Abstract: To explore the expression characteristics of dynactin p62 gene in the Chinese honeybee, Apis cerana cerana, the genomic DNA sequence (GenBank accession no. JX101463) and mRNA sequence (GenBank accession no. JX101464) of dynactin p62 in A. cerana cerana were cloned, and a quantitative analysis of its expression level at different developmental stages of the queen, worker and drone (3 and 6 dold larvae, and newly eclosed bees) was conducted using realtime PCR. The full-length genomic DNA and mRNA sequences of A. c. cerana dynactin p62 are 2 403 bp and 1 491 bp, respectively, encoding 496 amino acids, and the predicted MW and pI are 56.49 kD and 8.31, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that dynactin p62 of both A. c. cerana and A. mellifera gathered in the same clade. The A. c. cerana dynactin p62 transcript was clearly detected at different developmental stages of the queens and workers, and it was expressed significantly higher in newly eclosed adults than in larvae (P<0.05); and its expression was higher in workers than in queens (P<0.05), but with no obvious regularity in drone. These results suggest that dynactin p62 may be involved in caste differentiation in A. c. cerana.

Key words: Apis cerana cerana, dynactin p62, gene cloning, sequence analysis, differential expression