) down-regulating expression of antimicrobial peptides (iii) down-regulation of cuticle coatings and (iv) down-regulation of odorant binding proteins.
MeSH terms
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Animals
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Bees / genetics*
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Bees / microbiology*
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Energy Metabolism / genetics
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Gene Expression Profiling / methods*
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Genes, Insect / genetics
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Host-Pathogen Interactions
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Insect Proteins / genetics
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Nosema / physiology*
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Principal Component Analysis
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Promoter Regions, Genetic / genetics
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Protein Isoforms / genetics
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Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
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Sequence Analysis, RNA / methods*
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Signal Transduction / genetics
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Spores, Fungal / physiology
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Time Factors
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Transcription Initiation Site
Substances
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Insect Proteins
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Protein Isoforms
Grants and funding
Funded by Eureka-Eurostars Project Application E!5069 NewBone. Andrea Fougeroux was employed by Syngenta during the course of the study. Syngenta provided support in the form of salary for author AF, but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific role of this author is articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section.