For bees, many roads lead to social harmony: Eusociality, where workers sacrifice their reproductive rights to support the colony, has evolved repeatedly and represents the most evolved form of social evolution in insects. Kapheim et al. looked across the genomes of 10 bee species with varying degrees of sociality to determine the underlying genomic contributions. No one genomic path led to eusociality, but similarities across genomes were seen in features such as increases in gene regulation and methylation. It also seems that selection pressures relaxed after the emergence of complex sociality. Science , this issue p. 1139

Background: The shift from solitary to social behavior is one of the major evolutionary transitions. Primitively eusocial bumblebees are uniquely placed to illuminate the evolution of highly eusocial insect societies. Bumblebees are also invaluable natural and agricultural pollinators, and there is widespread concern over recent population declines in some species. High-quality genomic data will inform key aspects of bumblebee biology, including susceptibility to implicated population viability threats. Results: We report the high quality draft genome sequences of Bombus terrestris and Bombus impatiens, two ecologically dominant bumblebees and widely utilized study species. Comparing these new genomes to those of the highly eusocial honeybee Apis mellifera and other Hymenoptera, we identify deeply conserved similarities, as well as novelties key to the biology of these organisms. Some honeybee genome features thought to underpin advanced eusociality are also present in bumblebees, indicating an earlier evolution in the bee lineage. Xenobiotic detoxification and immune genes are similarly depauperate in bumblebees and honeybees, and multiple categories of genes linked to social organization, including development and behavior, show high conservation. Key differences identified include a bias in bumblebee chemoreception towards gustation from olfaction, and striking differences in microRNAs, potentially responsible for gene regulation underlying social and other traits. Conclusions: These two bumblebee genomes provide a foundation for post-genomic research on these key pollinators and insect societies. Overall, gene repertoires suggest that the route to advanced eusociality in bees was mediated by many small changes in many genes and processes, and not by notable expansion or depauperation.

Intestinal dysbiosis and metabolic endotoxemia has been associated with metabolic disorders, such as obesity, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes (T2D). The main goal of the present study was to evaluate the intestinal dysbiosis in Brazilian T2D patients and correlate these data with inflammatory cytokines and lipopolysaccharides (LPS) plasma concentrations. This study was approved by the Ethics Committees from Barretos Cancer Hospital and all individuals signed the informed consent form. Stool samples were required for DNA extraction, and the V3/V4 regions of bacterial 16S were sequenced using an Illumina platform. Peripheral blood were used to quantify inflammatory cytokines and plasma LPS concentrations, by CBA flex and ELISA, respectively. Statistical analyses were performed using Mann-Whitney and Spearman’s tests. Analysis of variance, diversity indexes and analysis of alpha and beta-diversity were conducted using an annotated OTU table. This study included 20 patients and 22 controls. We observed significant differences (P<0.01) in the microbiota composition (beta-diversity) between patients and controls, suggesting intestinal dysbiosis in Brazilian T2D patients. The prevalent species found in patients’ feces were the gram-negatives Prevotella copri, Bacteroides vulgatus, Bacteroides rodentium, and Bacteroides xylanisolvens. The proinflammatory interleukin-6 (IL-6) was significantly increased (P<0.05) in patients’ plasma and LPS levels were decreased. We find correlations between the proinflammatory interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) with gram-negatives Bacteroides and Prevotella species, and a positive correlation between the LPS levels and Prevotella copri reads. The Prevotella copri and Bacteroides vulgatus species were associated with insulin resistance in previous studies. In this study, we suggested that the prevalence of gram-negative species in the gut and the increased plasma IL-6 in patients could be linked to low-grade inflammation and insulin resistance. In conclusion, the Prevotella copri and Bacteroides vulgatus species could represent an intestinal microbiota signature, associated with T2D development. Furthermore, the identification of these gram-negative bacteria, and the detection of inflammatory markers, such as increased IL-6, could be used as diabetes predictive markers in overweight, obese and in genetically predisposed individuals to develop T2D.

Although patterns of somatic alterations have been reported for tumor genomes, little is known on how they compare with alterations present in non-tumor genomes. A comparison of the two would be crucial to better characterize the genetic alterations driving tumorigenesis. We sequenced the genomes of a lymphoblastoid (HCC1954BL) and a breast tumor (HCC1954) cell line derived from the same patient and compared the somatic alterations present in both. The lymphoblastoid genome presents a comparable number and similar spectrum of nucleotide substitutions to that found in the tumor genome. However, a significant difference in the ratio of non-synonymous to synonymous substitutions was observed between both genomes (P = 0.031). Protein–protein interaction analysis revealed that mutations in the tumor genome preferentially affect hub-genes (P = 0.0017) and are co-selected to present synergistic functions (P < 0.0001). KEGG analysis showed that in the tumor genome most mutated genes were organized into signaling pathways related to tumorigenesis. No such organization or synergy was observed in the lymphoblastoid genome. Our results indicate that endogenous mutagens and replication errors can generate the overall number of mutations required to drive tumorigenesis and that it is the combination rather than the frequency of mutations that is crucial to complete tumorigenic transformation.

Intestinal dysbiosis associated with immunological deregulation, leaky gut, bacterial translocation, and systemic inflammation has been associated with autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes (T1D). The aim of this study was to investigate the intestinal dysbiosis in T1D patients and correlate these results with clinical parameters and cytokines. The present study was approved by the Barretos Cancer Hospital (Process number 903/2014), and all participants have signed the informed consent in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and answered a questionnaire about dietary habits. Stool samples were used for bacterial 16S sequencing by MiSeq Illumina platform. IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17A, TNF, and IFN-γ plasma concentrations were determined by cytometric bead arrays. The Pearson’s chi-square, Mann–Whitney and Spearman correlation were used for statistical analyses. Alpha and beta diversities were conducted by using an annotated observed taxonomic units table. This study included 20 patients and 28 controls, and we found significant differences (P < 0.05) among consumption of vegetables, proteins, milk and derivatives, spicy food, and canned food when we compare patients and controls. We detected intestinal dysbiosis in T1D patients when we performed the beta diversity analysis (P = 0.01). The prevalent species found in patients’ stool were the Gram-negatives Bacteroides vulgatus, Bacteroides rodentium, Prevotella copri, and Bacteroides xylanisolvens. The inflammatory interleukin-6 was significantly increased (P = 0.017) in patients’ plasma. Furthermore, we showed correlation among patients with poor glycemic control, represented by high levels of HbA1_C percentages and Bacteroidetes, Lactobacillales, and Bacteroides dorei relative abundances. We concluded that there are different gut microbiota profiles between T1D patients and healthy controls. The prevalent Gram-negative species in T1D patients could be involved in the leaky gut, bacterial translocation, and poor glycemic control. However, additional studies, with larger cohorts, are required to determine a “signature” of the intestinal microbiota in T1D patients in the Brazilian population.

Neoplasia publishes the results of novel investigations in all areas of oncology research.