Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/N010019/1
Bumblebee worker reproduction as an independent test of Haig's kinship theory for the evolution of genomic imprinting
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Professor EB Mallon, University of Leicester, Biology
- Grant held at:
- University of Leicester, Biology
- Science Area:
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Panel E
- ENRIs:
- Biodiversity
- Global Change
- Natural Resource Management
- Science Topics:
- Altruism
- Animal behaviour
- Maternal behaviour
- Social behaviour
- Animal behaviour
- Behavioural Ecology
- Epigenetics
- Evolution & populations
- Abstract:
- This project will independently test the major theory for the evolution of genomic imprinting, by examining the parent of origin allele specific expression of genes important for bumblebee worker reproduction. My group has pioneered the study of both worker reproduction gene expression and allele specific expression in bumblebees. Genomic imprinting is the differential expression of alleles in diploid individuals, with the expression being dependent upon the sex of the parent from which it was inherited. It is an important area of research in evolutionary biology, in human health (cancers and developmental syndromes) and in plant breeding. Haig's kinship theory is the leading theory explaining the evolution of genomic imprinting. It predicts that genes that are upregulated when queenless bumblebee workers reproduce should be more expressed from the allele from the mother (matrigene). The reciprocal is also predicted, that genes upregulated in non-reproductive workers should be patrigenically (allele from the father) expressed. As, so far no imprinted genes have been discovered in bumblebees, this project is a truly independent test of a major evolutionary theory. In order to test Haig's kinship theory we need to deliver three aims:- * produce queenless reproducing workers from maximally heterozygous reciprocally crossed bumblebee colonies. * identify candidate imprinted genes in queenless reproductive workers. * test the predictions of Haig's kinship theory that imprinted genes that are upregulated in queenless reproductive workers should be matrigenically expressed and that imprinted genes that are upregulated in non-reproductive workers should be patrigenically expressed. The proposed project will use whole transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) to examine the matrigenic and patrigenic expression of known worker reproduction genes in the bumblebee, Bombus terrestris in order to test Haig's theory for the evolution of genomic imprinting. We will achieve our aims by carrying out three objectives:- * We will use established breeding techniques and genetically distant colonies in order to produce ten heterozygous reciprocally crossed bumblebee colonies from each of which we will collect six queenless reproducing workers. * We will analyse RNA-seq libraries of the brains of three reproducing workers from each of these ten colonies in order to identify candidate imprinted genes in queenless reproductive workers. * We will measure, using an independent technique, the allele specific expression of candidate imprinted genes in three further reproducing workers per colony, in order to test the predictions of Haig's kinship theory. This project is "an unusual opportunity for a truly blind test of a sociobiological theory" (Queller 2002). We will publish our results in peer reviewed journals and present them at international conferences. All datasets will be made available on public databases.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/N010019/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Standard Grant FEC
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Standard Grant
This grant award has a total value of £350,905
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| DI - Other Costs | Indirect - Indirect Costs | DA - Investigators | DA - Estate Costs | DI - Staff | DI - T&S | DA - Other Directly Allocated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £42,278 | £119,905 | £35,878 | £43,468 | £100,265 | £2,846 | £6,265 |
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