Figure 4.

Proposed general model of caste differentiation in Apis mellifera. Arrows thickness indicates the relative action levels of the considered factors. Recent studies by our group suggest that the global differential programming of gene expression in the honeybee is controlled by DNA methylation mechanism in a manner similar to epigenetic transcriptional changes inducible by environmental factors in vertebrates (Maleszka et al., in preparation). For details see Section "Towards a unified model of caste differentiation in the honeybee".