We compare Nosema pathology in drones with previous studies describing symptoms in workers and discuss ramifications for drone and colony fitness.
While Nosema infection clearly imposed energetic costs in males, infection had no impact on drone sperm numbers and had only limited effects on antennal responsiveness to a major queen sex pheromone component (9-ODA). Of note, while drone molecular responses generally tracked predictions based on worker studies, several aspects of infected drone flight behavior contrasted with previous observations of infected workers. Moreover, expression of candidate genes with metabolic and/or hormonal functions, including members of the insulin signaling pathway, differed by infection status. We found that infected drones starved faster than controls and exhibited altered patterns of flight activity in the field, consistent with energetic distress or altered rates of sexual maturation.
NICOLE WALLACE DRONE SERIES
We infected newly emerged adult drones with Nosema spores and conducted a series of molecular, physiological, and behavioral assays to characterize Nosema etiology in drones. Few studies, however, have examined infection costs in male honey bees ( drones) to determine if Nosema similarly affects male energetic status and sexual maturation. Nosema pathology has primarily been characterized in female workers where infection is energetically costly and accelerates worker behavioral maturation. Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae are damaging intestinal pathogens of European honey bees (Apis mellifera). Susceptibility to pathogens and parasites often varies between sexes due to differences in life history traits and selective pressures. Holt, Holly L Villar, Gabriel Cheng, Weiyi Song, Jun Grozinger, Christina M Molecular, physiological and behavioral responses of honey bee (Apis mellifera) drones to infection with microsporidian parasites. This first global proteomic comparative analysis of antennae reveals sex-biased protein expression in both bees, indicating that odorant response mechanisms are sex-specific because of natural selection for different olfactory Several key node proteins in the BIN were validated at the transcript level. This suggests these two protein families play crucial roles in the antennal olfactory function of sexually mature drone and forager worker bees. On the basis of both groups of altered antenna proteins, carbohydrate metabolism and energy production and molecular transporters comprised more than 80% of the functional enrichment analysis and 45% of the constructed biological interaction networks (BIN), respectively. The antennae of the worker bees strongly expressed carbohydrate and energy metabolism and molecular transporters signifying a strong demand for metabolic energy and odorant binding proteins for their foraging activities and other olfactory responses, while proteins related to fatty acid metabolism, antioxidation, and protein folding were strongly upregulated in the drones' antennae as an indication of the importance for the detection and degradation of sex pheromones during queen identification for mating. Sixty-one differentially expressed proteins were identified in which 67% were highly upregulated in the drones' antennae whereas only 33% upregulated in the worker bees' antennae. Antennal proteomes of sexually mature drone and forager worker bees (an age group of bees assigned to perform field tasks) were compared using two-dimensional electrophoresis, mass spectrometry, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, and bioinformatics. Odorant reception takes place mainly in the antennae within hairlike structures called olfactory sensilla. Specific proteins involved in odorant detection most likely supported this chemical communication. Honeybees have evolved an intricate system of chemical communication to regulate their complex social interactions. Antennal proteome comparison of sexually mature drone and forager honeybees.įeng, Mao Song, Feifei Aleku, Dereje Woltedji Han, Bin Fang, Yu Li, Jianke
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