The sex determination pathway underlies reproductive division of labor and social signalling in honey bees

Doublesex (Dsx) is a well-known regulator of sex differentiation in arthropods. DSX is known to affect the development of sexual secondary characteristic, including ovary development and pheromonal signalling in other insects. This project investigated the role of Dsx in the regulation of reproductive division of labour and pheromonal communication in Apis mellifera We knocked down Dsx and observed its effect on ovary development, pheromone signalling and identified differentially expressed genes in Dsx RNAi-treated bees compared to a non-target control gene green fluorescent protein (GFP) RNAi-treated. We find that Dsx knockdowns had reduced levels of ovary development and lower levels of pheromonal fertility signals. We further found many differentially expressed genes, among them egg yolk protein, which lad lower levels in DSX RNAi-treated bees. Dsx appears to be part of a large network enriched for regulatory proteins, regulating sex differentiation, reproductive division of labour and pheromonal signalling in honey bees.