据3月13日《科学》（Science）杂志在线报道说，新的研究可能对为什么蜜蜂的幼虫在进食了蜂王浆之后会成长为蜂王而不是工蜂做出解释。尽管存在于蜂王浆中的特别成分大体上依然是一个谜，但Robert Kucharksi及其同僚现在报道说，进食蜂王浆好像可以通过抑制一种被称为甲基化的过程来影响多种蜜蜂基因的表达。这种对某个基因DNA的化学修饰会降低该基因的表达，而这一过程部分是由酶Dnmt3所驱动的。
当研究人员将蜜蜂幼虫体内的Dnmt3活性破坏了以后，这一改变会出现拟似蜂王浆的效果，使得发育中的蜜蜂幼虫更像蜂王而不像工蜂。人们需要从事更多的研究来查明所有与该“核外遗传”网络有关的基因，但是，总的来说，这些发现表明，抑制Dnmt3基因及喂食蜂王浆皆可使基因表达更大程度地使蜜蜂幼虫向发育成为蜂王的方向转移。（来源：EurekAlert!中文版）
生物谷推荐原始出处：
（Science），DOI: 10.1126/science.1153069，R. Kucharski，R. Maleszka
Nutritional Control of Reproductive Status in Honeybees via DNA Methylation
R. Kucharski 1, J. Maleszka 1, S. Foret 1, R. Maleszka 1*
1 Molecular Genetics and Evolution, ARC Centre for the Molecular Genetics of Development, Research School of Biological Sciences, the Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200, Australia.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
R. Maleszka , E-mail: maleszka@rsbs.anu.edu.au
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Fertile queens and sterile workers are alternative forms of the adult female honey bee that develop from genetically identical larvae following differential feeding with royal jelly. We now show that silencing the expression of DNA methyltransferase Dnmt3, a key driver of epigenetic global reprogramming, in newly hatched larvae, leads to a stunning royal jelly-like effect on the larval developmental trajectory; the majority of Dnmt3 siRNA-treated individuals now emerge as queens with fully developed ovaries. Our results suggest that; DNA methylation in Apis is utilized for storing epigenetic information; that the utilization of that information can be differentially altered by nutritional input, and that the flexibility of epigenetic modifications underpin profound shifts in developmental fates with massive implications for reproductive and behavioural status.
