Abstract
Genetic and epigenetic responses to environmental cues of worker honeybees mediate
synthesis, a key mechanism to tolerate high ambient temperatures in
In this study, the chromatin immunoprecipitation assay followed by qPCR were used to determine alterations in histone methylation states (H3K27me2, H3K27me3, H3K4me2, and H3K4me3) associated with
/
in
(thermo-tolerant subspecies) and
(thermo-susceptible subspecies) after heat treatment. The results revealed significant changes in enrichment folds of histone methylation states associated with
/
. Indeed, the enrichment of H3K27me2 decreased strongly in response to heat stress. Changes in histone methylation states were significantly higher in
samples compared to
samples. Our study provides a new perception on linking histone post-translational methylation as an epigenetic mechanism of gene regulation with
in
subspecies exposed to heat stress.