The genomes of two key bumblebee species with primitive eusocial organization

Abstract

Background: The shift from solitary to social behavior is one of the major evolutionary transitions. Primitively eusocial bumblebees are uniquely placed to illuminate the evolution of highly eusocial insect societies. Bumblebees are also invaluable natural and agricultural pollinators, and there is widespread concern over recent population declines in some species. High-quality genomic data will inform key aspects of bumblebee biology, including susceptibility to implicated population viability threats. Results: We report the high quality draft genome sequences of Bombus terrestris and Bombus impatiens, two ecologically dominant bumblebees and widely utilized study species. Comparing these new genomes to those of the highly eusocial honeybee Apis mellifera and other Hymenoptera, we identify deeply conserved similarities, as well as novelties key to the biology of these organisms. Some honeybee genome features thought to underpin advanced eusociality are also present in bumblebees, indicating an earlier evolution in the bee lineage. Xenobiotic detoxification and immune genes are similarly depauperate in bumblebees and honeybees, and multiple categories of genes linked to social organization, including development and behavior, show high conservation. Key differences identified include a bias in bumblebee chemoreception towards gustation from olfaction, and striking differences in microRNAs, potentially responsible for gene regulation underlying social and other traits. Conclusions: These two bumblebee genomes provide a foundation for post-genomic research on these key pollinators and insect societies. Overall, gene repertoires suggest that the route to advanced eusociality in bees was mediated by many small changes in many genes and processes, and not by notable expansion or depauperation.

Metadata

Item Type:	Article
Authors/Creators:	Sadd, BM Barribeau, SM Bloch, G de Graaf, DC Dearden, P Elsik, CG Gadau, J Grimmelikhuijzen, CJP Hasselmann, M Lozier, JD Robertson, HM Smagghe, G Stolle, E Van Vaerenbergh, M Waterhouse, RM Bornberg-Bauer, E Klasberg, S Bennett, AK Camara, F Guigo, R Hoff, K Mariotti, M Munoz-Torres, M Murphy, T Santesmasses, D Amdam, GV Beckers, M Beye, M Biewer, M Bitondi, MMG Blaxter, ML Bourke, AFG Brown, MJF Buechel, SD Cameron, R Cappelle, K Carolan, JC Christiaens, O Ciborowski, KL Clarke, DF Colgan, TJ Collins, DH Cridge, AG Dalmay, T Dreier, S du Plessis, L Duncan, E https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1841-504X Erler, S Evans, J Falcon, T Flores, K Freitas, FCP Fuchikawa, T Gempe, T Hartfelder, K Hauser, F Helbing, S Humann, FC Irvine, F Jermiin, LS Johnson, CE Johnson, RM Jones, AK Kadowaki, T Kidner, JH Koch, V Koehler, A Kraus, FB Lattorff, HMG Leask, M Lockett, GA Mallon, EB Antonio, DSM Marxer, M Meeus, I Moritz, RFA Nair, A Napflin, K Nissen, I Niu, J Nunes, FMF Oakeshott, JG Osborne, A Otte, M Pinheiro, DG Rossie, N Rueppell, O Santos, CG Schmid-Hempel, R Schmitt, BD Schulte, C Simoes, ZLP Soares, MPM Swevers, L Winnebeck, EC Wolschin, F Yu, N Zdobnov, EM Aqrawi, PK Blankenburg, KP Coyle, M Francisco, L Hernandez, AG Holder, M Hudson, ME Jackson, L Jayaseelan, J Joshi, V Kovar, C Lee, SL Mata, R Mathew, T Newsham, IF Ngo, R Okwuonu, G Pham, C Pu, L-L Saada, N Santibanez, J Simmons, D Thornton, R Venkat, A Walden, KKO Wu, Y-Q Debyser, G Devreese, B Asher, C Blommaert, J Chipman, AD Chittka, L Fouks, B Liu, J O'Neill, MP Sumner, S Puiu, D Qu, J Salzberg, SL Scherer, SE Muzny, DM Richards, S Robinson, GE Gibbs, RA Schmid-Hempel, P Worley, KC
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information:	(c) 2015 Sadd et al.; licensee BioMed Central. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
Dates:	Published: 24 April 2015 Accepted: 10 March 2015
Institution:	The University of Leeds
Academic Units:	The University of Leeds > Faculty of Biological Sciences (Leeds) > School of Biology (Leeds)
Depositing User:	Symplectic Publications
Date Deposited:	20 Apr 2016 09:53
Last Modified:	24 Mar 2017 16:24
Published Version:	http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13059-015-0623-3
Status:	Published
Publisher:	BioMed Central
Identification Number:	10.1186/s13059-015-0623-3
Related URLs:	Author Dataset
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID):	oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:92228

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The genomes of two key bumblebee species with primitive eusocial organization

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The genomes of two key bumblebee species with primitive eusocial organization

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