Caste differences of gene expression in the brain in a bumble bee, Bombus ignitus

The bumble bee, Bombus ignitus is a species of social insects in Hymenoptera with the reproductive division of labor. Females in this species differentiate to two castes: queens and workers. The former is specialized for reproduction, the latter is an infertile and engaged in brood care, defense of the nest and foraging. To explore the brain molecular mechanisms underlying the behavioral differentiation, gene expression in the brain were compared comprehensively between newly emerged queens and workers in B. ignitus. Each RNA sample was extracted from two brains, reverse-transcripted and then sequenced de novo at 100 bp read length with a paired end library by Illumine NOVAseq 6000. Five each sample of queens or workers from three different colonies were examined.