Honeybees Share miRNAs with Other Eusocial Insects (IMAGE)
Caption
Twenty miRNAs the scientists originally thought to be specific to honeybees turned out to be common to other eusocial insects as well, a pattern consistent with the idea that miRNAs played a role in the evolution of eusociality. The honeybee miRNAs (green) are also found in: Apis floria, the Asian dwarf bee; Bombus terrestris, the bumble bee; Atta cephalotes, the leaf cutter ant; and Camponotus floridanus, a carpenter ant. All of these are social insects, although the last three are considered to be “primitive social.” In contrast the miRNAs are completely absent in Nasonia longicornis, a solitary wasp. (Yellow indicates an imperfect match.)
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Ben-Shahar
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