Effect of in-hive miticides on drone honey bee survival and sperm viability

Dahlgren, Lizette; Siegfried, Blair D.; Ellis, Marion D.

doi:10.3896/ibra.1.52.2.18

Cited by 37 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Exposure of colonies to pesticides results in significant physiological stress in honey bee workers and queens (Henry et al, 2012; Maini et al, 2010). However, only a few studies have investigated the molecular mechanisms of pesticide stress in drone honey bees and possible mechanisms to survive pesticide exposure (Johnson et al, 2013; Johnson et al, 2010). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Honey bee (Apis mellifera) drones survive oxidative stress due to increased tolerance instead of avoidance or repair of oxidative damage

Li-Byarlay

Huang

Simone-Finstrom

et al. 2016

Experimental Gerontology

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Oxidative stress can lead to premature aging symptoms and cause acute mortality at higher doses in a range of organisms. Oxidative stress resistance and longevity are mechanistically and phenotypically linked; considerable variation in oxidative stress resistance exists among and within species and typically covaries with life expectancy. However, it is unclear whether stress-resistant, long-lived individuals avoid, repair, or tolerate molecular damage to survive longer than others. The honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) is an emerging model system that is well-suited to address this question. Furthermore, this species is the most economically important pollinator, whose health may be compromised by pesticide exposure, including oxidative stressors. Here, we develop a protocol for inducing oxidative stress in honey bee males (drones) via Paraquat injection. After injection, individuals from different colony sources were kept in common social conditions to monitor their survival compared to saline-injected controls. Oxidative stress was measured in susceptible and resistant individuals. Paraquat drastically reduced survival but individuals varied in their resistance to treatment within and among colony sources. Longer-lived individuals exhibited higher levels of lipid peroxidation than individuals dying early. In contrast, the level of protein carbonylation was not significantly different between the two groups. This first study of oxidative stress in male honey bees suggests that survival of an acute oxidative stressor is due to tolerance, not prevention or repair, of oxidative damage to lipids. It also demonstrates colony differences in oxidative stress resistance that might be useful for breeding stress-resistant honey bees.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Honey bee (Apis mellifera) drones survive oxidative stress due to increased tolerance instead of avoidance or repair of oxidative damage

Li-Byarlay

Huang

Simone-Finstrom

et al. 2016

Experimental Gerontology

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“…To determine the proportion of live and dead sperm in a semen sample, a number of dyes have been developed, which allow relatively easy quantification of sperm viability. This approach has been used for a number of different species and for the study of a wide range of different questions . SYBR 14 and propidium iodide (PI) are fluorescent dyes frequently used in combination to evaluate sperm viability .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Flow cytometry as a rapid and reliable method to quantify sperm viability in the honeybee Apis mellifera

et al. 2014

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An important measure of male quality is sperm viability; i.e., the percentage of live sperm within an ejaculate, as this provides an accurate measure of the number of sperm potentially available for egg fertilization. Sperm viability is often determined by fluorescence microscopy using dyes that differentially stain viable and nonviable sperm, but the technique has a number of limitations. Here, a flow cytometry (FCM) method was developed, which allows the rapid determination of honeybee sperm viability, facilitating high throughput analyses. Using samples with known sperm viabilities, it was found that data obtained from FCM were more accurate and less variable compared with data obtained for the same samples using fluorescence microscopy. It was also found that a previously reported additional population of honeybee sperm found in datasets using FCM is caused by freeze-thawing samples. In conclusion, the method described here allows to quantify sperm viability of honeybees quickly and with high accuracy. This will be of great value for future scientific research and could also be of value to guide future bee breeding programs, given the agricultural importance of honeybees as pollinators. V C 2014 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry Key terms honeybee; sperm; flow cytometry; microscopy; viability; SYBR 14; propidium iodide; liquid nitrogen EJACULATE quality is a fundamentally important reproductive male trait as the number of live sperm available for egg fertilization after being transferred to the female's reproductive tract is a key determinant of male competitiveness, reproductive success, and fitness (1-4). A number of methods have been developed in the past to quantify semen quality, including parameters such as sperm viability, motility, morphology, and total number (5-7). Such inspections are often done microscopically or using machinery in combination with software, capable of simultaneously tracking large numbers of sperm cells within a sample (8). Sperm viability, in particular, has become a key measure for semen quality in recent years, and often refers to the proportion of live sperm in an ejaculate. It is generally quantified by measuring the plasma membrane integrity, as the plasma membrane becomes more permeable in dead sperm and coincides with the loss of motility (9,10) and therefore fertilization capacity. Consequently, assessing sperm viability within ejaculates has become of major interest for the study of reproductive biology as well as for medical research and practices, for example to understand and treat male infertility (11).To determine the proportion of live and dead sperm in a semen sample, a number of dyes have been developed, which allow relatively easy quantification of sperm viability. This approach has been used for a number of different species and for the study of a wide range of different questions (6,(12)(13)(14). SYBR 14 and propidium

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“…Other agrochemicals collected by foraging honey bees can also accumulate in hive matrices and some have been shown to significantly reduce queen survival during development [7], increase the queen replacement rates [58], and reduce success of new queen rearing [59]. However, several commonly used miticides applied at sublethal doses did not seem to affect sperm viability in adult drones [60]. This result warrants further investigation of pesticide effects on semen quality in developing drones since the sperm production occurs during the pupal stage [61].…”

Section: Mating Success Health and Quality Of Reproductive Castesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving the future of honey bee breeding programs by employing recent scientific advances

Niño

Jasper

2015

Current Opinion in Insect Science

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Effect of in-hive miticides on drone honey bee survival and sperm viability

Cited by 37 publications

References 31 publications

Honey bee (Apis mellifera) drones survive oxidative stress due to increased tolerance instead of avoidance or repair of oxidative damage

Honey bee (Apis mellifera) drones survive oxidative stress due to increased tolerance instead of avoidance or repair of oxidative damage

Flow cytometry as a rapid and reliable method to quantify sperm viability in the honeybee Apis mellifera

Improving the future of honey bee breeding programs by employing recent scientific advances

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