Loci de rasgos binarios que influyen en la expresión del comportamiento higiénico de las abejas melíferas

This study was conducted to detect binary trait loci (BTLs) that influence the expression of hygienic behavior of individual honey bee workers and to locate genetic markers that are associated to these BTLs on a genetic map derived from bees that perform hygienic behavior of a backcross colony. Samples of workers that perform hygienic behavior and workers that not perform hygienic behavior that were used as controls were collected from the colony.Este estudio se realizó, para detectar loci de rasgos binarios (BTL) que influyen en la expresión del comportamiento higiénico de abejas obreras y para localizar marcadores genéticos asociados a estos BTL en un mapa de ligamiento. Se recolectaron abejas que realizaron el comportamiento higiénico y abejas que no realizaron el comportamiento higiénico de una colonia producto de una retrocruza. Se construyó, un mapa genético utilizando marcadores AFLP generados a partir del ADN de las abejas que realizaron el comportamiento higiénico

Correlación entre variables ante mortem y post mortem en canales de ovinos producidos en México

The objective of the study was to estimate the correlations of the rib-eye area (REA) and the thickness of the dorsal subcutaneous fat (TDSF) with morphometric variables in sheep carcasses produced in Mexico. Seven hundred fifty sheep carcasses were used, which were grouped by genotype (hair, wool and crossed hair ˣ wool), sex (males and females) and production system (intensive and semi-intensive). The normality of the distribution was determined, and simple correlation analyses were performed to estimate the degree of association between the variables. In hair genotypes, REA correlated with the weight of the carcass both hot and cold (r=0.42**; n=328; P<0.001 in males and r=0.48**; n=91; P<0.001 in females), but in females the perimeter (r=0.52**; n=91; P<0.001) and width of the rump (r=0.48**; n=91; P<0.001) were also relevant. In hair animals, the TDSF correlated with slaughter weight (r=0.36**; n=328; P<0.001 in males and r=0.57**; n=91; P<0.001 in females). In wool males, REA showed high correlation with carcass length (r=0.61**; n=116; P<0.001) and rump perimeter (r=0.50**; n=116; P<0.001), while the TDSF correlated with the internal depth of the thorax (r=0.50**; n=116; P<0.01) and its perimeter (r=0.45**; n=116; P<0.001). In crosses hair ˣ wool, REA had the highest correlation with thorax width (r=0.47**; n=215; P<0.001) and hot carcass weight (r=0.43**; n=215; P<0.001), while the TDSF only had a low correlation with slaughter weight (r=0.19**; n=215; P<0.001).El objetivo del trabajo fue estimar las correlaciones del área del ojo de chuleta (AOCh) y el espesor de la grasa subcutánea dorsal (EGSD) con variables morfométricas en canales ovinas producidas en México. Se emplearon 750 canales ovinas que se agruparon por genotipo (pelo, lana y cruzados pelo ˣ lana), sexo (machos y hembras) y sistema de producción (intensivo y semiintensivo). Se determinó la normalidad de la distribución y se realizaron análisis de correlación simple para estimar el grado de asociación entre las variables. En los genotipos de pelo el AOCh se correlacionó con el peso de la canal tanto caliente como fría (r=0.42**; n=328; P<0.001 en machos y r=0.48**; n=91 P<0.001 en hembras), pero en las hembras también tuvo relevancia el perímetro (r=0.52**; n=91; P<0.001) y anchura de la grupa (r=0.48**; n=91; P<0.001). En los animales de pelo, el EGSD se correlacionó con el peso a la matanza (r=0.36**; n=328; P<0.001 en machos y r=0.57**; n=91; P<0.001 en hembras). En los machos de lana el AOCh mostró correlación alta con la longitud de la canal (r=0.61**; n=116; P<0.001) y el perímetro de la grupa (r=0.50**; n=116; P<0.001), en tanto que el EGSD se correlacionó con la profundidad interna del tórax (r=0.50**; n=116; P<0.01) y su perímetro (r=0.45**; n=116; P<0.001). En las cruzas de pelo ˣ lana, el AOCh tuvo la mayor correlación con la anchura del tórax (r=0.47**; n=215; P<0.001) y el peso de la canal caliente (r=0.43**; n=215; P<0.001) mientras que el EGSD solo tuvo una correlación baja con el peso a la matanza (r=0.19**; n=215; P<0.001)

Resultados e impacto de la investigación en genética y mejoramiento genético de las abejas melíferas desarrollada por el INIFAP en México

In Mexico, beekeeping is an activity of economic, social and ecological importance that faces various problems; two of the most important problems are the high defensive behavior of honeybee colonies (Apis mellifera L.) caused by the africanization and varroosis caused by the mite Varroa destructor. The high defensive behavior of the colonies has made beekeeping more complex and less profitable. Varroa destructor affects honey production and is a factor that has been associated with honeybee colony losses worldwide. To address these problems, INIFAP conducts research on honeybee genetics and breeding. The objective of this article was to make a review of the research conducted at INIFAP in honeybee genetics that has created scientific knowledge about the genetic, genomic, and epigenetic factors that regulate the expression of honeybee defensive behavior, guarding behavior, stinging behavior, grooming behavior and hygienic behavior. To review the results of research conducted by INIFAP in honeybee breeding to reduce the defensive behavior of honeybee colonies, this research has created methods to evaluate and to select this trait, and has generated honeybee lines with low defensive behavior, from which queens has been transferred to beekeepers. As well as to review the work conducted by INIFAP to preserve genetic material of European origins that has led to the establishment of a honeybee germplasm bank.La apicultura es una actividad que tiene importancia económica, social y ecológica. En México esta actividad enfrenta varios problemas, entre los que destacan el alto comportamiento defensivo de las colonias de abejas melíferas (Apis mellifera L.) provocado por la africanización y la varroosis ocasionada por el ácaro Varroa destructor. El alto comportamiento defensivo de las colonias ha ocasionado que la apicultura sea más compleja y menos rentable, mientras que la varroosis afecta la producción de miel de las colonias, y es un factor asociado con la pérdida de colonias de abejas que ocurre a nivel mundial. Para atender estos problemas el INIFAP desarrolla investigación en genética y mejoramiento genético apícola. El objetivo de este artículo fue hacer una revisión de los resultados de los trabajos de investigación en genética en los que el INIFAP ha estado involucrado que han permitido generar conocimientos científicos sobre los factores genéticos, genómicos y epigenéticos que regulan la expresión de los comportamientos defensivo, de guardia, de aguijoneo, de acicalamiento e higiénico de las abejas. De los trabajos desarrollados en materia de mejoramiento genético para reducir el comportamiento defensivo de las abejas que han permitido generar métodos para la evaluación y selección de esta característica, así como generar líneas de abejas de bajo comportamiento defensivo a partir de las cuales se han transferido reinas a los productores. Así como de los trabajos para la conservación de material genético de origen europeo que derivaron en el establecimiento de un Banco de Germoplasma Apícola

Fine-Scale Linkage Mapping Reveals a Small Set of Candidate Genes Influencing Honey Bee Grooming Behavior in Response to Varroa Mites

Abstract Populations of honey bees in North America have been experiencing high annual colony mortality for 15-20 years. Many apicultural researchers believe that introduced parasites called Varroa mites (V. destructor) are the most important factor in colony deaths. One important resistance mechanism that limits mite population growth in colonies is the ability of some lines of honey bees to groom mites from their bodies. To search for genes influencing this trait, we used an Illumina Bead Station genotyping array to determine the genotypes of several hundred worker bees at over a thousand single-nucleotide polymorphisms in a family that was apparently segregating for alleles influencing this behavior. Linkage analyses provided a genetic map with 1,313 markers anchored to genome sequence. Genotypes were analyzed for association with grooming behavior, measured as the time that individual bees took to initiate grooming after mites were placed on their thoraces. Quantitative-trait-locus interval mapping identified a single chromosomal region that was significant at the chromosomewide level (p,0.05) on chromosome 5 with a LOD score of 2.72. The 95% confidence interval for quantitative trait locus location contained only 27 genes (honey bee official gene annotation set 2) including Atlastin, Ataxin and Neurexin-1 (AmNrx1), which have potential neurodevelopmental and behavioral effects. Atlastin and Ataxin homologs are associated with neurological diseases in humans. AmNrx1 codes for a presynaptic protein with many alternatively spliced isoforms. Neurexin-1 influences the growth, maintenance and maturation of synapses in the brain, as well as the type of receptors most prominent within synapses. Neurexin-1 has also been associated with autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia in humans, and self-grooming behavior in mice

A Search for Parent-of-Origin Effects on Honey Bee Gene Expression

Parent-specific gene expression (PSGE) is little known outside of mammals and plants. PSGE occurs when the expression level of a gene depends on whether an allele was inherited from the mother or the father. Kin selection theory predicts that there should be extensive PSGE in social insects because social insect parents can gain inclusive fitness benefits by silencing parental alleles in female offspring. We searched for evidence of PSGE in honey bees using transcriptomes from reciprocal crosses between European and Africanized strains. We found 46 transcripts with significant parent-of-origin effects on gene expression, many of which overexpressed the maternal allele. Interestingly, we also found a large proportion of genes showing a bias toward maternal alleles in only one of the reciprocal crosses. These results indicate that PSGE may occur in social insects. The nonreciprocal effects could be largely driven by hybrid incompatibility between these strains. Future work will help to determine if these are indeed parent-of-origin effects that can modulate inclusive fitness benefits

Botanical composition of honeys from the Yucatan Peninsula, by qPCR and dissociation curve analysis

El método cuantitativo de reacción en cadena de la polimerasa (qPCR), seguido por análisis de curvas de disociación, fue desarrollado para la detección rápida y simultánea de la composición botánica en mieles de la Península de Yucatán, México. Cinco muestras de miel ciclo apícola 2013 y cinco del 2014, se caracterizaron para definir el contenido de cinco especies de plantas de importancia apícola; Viguiera dentata, Gymonopodium floribundum, Piscidia piscipula, Acacia angustissima y Mimosa bahamensis. Siete iniciadores de genes genéricos (Adh1, Hmg2, Brass lip, Plant 1, Plant nest, Act1, y Helli-all) se emplearon para caracterizar las especies vegetales y las muestras de miel. Al finalizar la amplificación se obtuvo una curva de disociación por reacción representando productos específicos de amplificación. Los resultados obtenidos indicaron que el contenido taxonómico en las muestras de miel fue diferencial M-1 (V. dentata), M-3 (M. bahamensis y G. floribundum), M-4 (G. floribundum), M-8 (M. bahamensis) y M-13 (V. dentata y G. floribundum). M-7, M-11 y M-12 no revelaron tener ninguna de las especies analizadas, mientras que M-14 y M-15 presentaron un patrón de amplificación diferente a las especies incluidas en este estudio; concordando con los análisis palinológicos. P. piscipula no mostró ningún patrón de amplificación con ninguno de los iniciadores de este estudio y A. angustissima no fue identificada en ninguna muestra de miel, aun cuando el análisis palinológico reveló presencia de esta especie en M-3 y M-4, posiblemente derivado de la ausencia de similitud con los genes de estudio.El método cuantitativo de reacción en cadena de la polimerasa (qPCR), seguido por análisis de curvas de disociación, fue desarrollado para la detección rápida y simultánea de la composición botánica en mieles de la Península de Yucatán, México. Cinco muestras de miel ciclo apícola 2013 y cinco del 2014, se caracterizaron para definir el contenido de cinco especies de plantas de importancia apícola; Viguiera dentata, Gymonopodium floribundum, Piscidia piscipula, Acacia angustissima y Mimosa bahamensis. Siete iniciadores de genes genéricos (Adh1, Hmg2, Brass lip, Plant 1, Plant nest, Act1, y Helli-all) se emplearon para caracterizar las especies vegetales y las muestras de miel. Al finalizar la amplificación se obtuvo una curva de disociación por reacción representando productos específicos de amplificación. Los resultados obtenidos indicaron que el contenido taxonómico en las muestras de miel fue diferencial M-1 (V. dentata), M-3 (M. bahamensis y G. floribundum), M-4 (G. floribundum), M-8 (M. bahamensis) y M-13 (V. dentata y G. floribundum). M-7, M-11 y M-12 no revelaron tener ninguna de las especies analizadas, mientras que M-14 y M-15 presentaron un patrón de amplificación diferente a las especies incluidas en este estudio; concordando con los análisis palinológicos. P. piscipula no mostró ningún patrón de amplificación con ninguno de los iniciadores de este estudio y A. angustissima no fue identificada en ninguna muestra de miel, aun cuando el análisis palinológico reveló presencia de esta especie en M-3 y M-4, posiblemente derivado de la ausencia de similitud con los genes de estudio

Genome-wide association studies for methane production in dairy cattle

© 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Genomic selection has been proposed for the mitigation of methane (CH4) emissions by cattle because there is considerable variability in CH4 emissions between individuals fed on the same diet. The genome-wide association study (GWAS) represents an important tool for the detection of candidate genes, haplotypes or single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) markers related to characteristics of economic interest. The present study included information for 280 cows in three dairy production systems in Mexico: 1) Dual Purpose (n = 100), 2) Specialized Tropical Dairy (n = 76), 3) Familiar Production System (n = 104). Concentrations of CH4 in a breath of individual cows at the time of milking (MEIm) were estimated through a system of infrared sensors. After quality control analyses, 21,958 SNPs were included. Associations of markers were made using a linear regression model, corrected with principal component analyses. In total, 46 SNPs were identified as significant for CH4 production. Several SNPs associated with CH4 production were found at regions previously described for quantitative trait loci of composition characteristics of meat, milk fatty acids and characteristics related to feed intake. It was concluded that the SNPs identified could be used in genomic selection programs in developing countries and combined with other datasets for global selection

Behavioral genomics of honeybee foraging and nest defense

The honeybee has been the most important insect species for study of social behavior. The recently released draft genomic sequence for the bee will accelerate honeybee behavioral genetics. Although we lack sufficient tools to manipulate this genome easily, quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that influence natural variation in behavior have been identified and tested for their effects on correlated behavioral traits. We review what is known about the genetics and physiology of two behavioral traits in honeybees, foraging specialization (pollen versus nectar), and defensive behavior, and present evidence that map-based cloning of genes is more feasible in the bee than in other metazoans. We also present bioinformatic analyses of candidate genes within QTL confidence intervals (CIs). The high recombination rate of the bee made it possible to narrow the search to regions containing only 17–61 predicted peptides for each QTL, although CIs covered large genetic distances. Knowledge of correlated behavioral traits, comparative bioinformatics, and expression assays facilitated evaluation of candidate genes. An overrepresentation of genes involved in ovarian development and insulin-like signaling components within pollen foraging QTL regions suggests that an ancestral reproductive gene network was co-opted during the evolution of foraging specialization. The major QTL influencing defensive/aggressive behavior contains orthologs of genes involved in central nervous system activity and neurogenesis. Candidates at the other two defensive-behavior QTLs include modulators of sensory signaling (Am5HT(7) serotonin receptor, AmArr4 arrestin, and GABA-B-R1 receptor). These studies are the first step in linking natural variation in honeybee social behavior to the identification of underlying genes

Balance between matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMP) in the cervical mucus plug estimated by determination of free non-complexed TIMP

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The cervical mucus plug (CMP) is a semi-solid structure with antibacterial properties positioned in the cervical canal during pregnancy. The CMP contains high concentrations of matrix metalloproteinase 8 and 9 (MMP-8, MMP-9) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP-1). This indicates a potential to degrade extracellular matrix components depending on the balance between free non-complexed inhibitors and active enzymes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Thirty-two CMPs collected during active labor at term were analyzed. Twelve CMPs were separated into a cellular and an extracellular/fluid phase and analyzed by gelatin and reverse zymography to reveal MMP and TIMP location. Twenty samples were homogenized, extracted and studied by the TIMP activity assay based on gelatin zymography. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to determine TIMP-1, MMP-8 and MMP-9 protein concentrations, and gelatin and reverse zymography used to identify gelatinases and TIMPs, respectively. The Western blotting technique was applied for semi-quantification of alpha2-macroglobulin. An ELISA activity assay was used to detect MMP-8 and MMP-9 activity.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>ProMMP-2, proMMP-9, TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 were almost exclusively located in the fluid phase compared to the cellular phase of the CMP. All the extracted samples contained MMP-8, MMP-9, TIMP-1, TIMP-2 and alpha2-macroglobulin. Free non-complexed TIMP was detected in all the samples analyzed by the TIMP activity assay and was associated with TIMP-1 protein (R = 0.71, p < 0.001) and with the TIMP/MMP molar ratio (1.7 (1.1–2.5) (mean (95% confidence interval)) (R = 0.65, p = 0.002). The ELISA activity assay showed no activity from MMP-8 or MMP-9.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Due to their extracellular location, potential proteolytic activity from neutrophil-derived MMPs in the CMP could exert a biological impact on cervical dilatation and fetal membrane rupture at term. The functional TIMP activity assay, revealing excess non-complexed TIMP, and a molar inhibitor/enzyme ratio above unity, indicate that refined MMP control prevents CMP-originated proteolytic activity in the surrounding tissue.</p