Abstract
A high royal jelly-producing strain of honeybees (HRJHB) has been obtained by successive artificial selection of Italian honeybees (Apis mellifera ligustica) in China. The HRJHB can produce amounts of royal jelly that are dozens of times greater than their original counterparts, which has promoted China to be the largest producer of royal jelly in the world. In this study, we generated a chromosome-scale of the genome sequence for the HRJHB using PacBio long reads and Hi-C technique. The genome consists of 16 pseudo-chromosomes that contain 222 Mb of sequence, with a scaffold N50 of 13.6 Mb. BUSCO analysis yielded a completeness score of 99.3%. The genome has 12,288 predicted protein-coding genes and a rate of 8.11% of repetitive sequences. One chromosome inversion was identified between the HRJHB and the closely related Italian honeybees through whole-genome alignment analysis. The HRJHB’s genome sequence will be an important resource for understanding the genetic basis of high levels of royal jelly production, which may also shed light on the evolution of domesticated insects.
Highlights
Background & SummaryRoyal jelly (RJ) is a proteinaceous secretion synthesized by the hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands of nurse worker bees and is used for feeding queen and larvae[1]
RJ is widely used in medical products, health foods and cosmetics in many countries owing to the numerous biological activities it is known to perform including anti-bacterial, anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, anti-tumoral, and anti-aging activities[3,4]
The rapidly increased production of RJ in China has been mainly attributed to the successful breeding of the high royal jelly-producing honeybees (HRJHB) (Fig. 1), and the effective utilization of corresponding production tools and techniques[6]
Summary
Background & SummaryRoyal jelly (RJ) is a proteinaceous secretion synthesized by the hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands of nurse worker bees and is used for feeding queen and larvae[1]. The rapidly increased production of RJ in China has been mainly attributed to the successful breeding of the high royal jelly-producing honeybees (HRJHB) (Fig. 1), and the effective utilization of corresponding production tools and techniques[6]. We generated a chromosome-scale of the genome assembly of the HRJHB using PacBio long-reads, Illumina short reads, and the Hi-C chromosome conformation capture technique (Table 1; Fig. 2a).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
