scholarly journals A transmissible RNA pathway in honey bees

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eyal Maori ◽  
Yael Garbian ◽  
Vered Kunik ◽  
Rita Mozes-Koch ◽  
Osnat Malka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rna Interference ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Royal Jelly ◽  
Defense Mechanism ◽  
Biologically Active ◽  
Homologous Gene ◽  
Social Immunity ◽  
Protein Coding ◽  
Eusocial Insects ◽  
Systemic Spread

ABSTRACTOne of the characteristics of RNA interference (RNAi) is systemic spread of the silencing signal among cells and tissues throughout the organism. Systemic RNAi, initiated by double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) ingestion, has been reported in diverse invertebrates, including honey bees, demonstrating environmental RNA uptake that undermines homologous gene expression. However, the question why any organism would take up RNA from the environment has remained largely unanswered. Here, we report on horizontal RNA flow among honey bees mediated by secretion and ingestion of worker and royal jelly diets. We show that ingested dsRNA spreads through the bee’s hemolymph associated with a protein complex. The systemic dsRNA is secreted with the jelly and delivered to larvae via ingestion. Furthermore, we demonstrate that transmission of jelly-secreted dsRNA to larvae is biologically active and triggers gene knockdown that lasts into adulthood. Finally, RNA extracted from worker and royal jellies harbor differential naturally occurring RNA populations. Some of these RNAs corresponded to honey bee protein coding genes, transposable elements, non-coding RNA as well as bacteria, fungi and viruses. These results reveal an inherent property of honey bees to share RNA among individuals and generations. Thus, our findings suggest a transmissible RNA pathway, playing a role in social immunity and epigenetic signaling between honey bees and potentially among other closely interacting organisms.SIGNIFICANCEHoney bees are eusocial insects, living in a colony that is often described as a superorganism. RNA mobility among cells of an organism has been documented in plants and animals. Here we show that RNA spreads further in honey bees, and is horizontally transferred between individuals and across generations. We found that honey bees share biologically active RNA through secretion and ingestion of worker and royal jellies. Such RNA initiates RNA interference, which is a known defense mechanism against viral infection. Furthermore, we characterized diverse RNA profiles of worker and royal jelly, including fragmented viral RNA. Our findings demonstrate a transmissible RNA pathway with potential roles in social immunity and epigenetic signaling among members of the hive.

scholarly journals Endogenous RNA interference is driven by copy number

eLife ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Cruz ◽  
Jonathan Houseley
Keyword(s):  
Rna Interference ◽  
Transposable Elements ◽  
Copy Number ◽  
Defense Mechanism ◽  
Gene Copy Number ◽  
Single Copy ◽  
Gene Copy ◽  
Protein Coding ◽  
Endogenous Loci ◽  
Pervasive Transcription

A plethora of non-protein coding RNAs are produced throughout eukaryotic genomes, many of which are transcribed antisense to protein-coding genes and could potentially instigate RNA interference (RNAi) responses. Here we have used a synthetic RNAi system to show that gene copy number is a key factor controlling RNAi for transcripts from endogenous loci, since transcripts from multi-copy loci form double stranded RNA more efficiently than transcripts from equivalently expressed single-copy loci. Selectivity towards transcripts from high-copy DNA is therefore an emergent property of a minimal RNAi system. The ability of RNAi to selectively degrade transcripts from high-copy loci would allow suppression of newly emerging transposable elements, but such a surveillance system requires transcription. We show that low-level genome-wide pervasive transcription is sufficient to instigate RNAi, and propose that pervasive transcription is part of a defense mechanism capable of directing a sequence-independent RNAi response against transposable elements amplifying within the genome.

scholarly journals Correlation of Royal Jelly composition with swarming tendency in Honey Bees (Apis mellifera): A Review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivy Neha Chander ◽  
Lovleen Marwaha
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bees ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Royal Jelly ◽  
Review Paper ◽  
Queen Pheromone ◽  
Eusocial Insects ◽  
Warm Weather ◽  
Growth Development ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Swarming Behaviour

Honey bees are eusocial insects which respond to warm weather, abundant food source by increasing their population through swarming to ensure the survival of the colony. To maintain a superior colony a queen must have a nutrient-rich diet and high egg production. Royal jelly is a high-quality food which has numerous beneficial properties required for proper growth, development, survival of the queen. Factors like congestion, lack of adequate queen pheromone, abnormal queen pheromone, pathogenic infections, exposure to pesticides influence the queen quality which further promotes non-reproductive swarming behaviour. Worker bees analyse the queen condition to prepare for supersedure or emergency queen rearing. This review paper highlights the influence of royal jelly composition on the queen quality, the impact of queen quality on swarming tendency, correlation between royal jelly composition and swarming tendency.

scholarly journals Social Immunity in Honey Bees: Royal Jelly as a Vehicle in Transferring Bacterial Pathogen Fragments Between Nestmates

2021 ◽  
pp. jeb.231076
Author(s):  
Gyan Harwood ◽  
Heli Salmela ◽  
Dalial Freitak ◽  
Gro Amdam
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Royal Jelly ◽  
Bacterial Pathogen ◽  
Egg Yolk ◽  
Pathogen Resistance ◽  
Social Immunity ◽  
Antimicrobial Compounds ◽  
Immune Priming ◽  
Glandular Secretion

Social immunity is a suite of behavioral and physiological traits that allow colony members to protect one another from pathogens and includes the oral transfer of immunological compounds between nestmates. In honey bees, royal jelly is a glandular secretion produced by a subset of workers that is fed to the queen and young larvae, and which contains many antimicrobial compounds. A related form of social immunity, transgenerational immune priming (TGIP), allows queens to transfer pathogen fragments into their developing eggs where they are recognized by the embryo's immune system and induce higher pathogen-resistance in the new offspring. These pathogen fragments are transported by vitellogenin (Vg), an egg-yolk precursor protein that is also used by nurses to synthesize royal jelly. Therefore, royal jelly may serve as a vehicle to transport pathogen fragments from workers to other nestmates. To investigate this, we recently showed that ingested bacteria are transported to nurses’ jelly-producing glands, and here, we show that pathogen fragments are incorporated into the royal jelly. Moreover, we show that consuming pathogen cells induces higher levels an antimicrobial peptide found in royal jelly, defensin-1.

scholarly journals Draft Genome Sequence of a Bombella apis Strain Isolated from Honey Bees

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (47) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric A. Smith ◽  
Sylvie A. Martin-Eberhardt ◽  
Delaney L. Miller ◽  
Audrey J. Parish ◽  
Irene L. G. Newton
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Genome Sequence ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Royal Jelly ◽  
Draft Genome ◽  
Draft Genome Sequence ◽  
Larval Food ◽  
Protein Coding ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Protein Coding Genes

Bombella apis occupies a variety of distinct niches within a honey bee hive, including queen guts, royal jelly, and larval food. In an effort to better understand its evolution and identify signatures of honey bee association, we sequenced a strain isolated from hive honey stores. This genome is 2,086,308 bp long and contains 1,975 protein-coding genes.

The content of decenoic acids in drone brood preparations and combined preparations based on it

Biomics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 389-393
Author(s):  
D.V. Mitrofanov ◽  
N.V. Budnikova
Keyword(s):  
Royal Jelly ◽  
Storage Conditions ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Biologically Active Substances ◽  
Biologically Active ◽  
Strict Adherence ◽  
Drone Brood ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Active Substances ◽  
Melanin Complex

The drone brood contains a large number of substances with antioxidant activity. These substances require stabilization and strict adherence to storage conditions. Among these substances are unique decenoic acids, the content of which is an indicator of the quality of drone brood and products based on it. The ability of drone brood to reduce the manifestations of oxidative stress is shown. There are dietary supplements for food and drugs based on drone brood, which are used for a wide range of diseases. Together with drone brood, chitosan-containing products, propolis, royal jelly can be used. They enrich the composition with their own biologically active substances and affect the preservation of the biologically active substances of the drone brood. Promising are the products containing, in addition to the drone brood, a chitin-chitosan-melanin complex from bees, propolis, royal jelly. The chitin-chitosan-melanin complex in the amount of 5% in the composition of the adsorbent practically does not affect the preservation of decenic acids, while in the amount of 2% and 10% it somewhat worsens. The acid-soluble and water-soluble chitosan of marine crustaceans significantly worsens the preservation of decenoic acids in the product. Drone brood with royal jelly demonstrates a rather high content of decenoic acids. When propolis is introduced into the composition of the product, the content of decenoic acids increases according to the content of propolis.

scholarly journals Rearing Drones in Queen Cells of Apis mellifera Honey Bees

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-128
Author(s):  
Georgios Goras ◽  
Chrysoula Tananaki ◽  
Sofia Gounari ◽  
Elissavet Lazaridou ◽  
Dimitrios Kanelis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Larval Development ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Royal Jelly ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Horizontal Position ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Queen Larvae ◽  
As If

Abstract We investigated the rearing of drone larvae grafted in queen cells. From the 1200 drone larvae that were grafted during spring and autumn, 875 were accepted (72.9%) and reared as queens. Drone larvae in false queen cells received royal jelly of the same composition and of the same amounts as queen larvae. Workers capped the queen cells as if they were drones, 9-10 days after the egg laying. Out of 60 accepted false queen cells, 21 (35%) were capped. The shape of false queen cells with drone larvae is unusually long with a characteristically elongate tip which is probably due to the falling of larvae. Bees start the destruction of the cells when the larvae were 3 days old and maximised it before and after capping. Protecting false queen cells in the colony by wrapping, reversing them upside down, or placing in a horizontal position, did not help. The only adult drones that emerged from the false queen cells were those protected in an incubator and in push-in cages. Adult drones from false queen cells had smaller wings, legs, and proboscis than regular drones. The results of this study verify previous reports that the bees do not recognise the different sex of the larvae at least at the early stage of larval development. The late destruction of false queen cells, the similarity in quality and quantity of the produced royal jelly, and the bigger drone cells, allow for the use of drone larvae in cups for the production of royal jelly.

scholarly journals A death pheromone, oleic acid, triggers hygienic behavior in honey bees (Apis mellifera L.)

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison McAfee ◽  
Abigail Chapman ◽  
Immacolata Iovinella ◽  
Ylonna Gallagher-Kurtzke ◽  
Troy F. Collins ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oleic Acid ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Complex Behavior ◽  
Hygienic Behavior ◽  
Larval Food ◽  
Odorant Binding Proteins ◽  
Eusocial Insects ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Odorant Binding ◽  
Crowded Environment

Eusocial insects live in teeming societies with thousands of their kin. In this crowded environment, workers combat disease by removing or burying their dead or diseased nestmates. For honey bees, we found that hygienic brood-removal behavior is triggered by two odorants – β-ocimene and oleic acid – which are released from brood upon freeze-killing. β-ocimene is a co-opted pheromone that normally signals larval food-begging, whereas oleic acid is a conserved necromone across arthropod taxa. Interestingly, the odorant blend can induce hygienic behavior more consistently than either odorant alone. We suggest that the volatile β-ocimene flags hygienic workers’ attention, while oleic acid is the death cue, triggering removal. Bees with high hygienicity detect and remove brood with these odorants faster than bees with low hygienicity, and both molecules are strong ligands for hygienic behavior-associated odorant binding proteins (OBP16 and OBP18). Odorants that induce low levels of hygienic behavior, however, are weak ligands for these OBPs. We are therefore beginning to paint a picture of the molecular mechanism behind this complex behavior, using odorants associated with freeze-killed brood as a model.

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

Insects ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 122 ◽  
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.

scholarly journals Social Fever or General Immune Response? Revisiting an Example of Social Immunity in Honey Bees

Insects ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 528
Author(s):  
Michael Goblirsch ◽  
Jenny F. Warner ◽  
Brooke A. Sommerfeldt ◽  
Marla Spivak
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Sucrose Solution ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
Social Immunity ◽  
Nest Temperature ◽  
Ascosphaera Apis ◽  
Response To Temperature ◽  
Brood Nest

Honey bees use several strategies to protect themselves and the colony from parasites and pathogens. In addition to individual immunity, social immunity involves the cumulative effort of some individuals to limit the spread of parasites and pathogens to uninfected nestmates. Examples of social immunity in honey bees that have received attention include hygienic behavior, or the removal of diseased brood, and the collection and deposition of antimicrobial resins (propolis) on interior nest surfaces. Advances in our understanding of another form of social immunity, social fever, are lacking. Honey bees were shown to raise the temperature of the nest in response to temperature-sensitive brood pathogen, Ascosphaera apis. The increase in nest temperature (−0.6 °C) is thought to limit the spread of A. apis infection to uninfected immatures. We established observation hives and monitored the temperature of the brood nest for 40 days. This observation period was broken into five distinct segments, corresponding to sucrose solution feedings—Pre-Feed, Feed I, Challenge, Feed II, and Post-Feed. Ascosphaera apis was administered to colonies as a 1% solution of ground sporulating chalkbrood mummies in 50% v/v sucrose solution, during the Challenge period. Like previous reports, we observed a modest increase in brood nest temperature during the Challenge period. However, all hives presented signs of chalkbrood disease, suggesting that elevation of the nest temperature was not sufficient to stop the spread of infection among immatures. We also began to explore the molecular mechanisms of temperature increase by exposing adult bees in cages to A. apis, without the presence of immatures. Compared to adult workers who were given sucrose solution only, workers exposed to A. apis showed increased expression of the antimicrobial peptides abaecin (p = 0.07) and hymenoptaecin (p = 0.04), but expression of the heat shock response protein Hsp 70Ab-like (p = 0.76) and the nutritional marker vitellogenin (p = 0.72) were unaffected. These results indicate that adult honey bee workers exposed to a brood pathogen elevate the temperature of the brood nest and initiate an immune response, but the effect of this fever on preventing disease requires further study.

scholarly journals A functional investigation of the suppression of CpG and UpA dinucleotide frequencies in plant RNA virus genomes

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Ibrahim ◽  
Jelke Fros ◽  
Andre Bertran ◽  
Ferdyansyah Sechan ◽  
Valerie Odon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rna Virus ◽  
Plant Viruses ◽  
Tobacco Plants ◽  
Protein Coding ◽  
Antiviral Responses ◽  
Fold Reduction ◽  
Analogous Process ◽  
Systemic Spread ◽  
Functional Investigation ◽  
Virus Genomes

AbstractFrequencies of CpG and UpA dinucleotides in most plant RNA virus genomes show degrees of suppression comparable to those of vertebrate RNA viruses. While pathways that target CpG and UpAs in HIV-1 and echovirus 7 genomes and restrict their replication have been partly characterised, whether an analogous process drives dinucleotide underrepresentation in plant viruses remains undetermined. We examined replication phenotypes of compositionally modified mutants of potato virus Y (PVY) in which CpG or UpA frequencies were maximised in non-structural genes (including helicase and polymerase encoding domains) while retaining protein coding. PYV mutants with increased CpG dinucleotide frequencies showed a dose-dependent reduction in systemic spread and pathogenicity and up to 1000-fold attenuated replication kinetics in distal sites on agroinfiltration of tobacco plants (Nicotiana benthamiana). Even more extraordinarily, comparably modified UpA-high mutants displayed no pathology and over a million-fold reduction in replication. Tobacco plants with knockdown of RDP6 displayed similar attenuation of CpG- and UpA-high mutants suggesting that restriction occurred independently of the plant siRNA antiviral responses. Despite the evolutionary gulf between plant and vertebrate genomes and encoded antiviral strategies, these findings point towards the existence of novel virus restriction pathways in plants functionally analogous to innate defence components in vertebrate cells.

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