Abundant small RNAs in the reproductive tissues of the honey bee, Apis mellifera, are a plausible mechanism for epigenetic inheritance and parental manipulation of gene expression

Here we present the first characterisation of small RNAs in honey bee reproductive tissues. We conclude that small RNAs are likely to play an integral role in honey bee gametogenesis and reproduction and provide a plausible mechanism for parent-of origin-effects on gene expression and reproductive physiology. present in honey bee reproductive tissues: ovaries, spermatheca, semen, fertilised and unfertilised eggs, and testes. Overall design: Bioinformatic analysis of sRNA-Seq data from honeybee reproductive tissue