Honey bee (Apis mellifera) sperm remains viable in the spermatheca of mated female honey bees for several years. During this time, the sperm retains respiratory activity, placing it at risk of the damaging effects of reactive oxygen species common to many biological processes. Antioxidative enzymes might help reduce this damage. Here we use quantitative real-time RT-PCR to establish gene-expression profiles in male and female honey bee reproductive tissues for three antioxidative enzymes: catalase, glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and superoxide dismutase (SOD1, cytosolic). Catalase and GST showed ten- to twenty-fold transcript increases in the sperm storage organs of mated queens vs. unmated queens, whereas SOD1 levels are high in both mated and unmated queens. Male reproductive and somatic tissues showed relatively high levels of all three antioxidant-encoding transcripts. All three enzymes screened were higher in mature males vs. young males, although this effect did not appear to be confined to reproductive tissues and, hence, need not reflect a role in sperm longevity. Furthermore, antioxidative enzyme transcripts remained present, and apparently increased, in male tissues long after sperm had matured and seminal fluid was produced. We also found measurable levels of catalase transcripts in honey bee semen. The presence of catalase transcripts in both reproductive tissues and semen in bees suggests that this enzyme might play a key role in antioxidative protection.

Honey bee ( Apis mellifera L.) queens mate early in life and store sperm for years. Male bees likely contribute significantly to sperm survival. Proteins were extracted from seminal vesicles and semen of mature drones, separated by electrophoresis, and analysed by peptide mass fingerprinting. Computer searches against three databases, general species, honey bees and fruit flies, were performed. Spectra were used to query the recently generated honey bee genome protein list as well as general species and fruit fly databases. Of the 69 unique honey bee proteins found, 66 are also in Drosophila melanogaster . Two proteins only matched honey bee genes and one is a widespread protein lost from the fly genome. There is over-representation of genes implicated in the glycolysis pathway. Metabolismassociated proteins were found primarily in the seminal vesicle. Male accessory gland proteins as identified in Drosophila rarely had orthologs among proteins found in the honey bee. A complete listing of gel spots chosen including honey bee genome matches and Mascot searches of MALDI-TOF results with statistics is in the Supplementary table. MALDI-TOF spectra and more complete Mascot peptide mass fingerprinting data are available on request. Supplementary figs 1 -3 show the stained protein gels.

-Catalase (CAT), glutathione S-transferase (GST) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities were determined in postmitochondrial fractions of tissue homogenates (spermathecae, muscle and ventriculi), in hemolymph plasma, and in semen of honey bees. The highest CAT activity was found in semen (4.8 mU/µg fresh weight), and the enzyme was confined to the spermatozoa. CAT and GST activities of ventriculi exceeded those of other tissues and hemolymph, CAT being highest in mated queen ventriculi (2.7 mU/µg) and GST highest in worker ventriculi (10 mU/mg). Spermathecae of mated queens had higher CAT and GST activities (0.84 mU/µg, and 2.4 mU/mg, respectively) than virgin spermathecae (0.15 mU/µg, and 1.6 mU/mg). SOD activities (15-59 mU/µg) varied less than activities of CAT or GST between tissues. Seminal plasma contained two thirds of the total SOD activity of semen and one third was in the spermatozoa. The substantial activities of all three enzymes in spermathecae of mated queens suggest their involvement in the long-term protection of the spermatozoa from oxidative stress.Apis mellifera / catalase / glutathione S-transferase / superoxide dismutase

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Objective-To determine whether video-based coping skills (VCS) training with telephone coaching reduces psychosocial and biological markers of distress in primary caregivers of a relative with Alzheimer's Disease or related dementia (ADRD) Methods-A controlled clinical trial was conducted with 116 ADRD caregivers who were assigned, alternately as they qualified for the study, to a Wait List control condition or the VCS training arm in which they viewed two modules/week of a version of the Williams LifeSkills Video adapted for ADRD family care contexts, did the exercises and homework for each module presented in an accompanying Workbook, and received one telephone coaching call per week for five weeks on each week's two modules. Questionnaire-assessed depressive symptoms, state and trait anger and anxiety, perceived stress, hostility, caregiver self-efficacy, salivary cortisol across the day and before and after a stress protocol, and blood pressure and heart rate during a stress protocol were assessed prior to VCS training, seven weeks after training was completed and at three and six months follow-up.Results-Compared to controls, participants who received VCS training plus telephone coaching showed significantly greater improvements in depressive symptoms, trait anxiety, perceived stress, and average systolic and diastolic blood pressure that were maintained over the six-month followup period.Conclusions-VCS training augmented by telephone coaching reduced psychosocial and biological indicators of distress in ADRD caregivers. Future studies should determine the longterm benefits to mental and physical health from this intervention.