Abstract: 【Aim】To identify and analyze the genes and full-length transcripts of serine/threonine protein kinases of Apis mellifera ligustica using previously gained high-quality long-read nanopore sequencing data, and to provide reference information and bases for further functional study.【Methods】Based on the previously obtained high-quality long-read nanopore sequencing data of A. m. ligustica, the genes and full-length transcripts of serine/threonine protein kinases were screened from the Nr database by Blast. The screened full-length transcripts of serine/threonine protein kinases were compared with the annotated transcripts in the reference genome of A. mellifera (Amel_HAv3.1) using gffcompare software to identify the unannotated new genes and new transcripts. The types of alternative splicing (AS) events occurring in serine/threonine protein kinase genes were identified using Astalavista software. Visualization of the structure of spliceosomes was performed with IGV browser. RT-PCR was employed to confirm the authenticity of randomly selected six AS events.【Results】In total, 71 genes and 335 full-length transcripts of serine/threonine protein kinases of A. m. ligustica were identified, and one new gene and 97 new transcripts were discovered. The structure of 14 annotated genes was optimized, and the 5′ends of six genes and the 3′ends of eight genes were prolonged, respectively. A total of 57 AS events were identified in seven genes of serine/threonine protein kinases in A. m. ligustica, including 40 exon skipping (ES) events, 15 alternative 5′splicing site (A5SS) events and two alternative 3′splicing site (A3SS) events. RT-PCR results of randomly selected six AS events indicated that all of the target fragments were in accordance with the expected sizes, confirming the authenticity of AS events.【Conclusion】 Genes and full-length transcripts of serine/threonine protein kinases of A. m. ligustica were systematically identified and the structure of the serine/threonine protein kinase genes annotated in A. mellifera reference genome was optimized in this study.

Key words:  Apis mellifera ligustica, serine/threonine protein kinase, full-length transcript, third generation sequencing technology, nanopore sequencing