Georgia Tech Biology Professors Soojin Yi and Michael Goodisman, in collaboration with Christina Grozinger at Penn State University, have been awarded a three-year grant from the National Science Foundation entitled 'Epigenetic gene regulation in the social bee Apis mellifera'.

The research team will investigate how DNA methylation, an important chemical modification to DNA, affects development in the honeybee. Honeybees represent important species for studying DNA methylation because of their ecological and economic importance. In addition, the differentiation of honeybee castes represents one of the most spectacular examples of developmental plasticity: queens and workers arise from the same genes through differential gene activation mediated by DNA methylation. Consequently, determining how DNA methylation affects development in honeybees will help link specific molecular mechanisms to the production of different developmental forms and provide insight into the factors affecting social behavior.