DNA Methylation in Bees alters Behavior

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https://cen.acs.org/articles/90/i39/Modified-Genes-Linked-Behavior.html

The distant question is whether there is a gay gene, which some protest loudly that it does not exist. That may not be the right question or issue. Yet epigentics studies like this show that DNA modification can affect behavior, and, in this case, it is apparently reversible and results in several different types of behavior – in bees.

I navigated to the world news category; don’t know how this ended up in Catholic Living.
 
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This seems like you’re trying to connect something that isn’t really connected to the story.
 
Yes, exact you are.

This seems like you’re overlooking the possibilities of this research. This behavior in bees involves 155 genes that affect the behavior range of bees.

Yes, this is in the realm of speculation, but it may be that there are a large number of genes involved in or responsible for sexual orientation and just such variations in epigenetics of the associated genes may result in the types of expression – heterosexual, homosexual, other – in humans.

This article show that there may be a large number of genes involved in determining human behavior, for example, not the oversimplified “gay gene” that is so often bandied about. There may be, in fact, no gay gene per se, but the modification of many genes may be involved. Surely you can see my point.
 
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Surely many different genes affect human behavior. This is not new. Tabula Rasa hasn’t been in style for years.

It’s quite likely not purely genetic, however, considering sexuality in identical twin pairs.

Personally I think people are too obsessed with sex. The obsession leads to terrible results quite often.

God bless
 
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People have probably known this for thousands of years. Bees will change their roles based on the need of the hive. Queens are not genetically different from, say, workers. They are simply one bee which, as a larva, is fed a hormone-rich special food beekeepers call “royal jelly”. It causes the larva to become a fertile queen. All others don’t become queens.

If, however, the hive loses its queen, it will try to generate new ones by feeding royal jelly to some new larvae. BUT, in the meantime, one or more of the otherwise sterile worker bees will begin to turn “queen-like” and fertile in order to lay eggs and keep the hive going.

Like I said, beekeepers have known that forever. And they have always known that bees serve different functions at different points in their lives.

But one thing they don’t do is turn a female into a male or vice versa.
 
Exactly, and what we know about X and Y chromosomes indicates that sort of change does not seem possible. The new, large field of epigenetics is concerned with the expression of genes. This is an exciting field where sometime in the future there might be ways to prolong lifespan, etc.

I get these informational emails, in this case a newsletter from the American Chemical Society which reports highlights of peer-reviewed research papers and findings. This is not the journal of witchcraft or alchemy.
 
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Kei said:
Surely many different genes affect human behavior. This is not new. Tabula Rasa hasn’t been in style for years.

It’s quite likely not purely genetic, however, considering sexuality in identical twin pairs.
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So called “identical twins,” i.e. monozygotic twins that come from the same egg, are not always identical:
Identical twins Amelia and Jasmine are thought be the first black and white twins born in the UK, despite coming from the same egg.

The girls were born to mum Libby Appleby, 37, from West Rainton, County Durham who is white and her partner Tafadzwa Madzimbamuto, 40, who is black.

They are identical or monozygotic twins, meaning they developed from the same zygote, which split and formed two embryos.

Monozygotic twins are always the same sex, share identical blood groups and genetic make-up and always closely resemble each other.

There are other reported cases of non-identical twins being born with different coloured skin and eyes to mixed race couples in the UK.

But, in what is believed to be a first in this country, Amelia was born with dark skin, black hair and brown eyes while her sister Jasmine has fair skin, blue eyes and mousy curls, despite being genetically identical.
Click to expand...

Also, although identical twins might have nearly identical DNA, the genes in their DNA can still be expressed differently because of what are called “epigenetic markers.” A person’s genetic code, their DNA, is their genome. But sitting on top of the DNA there is a layer of chemical markers that determines which parts of the genetic code get turned on and which parts get turned off. This is the epigenome, i.e. that what is “above the genome.” So, identical twins might have almost identical genomes (i.e. DNA), but their epigenomes can be different which means that how the DNA in their bodies work can be different. Environmental influences can change these chemical markers in the epigenome, but once changes have been made, they can stay with an individual for the rest of their life, making permanent changes in how the DNA works in the body.
 
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thank you for this interesting case study. Yes it shows how gene can be regulated to produce different expressions. It challenges what non-technical people think about how things work.

The bee example shows how the behavior can be modified, but other genes in the bees are not so flexible. Of course, I posted the article to give some technical awareness of what has been discovered. The genetic modifications in the bees can be modified by bee keepers. What remains to be seen if such technology can be developed to cure disease and even some day, to solve the riddle of sexual orientation and genetic expression.

There are a lot of moral issues about conversion therapy, political and legal questions, too. But, a lot of research in the lab may eventually give many people an escape from a life style they would prefer not to have. What may result is that the conversion at the level of epigenetics may be easier to solve than we can forecast today.
 
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