The Effects of Fat Body Tyramine Level on Gustatory Responsiveness of Honeybees (Apis mellifera) Differ between Behavioral Castes

Nutrition is vital for health and immune function in honey bees (Apis mellifera). The effect of diets enriched with bee-associated yeasts and essential oils of Mexican oregano (Lippia graveolens) was tested on survival, food intake, accumulated fat body tissue, and gene expression of vitellogenin (Vg), prophenoloxidase (proPO) and glucose oxidase (GOx) in newly emerged worker bees. The enriched diets were provided to bees under the premise that supplementation with yeasts or essential oils can enhance health variables and the expression of genes related to immune function in worker bees. Based on a standard pollen substitute, used as a control diet, enriched diets were formulated, five with added bee-associated yeasts (Starmerella bombicola, Starmerella etchellsii, Starmerella bombicola 2, Zygosaccharomyces mellis, and the brewers’ yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and three with added essential oils from L. graveolens (carvacrol, thymol, and sesquiterpenes). Groups of bees were fed one of the diets for 9 or 12 days. Survival probability was similar in the yeast and essential oils treatments in relation to the control, but median survival was lower in the carvacrol and sesquiterpenes treatments. Food intake was higher in all the yeast treatments than in the control. Fat body percentage in individual bees was slightly lower in all treatments than in the control, with significant decreases in the thymol and carvacrol treatments. Expression of the genes Vg, proPO, and GOx was minimally affected by the yeast treatments but was adversely affected by the carvacrol and thymol treatments.

Download Full-text

Multi-modal imaging and analysis in the search for iron-based magnetoreceptors in the honeybee Apis mellifera

Royal Society Open Science ◽

10.1098/rsos.181163 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 5 (9) ◽

pp. 181163 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Jeremy A. Shaw ◽

Alastair Boyd ◽

Michael House ◽

Gary Cowin ◽

Boris Baer

Keyword(s):

Apis Mellifera ◽

Empirical Evidence ◽

Animal Species ◽

Fat Body ◽

Regions Of Interest ◽

Analysis Approach ◽

Anatomical Region ◽

Magnetic Sense ◽

Iron Based ◽

Underlying Mechanisms

The honeybee Apis mellifera is one of many animal species for which empirical evidence of a magnetic sense has been provided. The underlying mechanisms postulated for magnetoreception in bees are varied, but most point towards the abdomen as the most likely anatomical region for its location, partly owing to the large accumulation of iron in trophocyte cells that comprise the honeybee fat body. Using a multi-modal imaging and analysis approach, we have investigated iron in the honeybee, with a particular focus on the abdomen and the utility of such techniques as applied to magnetoreception. Abdominal iron is shown to accumulate rapidly, reaching near maximum levels only 5 days after emerging from the comb and is associated with the accumulation of iron within the fat body. While fat body iron could be visualized, no regions of interest, other than perhaps the fat body itself, were identified as potential sites for magnetoreceptive cells. If an iron-based magnetoreceptor exists within the honeybee abdomen the large accumulation of iron in the fat body is likely to impede its discovery.

Download Full-text

Winter honeybee (Apis mellifera) populations show greater potential to induce immune response than summer ones after immune stimuli

Journal of Experimental Biology ◽

10.1242/jeb.232595 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. jeb.232595

Author(s):

Silvie Dostálková ◽

Pavel Dobeš ◽

Martin Kunc ◽

Jana Hurychová ◽

Mária Škrabišová ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Immune Response ◽

Apis Mellifera ◽

Fat Body ◽

Immune Systems ◽

Colony Fitness ◽

Middle Europe ◽

Immune Challenges ◽

The Difference ◽

Vitellogenin Gene

In the temperate climates of middle Europe and North America, two distinct honeybee (Apis mellifera) populations are found in colonies: short-living summer bees emerge in spring and survive until summer, whereas long-living winter bees emerge in late August and overwinter. Besides the difference in their life spans, each of these populations fulfills a different role in the colonies and individual bees have distinct physiological and immunological adaptations depending on their roles. For instance, winter worker bees have higher vitellogenin levels and larger reserves of nutrients in the fat body than summer bees. The differences between the immune systems of both populations are well described at the constitutive level; however, our knowledge of its inducibility is still very limited. In this study, we focus on the response of 10-day-old honeybee workers to immune challenges triggered in vivo by injecting heat-killed bacteria, with particular focus on honeybees that emerge and live under hive conditions. Responses to bacterial injections differed between summer and winter bees. The latter induced more intense response, including higher expression of antimicrobial genes and antimicrobial activity, as well as a significant decrease in vitellogenin gene expression and its concentration in the hemolymph. The intense immune response observed in winter honeybees may contribute to our understanding of the relationships between colony fitness and infection with pathogens, as well as its association with successful overwintering.

Download Full-text

Induction of heat shock proteins in the larval fat body of Apis mellifera L. bees

Apidologie ◽

10.1051/apido:2000141 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 31 (4) ◽

pp. 487-501 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Virginia Maria Lopes Chacon-Almeida ◽

Zil� Luz Paulino Sim�es ◽

M�rcia Maria Gentile Bitondi

Keyword(s):

Apis Mellifera ◽

Heat Shock ◽

Heat Shock Proteins ◽

Fat Body ◽

Shock Proteins

Download Full-text

Comparative Analysis of Brain and Fat Body Gene Splicing Patterns in the Honey Bee, Apis mellifera

G3 Genes|Genome|Genetics ◽

10.1534/g3.118.200857 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. g3.200857.2018

Author(s):

Kavya Kannan ◽

Molly Shook ◽

Yang Li ◽

Gene E. Robinson ◽

Jian Ma

Keyword(s):

Comparative Analysis ◽

Apis Mellifera ◽

Honey Bee ◽

Fat Body ◽

Gene Splicing ◽

Splicing Patterns

Download Full-text

Seasonality in telomerase activity in relation to cell size, DNA replication, and nutrients in the fat body of Apis mellifera

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-79912-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Justina Koubová ◽

Michala Sábová ◽

Miloslav Brejcha ◽

Dalibor Kodrík ◽

Radmila Čapková Frydrychová

Keyword(s):

Apis Mellifera ◽

Dna Replication ◽

Body Mass ◽

Fat Body ◽

Winter Season ◽

Telomerase Activity ◽

Caste Differentiation ◽

Dependent Manner ◽

Fat Bodies ◽

Fat Body Mass

AbstractIn honeybees (Apis mellifera), the rate of aging is modulated through social interactions and according to caste differentiation and the seasonal (winter/summer) generation of workers. Winter generation workers, which hatch at the end of summer, have remarkably extended lifespans as an adaptation to the cold season when the resources required for the growth and reproduction of colonies are limited and the bees need to maintain the colony until the next spring. In contrast, the summer bees only live for several weeks. To better understand the lifespan differences between summer and winter bees, we studied the fat bodies of honeybee workers and identified several parameters that fluctuate in a season-dependent manner. In agreement with the assumption that winter workers possess greater fat body mass, our data showed gradual increases in fat body mass, the size of the fat body cells, and Vg production as the winter season proceeded, as well as contrasting gradual decreases in these parameters in the summer season. The differences in the fat bodies between winter and summer bees are accompanied by respective increases and decreases in telomerase activity and DNA replication in the fat bodies. These data show that although the fat bodies of winter bees differ significantly from those of summer bees, these differences are not a priori set when bees hatch at the end of summer or in early autumn but instead gradually evolve over the course of the season, depending on environmental factors.

Download Full-text

Morphometric changes on honeybee Apis mellifera L. workers fat body cells after juvenile hormone topic application at emergence

Micron ◽

10.1016/j.micron.2007.02.002 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 39 (4) ◽

pp. 426-430 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Vagner T. Paes-de-Oliveira ◽

Silvana B. Poiani ◽

William F. Antonialli ◽

Carminda da Cruz-Landim

Keyword(s):

Apis Mellifera ◽

Juvenile Hormone ◽

Fat Body

Download Full-text

Effect of Propolis Oral Intake on Physiological Condition of Young Worker Honey Bees, Apis Mellifera L.

Journal of Apicultural Science ◽

10.1515/jas-2017-0023 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 61 (2) ◽

pp. 193-202 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Natalia Damiani ◽

Martín P. Porrini ◽

Juan P. Lancia ◽

Estefanía Álvarez ◽

Paula M. Garrido ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Apis Mellifera ◽

Honey Bees ◽

Physiological Condition ◽

Fat Body ◽

Oral Intake ◽

Abdominal Fat ◽

Research Field ◽

Term Survival ◽

Hypopharyngeal Glands ◽

Fat Bodies

Abstract Honey bees collect resin from various plant species and transform it into propolis that is incorporated into the nest. The role of resins in the bee health field is poorly understood. The aim was to evaluate the effects of forced consumption of propolis on the physiological condition and short-term survival of Apis mellifera worker bees. It was tested if the number of circulating hemocytes in hemolymph, the abdominal fat bodies and the hypopharyngeal glands development were affected by the feeding with propolis extracts in laboratory conditions during the warm and the cold seasons. Propolis added to sugar candy was consumed by workers for fourteen days without affecting the bee survival. The number of circulating hemocytes in hemolymph remained constant despite the differential diet during the experiment. However, the development of fat bodies and hypopharyngeal glands was altered by propolis ingestion. The abdominal fat body development in winter bees diminished after fourteen days of propolis consumption, while it increased in summer bees. The hypopharyngeal gland development decreased for the assayed period in workers from both seasons. Our results encourage us to continue exploring this research field and learn how long-term forced ingestion of a plant-derived compound, a non-nutritive substance, can modify physiological bee parameters. A broader understanding of the multiple roles of propolis in the health of the honey bee colonies could be obtained by studying the ways in which it is processed and metabolized and the effect that generates in another physiological responses.

Download Full-text

Virus-like particles in the fat body tissue of adult queen honey bees (Apis mellifera)

Journal of Invertebrate Pathology ◽

10.1016/0022-2011(85)90079-5 ◽

1985 ◽

Vol 46 (3) ◽

pp. 337-342 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

R.A. Nunamaker ◽

C.E. Nunamaker ◽

W.T. Wilson ◽

B.R. Francis

Keyword(s):

Apis Mellifera ◽

Honey Bees ◽

Fat Body ◽

Body Tissue ◽

Virus Like Particles

Download Full-text

Tissue-specific transcriptional patterns underlie seasonal phenotypes in honey bees (Apis mellifera)

10.22541/au.162555773.31655308/v2 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sean Bresnahan ◽

Mehmet Döke ◽

Tugrul Giray ◽

Christina Grozinger

Keyword(s):

Apis Mellifera ◽

Honey Bees ◽

Flight Muscle ◽

Fat Body ◽

Expression Patterns ◽

Flight Activity ◽

Insect Species ◽

Tissue Specific ◽

Transcriptional Profiles ◽

Specific Regulation

Faced with adverse conditions, such as winter in temperate regions or hot and dry conditions in tropical regions, many insect species enter a state of diapause, a period of dormancy associated with a reduction or arrest of physical activity, development, and reproduction. Changes in common physiological pathways underlie diapause phenotypes in different insect species. However, most transcriptomic studies of diapause have not simultaneously evaluated and compared expression patterns in different tissues. Honey bees (Apis mellifera) represent a unique model system to study the mechanisms underpinning diapause. In winter, honey bees exhibit a classic diapause phenotype, with reduced metabolic activity, increased physiological nutritional resources, and altered hormonal profiles. However, winter bees actively heat their colony by vibrating their wing muscles; thus, this tissue is not quiescent. Here, we evaluated the transcriptional profiles of flight muscle tissue and fat body tissue (involved in nutrient storage, metabolism and immune function) of winter bees. We also evaluated two behavioral phenotypes of summer bees: nurses, which exhibit high nutritional stores and low flight activity, and foragers, which exhibit low nutritional stores and high flight activity. We found winter bees and nurses have similar fat body transcriptional profiles compared to foragers, whereas winter bees and foragers have similar flight muscle transcriptional profiles compared to nurses. Additionally, differentially expressed genes were enriched in diapause-related GO terms. Thus, honey bees exhibit tissue-specific transcriptional profiles associated with diapause, laying the groundwork for future studies evaluating the mechanisms, evolution, and consequences of this tissue-specific regulation.

Download Full-text