中华蜜蜂气味结合蛋白基因OBP4的分子特性及时空表达

气味结合蛋白OBPs在蜜蜂识别气味分子和生理反应的过程中起到了十分重要的作用。本研究通过利用生物信息学软件预测分析中华蜜蜂Apis cerana cerana气味结合蛋白基因OBP4（AcerOBP4）编码的蛋白理化特性和结构特征；采用MEGA 5.2软件中的邻位相连法（Neighbor-joining，NJ）构建AcerOBP4及其它昆虫OBPs的系统发育树；通过qRT-PCR技术分析AcerOBP4在中华蜜蜂的哺育蜂、采集蜂和1日龄工蜂各组织的表达情况。结果表明，中华蜜蜂和意大利蜜蜂Apis mellifera OBP4（AmelOBP4）氨基酸同源性为78%，AcerOBP4在中华蜜蜂的触角表达量最高，其次是足和头部组织表明该基因与蜜蜂的嗅觉行为密切相关。此外，AcerOBP4在蜜蜂脑部有一定的表达，但是在腹部组织表达量很低。该研究结果丰富了蜜蜂OBPs表达特性的研究数据，同时也为继续深入研究OBP4在中华蜜蜂中是否影响嗅觉行为提供了基础。

Molecular characteristics and spatiotemporal expression of odorant binding protein gene OBP4 of Apis cerana cerana

Odorant binding proteins (OBPs) play an important role in recognition of odor molecules and physiological responses in honeybees. In this study, bioinformatics software was performed to predict and analyze the physicochemical and structural characteristics of odorant binding proteins OBP4 of Apis cerana cerana (AcerOBP4).The phylogenetic trees of AcerOBP4 and other insect OBPs were constructed by neighbor-joining (NJ) using MEGA 5.2. The mRNA expression of Acer OBP4 in different tissues from nurses, foragers and 1-day-old worker bees of A.cerana cerana was analyzed by qRT-PCR. The results showed that the homology of OBP4 amino acid between A.cerana cerana and A.mellifera was 78%, and the expression of AcerOBP4 had significantly higher expression in the antennae of A.cerana cerana than other part of bees, suggesting that it may be associated with the olfactory behavior of A.cerana cerana. Our study enriched the data of OBPs expression characteristics in honeybee, and also provided a basis for further research on mechanism of OBP4 in regulating olfactory behavior of A.cerana cerana.