Honeybees (Apis mellifera) are critical to maintaining ecological balance and are important pollinators. The oviposition behavior in honeybees is important and complex. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are found to form circRNA-miRNA crosstalk and play important roles in reproduction processes. Here, dual luciferase reporter was used to confirm the crosstalk between ame_circ_2015 and ame_miR-14-3p. Functional experiments in vitro and in vivo were performed to investigate the biological functions of ame_circ_2015 in egg-laying of queens. The results showed that ame_circ_2015 directly target ame_miR-14-3p, and the expression of ame_circ_2015 was negatively correlated with ame_miR-14-3p expression. Overexpression results showed that ame_circ_2015 promoted the number of eggs laid and knockdown of ame_circ_2015 suppressed the number of eggs laid. It demonstrates that up-regulated ame_circ_2015 promotes the number of eggs laid by sponging ame_miR-14-3p. The study will provide information towards a better understanding of circRNA-miRNA crosstalk in egg-laying in honeybees.
Keywords: circRNA; honeybees; miRNA; the number of egg-laid.