Identificação de genes codificantes de proteínas de choque térmico na abelha Melipona interrupta (Hymenoptera, Meliponini)

Abstract

The stingless bees from Melipona genus are very sociable insects that show a major ecological importance as pollinators of native plants from amazon region, a place with a high potential to this bees creation (Meliponiculture). However, the inappropriate management plus the anthropological impact are decreasing this population’s genetic variability. It is known that the thermic stress can influence the castes differentiation mechanism, a fundamental process that influences directly the maintenance of this bee’s populations, since the queen is a vital member to the colony stability. The heat shock proteins (Hsps) are an interesting group to studies of comparative genomics, since they are related to thermic stress. The identification of the Melipona interrupta’s Hsps coding gene, a species of stingless bee from Amazon, is first step to know more about the relation between Hsps and the development, reproduction and biological growing of this specie that is one of the leading explored bees in the region. Therefore, this study objective was identify the heat shock proteins coding genes Hsp60, Hsp70 and Hsp90 in M. interrupta. Males, workers and queens were collected in the white-eyed pupal stage and with degenerated primers designed based on mRNA sequences from the genes Hsp60, Hsp70 E Hsp90 from others insects, fragments of these genes were amplified to both sex and castes. The fragments were sequenced and compared with the nucleotide and protein database to in silico validation. One fragment corresponding to the gene HPS60, as well as Hsp70 and Hsp90 fragments of Melipona interrupta were obtained. No differences were noticed between sex and castes in the amplified genic fragments. This shown similarity of 100% with sequences of HPS60 heat shock proteins from mitochondria, Hsp70 and Hsp90 with cytosolic of bees from Apis and Bombus genus. Therefore, the sequenced fragments correspond to genes Hsp60 (mitochondrial), 70 and 90 (cytosolic) of M. interrupta, expressed in the white-eyed pupal stage and do not differ in its nucleotide sequence regarding sex and caste.