Methylation and Gene Expression Differences Between Reproductive Castes of Bumblebee Workers
Authors: Marshall Hollie , Lonsdale Zoë N. , Mallon Eamonn B. 
Published: January 2019

Phenotypic plasticity is the production of multiple phenotypes from a single genome and is notably observed in social insects. Multiple epigenetic mechanisms have been associated with social insect plasticity, with DNA methylation being explored to the greatest extent. DNA methylation is thought to play a role in caste determination in Apis mellifera, and other social insects, but there is limited knowledge on it’s role in other bee species. In this study we analysed whole genome bisulfite sequencing and RNA-seq data sets from head tissue of reproductive and sterile castes of the eusocial bumblebee Bombus terrestris. We found genome-wide methylation in B. terrestris is similar to other social insects and does not differ between reproductive castes. We did, however, find differentially methylated genes between castes, which are enriched for multiple biological processes including reproduction. However we found no relationship between differential methylation and differential gene expression or differential exon usage between castes. Our results also indicate high inter-colony variation in methylation. These findings suggest methylation is associated with caste differences but may serve an alternate function, other than direct caste determination in this species. This study provides the first insights into the nature of a bumblebee caste specific methylome as well as it’s interaction with gene expression and caste specific alternative splicing, providing greater understanding of the role of methylation in phenotypic plasticity within social bee species. Future experimental work is needed to determine the function of methylation and other epigenetic mechanisms in social insects.

Impact Summary

Social insects, such as ants, termites, bees and wasps, can produce individuals with extreme physical and behavioural differences within the same colony known as castes (e.g. workers/soldiers/queens). These individuals have similar genomes and many studies have associated epigenetic mechanisms with the differences observed. Epigenetic modifications are changes that affect how genes are expressed without changing the underlying DNA code. Here we investigated differences in DNA methylation (a well researched modified base) between different reproductive castes of the bumblebee, Bombus terrestris, an economically and environmentally important pollinator species. We found B. terrestris has a similar methylation profile to other social insect species in terms of the distribution of methylation throughout the genome and the relationship between methylation and gene expression. Genes that have differences in methylation between reproductive castes are involved in multiple biological processes, including reproduction, suggesting methylation may hold multiple functions in this species. These differentially methylated genes are also different to differentially methylated genes identified between honeybee reproductive castes, again suggesting methylation may have a variable function. These findings provide greater understanding of the role of methylation in caste determination in social insect species.