Examining parent-of-origin effects on transcription and RNA methylation in mediating aggressive behavior in honey bees (Apis mellifera)

In this study, we tested theoretical predictions of the kinship theory of intragenomic conflict regarding aggression behavior in honey bees, and examined the relationship between parent-specific transcription, RNA methylation, and alternative splicing. We utilized a reciprocal cross design, a behavior assay to assess parent-of-origin effects on aggression (defensive stinging) behavior, and Oxford Nanopore direct RNA-sequencing to identify genes exhibiting allele-biased transcript abundance, RNA m6A, and alternative splicing patterns.