Characteristics of the spermathecal contents of old and young honeybee queens

Al-Lawati, H.; Kamp, Günter; Bienefeld, Kaspar

doi:10.1016/j.jinsphys.2008.10.010

Cited by 56 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…So, as gametes are much bigger than the diameters of the luminal reservoirs in which they are stored, the circular array configuration allows their accommodation and organization at high densities (up to 600 spermatozoa/spermatheca) (Jones & Wheeler 1965). According to previous observations, such packaging of sperm at high density maximizes the number of cells that can be stored in an organized manner, whereas the circular cell movement of live spermatozoa seems to be a pre-requisite for the release of single spermatozoa from the insect spermathecae (Werner et al 1999, Al-Lawati et al 2009). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…aegypti have a short lifespan in comparison to ants and queen bees, which live for several months or years, store millions of gametes to fertilize thousands or millions of eggs and must store gametes during a long reproductive life (Al-Lawati et al 2009). In light of their relatively short life (Muir & Kay 1998, Tejerina et al 2009), mosquitoes have no demand for such large spermathecae with well-developed columnar epithelium.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Morphological and morphometrical assessment of spermathecae of Aedes aegypti females

Pascini

Ramalho-Ortigão

Martins

2012

Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morphological and morphometrical assessment of spermathecae of Aedes aegypti females

Pascini

Ramalho-Ortigão

Martins

2012

Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz

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“…A queen's quality is not only a function of her own reproductive potential but also a result of her mating success which is determined by assessing the number of stored sperm in a queen's spermatheca (Lodesani et al, 2004;Al-Lawati et al, 2009), and this character is being evaluating in several examples in this study (Italy, Poland, Slovenia). It also has been shown that in these examples sperm numbers are in accordance with previous studies and this trait is been used more and more to evaluate the reproductive success of the queen.…”

Section: General Conclusion and Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of methods used in some European countries for assessing the quality of honey bee queens through their physical characters and the performance of their colonies

Hatjina¹,

Bieńkowska

Charistos³

et al. 2014

Journal of Apicultural Research

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The authors' names are listed in alphabetical order with the exception of the corresponding author. All authors' contributions are equal. SummaryThe term "quality" in relation to queens and drones refers to certain quantitative physical and / or behavioural characters. It is generally believed that a high quality queen should have the following physical characteristics: high live weight; high number of ovarioles; large size of spermatheca; high number of spermatozoa in spermatheca; and be free from diseases and pests. It is, however, also known that the performance of a honey bee colony is the result of its queen's function as well as of that of the drones that mated with her. These two approaches are often considered together and give a general picture of the queen production technique and selection. Here we describe the most common and well known anatomical, physiological, behavioural and performance characters related to the queens, as measured in different European countries: the live weight of the virgin queen (Bulgaria); the live weight of the laying queen (Bulgaria, Italy); the diameter and volume of spermatheca (Bulgaria, Greece, Slovenia); the number of ovarioles (Greece, Italy, Slovenia); the weight of ovaries (Slovenia); the number of spermatozoa in spermatheca (Italy, Poland, Slovenia); the brood pattern (Bulgaria, Greece); the egg laying ability / fecundity (Bulgaria); the brood production (Croatia, Serbia); the colony population development (Croatia, Serbia, Slovakia); the honey production (Croatia, Denmark, Serbia, Slovakia); the hygienic behaviour (Croatia, Denmark, Serbia, Slovakia); the defence behaviour (Croatia); the calmness / sitting on the comb (Croatia, Denmark); and swarming (Croatia, Denmark). The data presented fit well with the findings of the same characters in the literature, and in general they support the argument for the term "quality characters". Especially for the weight of the queen, the number of ovarioles, the volume of the spermatheca and the number of spermatozoa, data per country proved its own accuracy by repetition through the years. We also report that when instrumentally inseminated queens are kept under mass production conditions (in 338 Hatjina et al.

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“…The protein profiles of the spermathecal gland secretion and the spermathecal fluid are very similar to each other, except for an additional 79 kDa protein in the gland secretion and a 29 kDa protein in the spermathecal fluid (Klenk et al 2004). Although secretions from the queen's spermathecal glands provide an important beneficial function for the stored spermatozoa, facilitating their survival (den Boer et al 2009), the viability of these cells is affected as the queens age (Al-Lawati et al 2009). It is also known that mated queens tend to lay an increased number of unfertilized eggs as they age (Szabo and Heikel 1987), which could be due to the decreasing quality of the stored spermatozoa caused by their inadequate preservation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Soon after a honeybee queen is either naturally or artificially inseminated, the spermatozoa introduced in her reproductive system migrate to the spermatheca, where they can potentially be stored over along the queen's entire lifespan (Verma 1974;Al-Lawati et al 2009). When performing an oviposition task, the queens have the ability to lay down sperm-fertilized diploid eggs, which will result in females (workers or queens), as well as unfertilized haploid eggs, that will give rise to drones.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feulgen-DNA content and chromatin organization in the spermathecal glands of Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera, Apoidea) queens with aging

Maldanis¹,

Falco²,

Aguirra³

et al. 2014

Apidologie

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-The secretions from the spermathecal glands in honeybee queens contribute to maintaining the viability of spermatozoa stored in the spermatheca. This viability is reduced as the queen ages. Here, we investigated whether DNA content changes and chromatin remodeling, that could suggest changes in cellular functions, occur in the spermathecal glands of Apis mellifera queens with aging. Feulgen-stained glands from early-mated and old queens were studied by image analysis. Increased polyploidization, heterogeneously distributed chromatin coarseness, and no cell death signs were verified in the spermathecal glands of aged queens. These results, compared with published data for other cellular systems, are suggestive of alterations in the spermathecal gland cells upon aging, possibly affecting their secretory fluid production. In consequence, sperm cell protection in the spermatheca would be less effective.queen / spermathecal glands / polyploidy / chromatin / aging

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Characteristics of the spermathecal contents of old and young honeybee queens

Cited by 56 publications

References 43 publications

Morphological and morphometrical assessment of spermathecae of Aedes aegypti females

Morphological and morphometrical assessment of spermathecae of Aedes aegypti females

A review of methods used in some European countries for assessing the quality of honey bee queens through their physical characters and the performance of their colonies

Feulgen-DNA content and chromatin organization in the spermathecal glands of Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera, Apoidea) queens with aging

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