Advances on the physiological factors relating to honeybee caste differentiation
Author of the article:
Author's Workplace：
Key Words：Apis mellifera， caste differentiation，juvenile hormone (JH)， ecdysteroid (Ecd)， insulin/insulin-like signal pathway (IIS)
Abstract： The honeybee, Apis mellifera L., is a typical social insect. The phenomenon of caste differentiation between queens and workers in this species has attracted a tremendous amount of scientific interest. Honeybee caste differentiation is an extremely complex growth adjustment process with many important physiological factors, including juvenile hormone (JH), ecdysteroid (Ecd) and insulin/insulin-like signal pathway (IIS). In this paper, we summarize advances in research on the physiological factors relating to honeybee caste differentiation:JH determines the path of caste differentiation and can hinder programmed cell death during larval ovary growth. Ecd, together with JH, plays a regulatory role. The queen and worker’s body and organ size are correlated with IIS in a caste-specific fashion. In addition, a model of caste differentiation in A. mellifera，which systematically describes the integrative effects of the above physiological factors on the caste differentiation, is introduced.