Abstract
To tolerate many acute and chronic oxidative stress-producing agents that exist in the environment, organisms have evolved many classes of signal transduction pathways, including the transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) signal pathway. Decapentapletic gene (Dpp) belongs to the TGFβ superfamily, and studies on Dpp have mainly focused on its role in the regulation of development. No study has investigated the response of Dpp to oxidative pressure in any organism, including Apis cerana cerana (A. cerana cerana). In this study, we identified a Dpp gene from A. cerana cerana named AccDpp. The 5΄ flanking region of AccDpp had many transcription factor binding sites that relevant to development and stress response. AccDpp was expressed at all stages of A. cerana cerana, with its highest expression in 15-day worker bees. The mRNA level of AccDpp was higher in the poison gland and midgut than other tissues. Furthermore, the transcription of AccDpp could be repressed by 4°C and UV, but induced by other treatments, according to our qRT-PCR analysis. It is worth noting that the expression level of AccDpp protein was increased after a certain time when A. cerana cerana was subjected to all simulative oxidative stresses, a finding that was not completely consistent with the result from qRT-PCR. It is interesting that recombinant AccDpp restrained the growth of Escherichia coli, a function that might account for the role of the antimicrobial peptides of AccDpp. In conclusion, these results provide evidence that AccDpp might be implicated in the regulation of development and the response of oxidative pressure. The findings may lay a theoretical foundation for further genetic studies of Dpp.
Highlights
Apis cerana cerana (A. cerana cerana) is a well-known subspecies of oriental bees
The results showed that the Transforming growth factor β (TGFβ)-propeptide domain and TGFβ domain existed in the N-terminus and C-terminus of the Decapentapletic gene (Dpp) protein, respectively (Fig 2B)
The results showed that the content of AccDpp protein was higher in stage L3 and L5, followed by stage A15, Pp, and Pb (Fig 7D), a result that was not completely consistent with the qRT-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) findings
Summary
Compared with Apis mellifera (A. mellifera), A. cerana cerana has a strong resistance to mites, acute sense of smell, and can forage the nectar and pollen of wide range of flowers, including wild plants. ROS homeostasis and signalling are essential to the organisms, but their exact function remains a mystery. A low concentration of ROS is essential to the organism, and accumulating evidence has suggested that ROS can serve as pivotal signalling molecules to participate in the regulation of various cellular functions, including cell growth, proliferation, survival and the immune response [8, 9]. Transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) signal transduction can be activated by ROS
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