Honey bee promoter sequences for targeted gene expression. Issue 4 (14th May 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Schulte, C.; Leboulle, G.; Otte, M.; Grünewald, B.; Gehne, N.; Beye, M.
• Is Part Of: Insect molecular biology. Volume 22:Issue 4(2013:Aug.)
• Page Start: 399
• Page End: 410
• Publication Date: 2013-05-14
• Subjects: Insects -- Molecular aspects -- Periodicals; 595.7
• DOI: 10.1111/imb.12031
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0962-1075

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title>Abstract</title> <p>The honey bee, <italic>Apis mellifera</italic>, displays a rich behavioural repertoire, social organization and caste differentiation, and has an interesting mode of sex determination, but we still know little about its underlying genetic programs. We lack stable transgenic tools in honey bees that would allow genetic control of gene activity in stable transgenic lines. As an initial step towards a transgenic method, we identified promoter sequences in the honey bee that can drive constitutive, tissue‐specific and cold shock‐induced gene expression. We identified the promoter sequences of <italic>Am‐actin5c</italic>, <italic>elp2l</italic>, <italic>Am‐hsp83</italic> and <italic>Am‐hsp70</italic> and showed that, except for the <italic>elp2l</italic> sequence, the identified sequences were able to drive reporter gene expression in <italic>Sf</italic>21 cells. We further demonstrated through electroporation experiments that the putative neuron‐specific <italic>elp2l</italic> promoter sequence can direct gene expression in the honey bee brain. The identification of these promoter sequences is an important initial step in studying the function of genes with transgenic experiments in the honey bee, an organism with a rich set of interesting phenotypes.</p> </abstract>