Sperm-mediated Gene Transfer in the Chinese Honeybee, Apis cerana cerana (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Transgenic Apis cerana cerana were produced by sperm-mediated gene transfer (SMGT). In the experiment, the foreign DNA was linearized and introduced with sperm during the instrumental insemination of virgin queen. The descendants of the experimental colonies were analyzed. In the green fluorescent-positive offspring, green fluorescence was observed for 1- to 2-day-old larvae, the predicted fragment was isolated by means of PCR amplification of genomic DNA and the expression of transferred genes was confirmed at transcriptional level by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. These results showed that the exogenous gene could be integrated in a fraction of the germ line cells of the queen Apis cerana cerana and transmitted to offspring by SMGT.