Assessing the role of β-ocimene in regulating foraging behavior of the honey bee, Apis mellifera

RNA viruses play a significant role in the current high losses of pollinators. Although many studies have focused on the epidemiology of western honey bee (Apis mellifera) viruses at the colony level, the dynamics of virus infection within colonies remains poorly explored. In this study, the two main variants of the ubiquitous honey bee virus DWV as well as three major honey bee viruses (SBV, ABPV and BQCV) were analyzed from Varroa-destructor-parasitized pupae. More precisely, RT-qPCR was used to quantify and compare virus genome copies across honey bee pupae at the individual and subfamily levels (i.e., patrilines, sharing the same mother queen but with different drones as fathers). Additionally, virus genome copies were compared in cells parasitized by reproducing and non-reproducing mite foundresses to assess the role of this vector. Only DWV was detected in the samples, and the two variants of this virus significantly differed when comparing the sampling period, colonies and patrilines. Moreover, DWV-A and DWV-B exhibited different infection patterns, reflecting contrasting dynamics. Altogether, these results provide new insight into honey bee diseases and stress the need for more studies about the mechanisms of intra-colonial disease variation in social insects.

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Transcriptional Control of Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) Major Royal Jelly Proteins by 20-Hydroxyecdysone

Insects ◽

10.3390/insects9030122 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 122 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Paul Winkler ◽

Frank Sieg ◽

Anja Buttstedt

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Apis Mellifera ◽

Juvenile Hormone ◽

Honey Bee ◽

Honey Bees ◽

Transcriptional Control ◽

Royal Jelly ◽

Adult Worker ◽

Gene Expression Dynamics

One of the first tasks of worker honey bees (Apis mellifera) during their lifetime is to feed the larval offspring. In brief, young workers (nurse bees) secrete a special food jelly that contains a large amount of unique major royal jelly proteins (MRJPs). The regulation of mrjp gene expression is not well understood, but the large upregulation in well-fed nurse bees suggests a tight repression until, or a massive induction upon, hatching of the adult worker bees. The lipoprotein vitellogenin, the synthesis of which is regulated by the two systemic hormones 20-hydroxyecdysone and juvenile hormone, is thought to be a precursor for the production of MRJPs. Thus, the regulation of mrjp expression by the said systemic hormones is likely. This study focusses on the role of 20-hydroxyecdysone by elucidating its effect on mrjp gene expression dynamics. Specifically, we tested whether 20-hydroxyecdysone displayed differential effects on various mrjps. We found that the expression of the mrjps (mrjp1–3) that were finally secreted in large amounts into the food jelly, in particular, were down regulated by 20-hydroxyecdysone treatment, with mrjp3 showing the highest repression value.

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THE ROLE OF NUTRITION AND TEMPERATURE IN THE OVARIAN DEVELOPMENT OF THE WORKER HONEY BEE (APIS MELLIFERA)

The Canadian Entomologist ◽

10.4039/ent130883-6 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 130 (6) ◽

pp. 883-891 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

Huarong Lin ◽

Mark L. Winston

Keyword(s):

Apis Mellifera ◽

Honey Bee ◽

Nutritive Value ◽

Royal Jelly ◽

Ovarian Development ◽

Egg Laying ◽

Brood Chamber ◽

Laying Workers

AbstractQueenless, caged, newly emerged worker bees (Apis mellifera L.) were fed honey, 22 and 40% pollen in honey, and 22 and 40% royal jelly in honey for 14 days. Workers fed royal jelly, pollen, and honey had large, medium, and small ovaries, respectively. Royal jelly had higher nutritive value for workers’ ovarian development than did pollen, possibly because royal jelly is predigested by nurse bees and easily used by adult and larval bees. These results suggest that nurse bees could mediate workers’ ovarian development in colonies via trophallactic exchange of royal jelly. Six levels of royal jelly in honey, 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100% (royal jelly without honey), were tested for their effects on workers’ ovarian development and mortality for 10 days. High levels of royal jelly increased ovarian development, but also increased worker mortality. All caged bees treated with 100% royal jelly died within 3 days. When workers were incubated at 20, 27, and 34 °C for 10 days, only bees at 34 °C developed ovaries. These findings suggest that nurse bees functioning as units which digest pollen and produce royal jelly may feed some potentially egg-laying workers in a brood chamber with royal jelly when a queen is lost in a colony. Feeding workers a diet of 50% royal jelly in honey and incubating at 34 °C for 10 days is recommended for tests of ovarian development.

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Modelling the role of intracolonial genetic diversity on regulation of brood temperature in honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies

Insectes Sociaux ◽

10.1007/s00040-005-0862-5 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 53 (2) ◽

pp. 226-232 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

S. Graham ◽

M. R. Myerscough ◽

J. C. Jones ◽

B. P. Oldroyd

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Apis Mellifera ◽

Honey Bee ◽

Intracolonial Genetic Diversity ◽

Brood Temperature

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Environmental and Genotypic Effects on Russian-Hybrid and Italian Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Foraging Behavior

Environmental Entomology ◽

10.1603/0046-225x(2006)35[1610:eageor]2.0.co;2 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 35 (6) ◽

pp. 1610-1616

Author(s):

K. Lane Kreitlow ◽

David R. Tarpy

Keyword(s):

Apis Mellifera ◽

Honey Bee ◽

Foraging Behavior ◽

Genotypic Effects

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Division of labor in the honey bee (Apis mellifera): the role of tyramine -hydroxylase

Journal of Experimental Biology ◽

10.1242/jeb.02296 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 209 (14) ◽

pp. 2774-2784 ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

H. K. Lehman

Keyword(s):

Apis Mellifera ◽

Division Of Labor ◽

Honey Bee

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Silencing the Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) Naked Cuticle Gene (nkd) Improves Host Immune Function and Reduces Nosema ceranae Infections

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.02105-16 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 82 (22) ◽

pp. 6779-6787 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Wenfeng Li ◽

Jay D. Evans ◽

Qiang Huang ◽

Cristina Rodríguez-García ◽

Jie Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Apis Mellifera ◽

Immune Function ◽

Honey Bee ◽

Honey Bees ◽

Nosema Ceranae ◽

Negative Regulator ◽

Mrna Levels ◽

Content Type ◽

Bee Disease

ABSTRACTNosema ceranaeis a new and emerging microsporidian parasite of European honey bees,Apis mellifera, that has been implicated in colony losses worldwide. RNA interference (RNAi), a posttranscriptional gene silencing mechanism, has emerged as a potent and specific strategy for controlling infections of parasites and pathogens in honey bees. While previous studies have focused on the silencing of parasite/pathogen virulence factors, we explore here the possibility of silencing a host factor as a mechanism for reducing parasite load. Specifically, we used an RNAi strategy to reduce the expression of a honey bee gene,naked cuticle(nkd), which is a negative regulator of host immune function. Our studies found thatnkdmRNA levels in adult bees were upregulated byN. ceranaeinfection (and thus, the parasite may use this mechanism to suppress host immune function) and that ingestion of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) specific tonkdefficiently silenced its expression. Furthermore, we found that RNAi-mediated knockdown ofnkdtranscripts inNosema-infected bees resulted in upregulation of the expression of several immune genes (Abaecin,Apidaecin,Defensin-1, andPGRP-S2), reduction ofNosemaspore loads, and extension of honey bee life span. The results of our studies clearly indicate that silencing the hostnkdgene can activate honey bee immune responses, suppress the reproduction ofN. ceranae, and improve the overall health of honey bees. This study represents a novel host-derived therapeutic for honey bee disease treatment that merits further exploration.IMPORTANCEGiven the critical role of honey bees in the pollination of agricultural crops, it is urgent to develop strategies to prevent the colony decline induced by the infection of parasites/pathogens. Targeting parasites and pathogens directly by RNAi has been proven to be useful for controlling infections in honey bees, but little is known about the disease impacts of RNAi silencing of host factors. Here, we demonstrate that knocking down the honey bee immune repressor-encodingnkdgene can suppress the reproduction ofN. ceranaeand improve the overall health of honey bees, which highlights the potential role of host-derived and RNAi-based therapeutics in controlling the infections in honey bees. The information obtained from this study will have positive implications for honey bee disease management practices.

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The antigenicity of the carbohydrate moiety of an insect glycoprotein, honey-bee (Apis mellifera) venom phospholipase A2. The role of α1,3-fucosylation of the asparagine-bound N-acetylglucosamine

Biochemical Journal ◽

10.1042/bj2840377 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 284 (2) ◽

pp. 377-380 ◽

Cited By ~ 71

Author(s):

C Prenner ◽

L Mach ◽

J Glössl ◽

L März

Keyword(s):

Apis Mellifera ◽

Phospholipase A2 ◽

Honey Bee ◽

Antigenic Determinant ◽

Polyclonal Antiserum ◽

Animal Origin ◽

Plant Glycoproteins ◽

Rabbit Polyclonal Antiserum ◽

Fucose Residue

A rabbit polyclonal antiserum raised against honey-bee (Apis mellifera) venom phospholipase A2 (PLA2) contains antibodies that react exclusively with its glycosylated variants and cross-react with plant glycoproteins. The interaction of anti-(horseradish peroxidase) antiserum with PLA2 suggests the existence of a carbohydrate determinant common to both glycoproteins. E.l.i.s.a. binding and inhibition experiments, employing glycoproteins and glycopeptides of plant and animal origin with known N-glycan structures, in combination with chemical and enzymic deglycosylation, identified alpha 1,3-fucosylation of the asparagine-bound N-acetylglucosamine as the antigenic determinant. This fucose residue is present in the N-glycan of PLA2 and is frequently found in plant glycoproteins, whereas mammalian glycoproteins lack this modification.

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